Grand Wash, Capitol Reef National Park, August 2020 After more than five years away, yours truly finally had the chance to return to Capitol Reef National Park in central Utah, where I spent a lovely winter as a seasonal interpretive volunteer. Having effectively already covered all the hikes in the park in previous posts (see …
Nestled in the depths of a slot canyon downriver from Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, Arizona Hot Spring boasts sizzling temperatures of 85-120 degrees year-round. On weekends in winter and spring, residents of the Las Vegas area flock in droves to the spot, with their bathing suits and Tevas in hand, in order to …
Sidewinder Canyon Death Valley slot canyon California
The Golden Canyon Trail is one of the most popular hikes in California’s Death Valley National Park—and with good reason: its dazzling colors, sun-soaked badlands, and valley views entice hikers of all stripes to the park’s Furnace Creek area. Yet far fewer visitors combine Golden Canyon with the adjacent Badlands Loop and Gower Gulch Trails, …
Carving a dramatic gorge hundreds of feet deep in the Grapevine Mountains, Fall Canyon is a relatively popular destination in California’s Death Valley National Park. The hike through the lower reaches of the canyon is moderately difficult but climbs relentlessly, a common trait of canyons in the area, tilting upward from the vast expanse of …
Continue reading Fall Canyon (Death Valley National Park, CA)
The High Bridge Trail is a more strenuous alternative to the lower Box Canyon Falls Trail, climbing 200 feet to a suspension bridge that spans Box Canyon and offers views northeast to Ouray, Colorado. On sunny summer days and weekends, it’s also likely to be jam-packed with visitors, making an early morning or late afternoon …
Billed as “Ouray’s slot canyon,” Box Canyon Waterfall and Park is one of the most popular destinations in the area. Situated just outside southwest Colorado’s “Switzerland of America,” Box Canyon Falls is concealed in a dark, narrow gorge accessed only by a steel-reinforced walkway and staircase. Visit in spring, or after heavy rain, to see …
Continue reading Box Canyon Falls Trail (Box Canyon Park, CO)
The mostly level and shady Capitol Gorge Trail continues up the narrow canyon where the scenic Capitol Gorge Road ends. A geological cousin of nearby Grand Wash, Capitol Gorge also played a central role in the area’s human history. For nearly 80 years, despite its extreme narrows, the canyon was the only reliable transit point …
Continue reading Capitol Gorge Trail, including the Tanks (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
The Waterpocket Fold, a massive wrinkle in the Earth visible in its entirety only from space, stretches north-south for nearly 100 miles through Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park. Despite its considerable length, however, this colorful sea of Jurassic and Triassic era rock is only sliced through in a handful of places. Fewer still, the number …
Continue reading Oak Creek Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
For the geologically-minded, the Hole-in-the-Rock Road in Utah’s vast Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument provides access to extraordinary cuts and sluices in the Navajo sandstone (e.g., Peekaboo & Spooky slot canyons, Coyote Gulch), dating to the early Jurassic Period. These canyons—tributaries of the mighty Escalante River—are situated principally to the east of the dusty, 62-mile access …
Continue reading Devil’s Garden (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, UT)
Live and Let Hike 