The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah is home to thousands of canyons, large, small, spectacular, remote, popular, and fascinating all at the same time. It holds some of the world’s most exhilarating technical slot canyons that require keen rope skills, teamwork, and yes, cojones. The Grand Staircase is also home to some of the most spectacular and surprisingly doable non-technical hiking and backpacking canyons, some slot, some not. An adventure here will bring you wonder, amazement, and memories to last several lifetimes. The Goat has compiled his favorite canyons of the Escalante, and is here to share with you his Top 5 Best Backpacking Canyons in the Grand Staircase-Escalante. Enjoy!

5. Hackberry Canyon Complex

Set in the far southern portion of the Grand Staircase lies the Hackberry Canyon Complex. Several of the geological features that make the Grand Staircase famous are here, including Grosvenor Arch in the north, The Cockscomb, and Yellow Rock in the south. There are multiple excellent campsite, several side canyons with intimate narrows, adventurous rock scrambles, and some of the best photos to be had in the Grand Staircase near Yellow Rock, dome of Navajo Sandstone swirled with reds, purples, pinks, and blues set within the sulfur-stained sandstone.

Zebra Slot Canyon, located near Escalante, Utah, provides a beautiful canyoning experience. It got its name due to amazing pink stripes that make it one of the most photographed places in the park. The 5.3 mi (8.5-km) trail through Zebra Slot offers scenic views and is best used during spring and fall, namely April through June, and September.

Utah’s slot canyons are stunningsheer red-rock cliffs towering above you, while just a slice of blue sky creates a heavenly ceiling. Hiking through a slot canyon is like being in another world, where you’re cut off from civilization and completely immersed in nature. Very short slot canyon. Near Escalante, Utah. This is a very short slot canyon but it is well worth a 10-minute stop. 2019 near Escalante, UT. Slot Canyons Slot canyons are narrow gorges in soft rocks like Utah’s layered sedimentary deposits. They are named for their narrow width, often squeezing down to a sliver. It is said that Utah has the largest concentration of slot canyons in the world, and many of them are easily accessible. The Escalante slot canyons are for the most part smaller drainages, tributaries of the main gorges, and there are many dozen if not several hundred of them - ranging from the quite long but not especially enclosed (eg Little Death Hollow, Llewellyn Gulch, Red Breaks) to extreme slots so narrow that traversing requires stemming sometimes as much as 50 feet above the floor, in conjunction with the usual downclimbing, rappelling, wading and swimming.

The area is particularly excellent for “freestyle” hiking, as adventure can be had for anyone, anytime, with any skill level. Want to crawl through tight narrows? Want to take professional-looking photos? Want to observe important and fascinating geologic features? Want to chill out in a remote wonderland? You can do it all here in the Hackberry.

4. Harris Wash and Canyons Complex

The Golden Cathedral of Neon Canyon is perhaps the most humbling, awe-inspiring, and enormous feature in southern Utah. The name says it all; standing in this monstrous alcove is an experience akin to standing in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The roof of the alcove, a geologic term for an eroded, domed-out feature typically along a river bed, towers over 150ft. above your head and glows a literal Neon Golden.

Aside from the Golden Cathedral, there are several other fabulous canyons to be explored along Harris Wash including Choprock, Silver Falls, Ringtail, Twentyfive Mile, and Fence Canyons branch out from along this spectacular and deeply-cut wash. Excellent narrows, petroglyphs, natural springs, and quintessential Utah canyon wilderness await you here. One could spend days exploring all that Harris Wash has to offer, and the best part is, all you need is your pack, your legs, and a longing for a true wilderness experience.

3. Dry Fork Coyote Gulch

Many have heard of the famous Coyote Gulch that forks down to the Escalante River itself, and chances are you have heard of its Dry Fork as well, you just don’t know it yet. Perhaps some of the best canyons in Utah are here in the Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch; Peek-a-Boo, Spooky, and Brimstone Canyons are some of the most popular, spectacular, most narrow, and most exciting canyons in the American Southwest. Although quite popular by Grand Staircase standards, exploring these canyons is a must for anyone looking for a true Utah Canyon Country experience.

In addition to Peek-a-Boo and Spooky, just over the ridge one can access the Egypt Slot Complex, where Egypt 1-10 awaits holding more of the spectacular slots that make the Grand Staircase one of the best places in the world for outdoor adventure.

2. The Upper Escalante Complex

The Escalante River, the driving force behind the canyons that have been cut into southern Utah and the Grand Staircase’s miles of sandstone slickrock, is also known worldwide as having some of the best canyoning adventures in the American Southwest. Hiking and backpacking in and around the upper Escalante drainage provides some of the most spectacular, outrageous, fantastic, and remote canyons in Utah, and some of the best opportunities to experience what makes the Grand Staircase such a wonderful place.

Death Hollow and the Boulder Mail Trail, Little Death Hollow, Spencer Canyon and the famed “Volcano”, Calf Creek Falls, and The Gulch are all located here, each providing their own limitless opportunities for backcountry hiking, backpacking, canyoneering, and solitude. Cultural and geologic history abound here, as the upper Escalante weaves a story rich in pioneering history that holds some of the most interesting and legendary stories of the Old West.

1. Main Fork Red Breaks Canyon

In all likelihood, there is a picture of this place on your computer’s screen right this moment. If not, just wait for it to go to its screensaver and you will see what we’re talking about. Within the Red Breaks Canyon Complex lies perhaps the most photogenic and fantastic slot canyon in all of Utah; Zebra and the Tunnel.

If ever there was a canyon wall that resembled an animal, this is sure it. Almost-painted with creamy red and white streaks mimicking the cross-bedded sandstone, Zebra Canyon truly owns the markings of its namesake animal that graces the African Savannah. The Tunnel is aptly named as well, as hikers pass through a narrow slot that resembles, what else, a tunnel. Both of these slots canyons can be done in conjunction with one another, and add up to one of the greatest adventures in Utah

As always, the best way to see these canyons and hikes are with our geologist/guides. They are Wilderness First Responder trained, expert in the terrain of the Grand Staircase, and well-versed in everything you need to know about the flora, fauna, history, and the rocks that set the stage for them all. Call us for more information about our many offerings in the Grand Staircase and Utah Canyon Country.

Slot Canyon Near Escalante Utah

Going Guided

Hiking and exploring Grand Canyon, or any of the National Parks, is a special experience. Although it is possible to see these places yourself, hiring a guide is a great idea. For instance, guiding services provide logistical support, and plan everything for your best possible trip. They provide a great safety net on the trail, and are trained in backcountry medicine. Above all, they provide a depth of knowledge of the region that turns a walk into a true adventure.

Slot Canyons Near Escalante Ut

Blue Marble Adventure GeoTourism provides all of the support you need, and pairs that with expert geologist/guides. Our backcountry meals use fresh ingredients, and are planned by a professional chef. Furthermore, we provide top-of-the-line gear and passion for the places we explore. In conclusion, you can visit National Parks, but going with a guide can create and even more memorable experience. Don’t be shy, and call us!

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Expect Mild Discomfort

Right before descending a steep section of slickrock into the gulch, our manager Chris cheerfully reminded us to not fall into the trap of “Guides guiding guides”, where no one admits to being uncomfortable until someone gets hurt. After spending three hard days preparing for the coming season, a group of guides took a break to hike Peek-a-Boo and Spooky: Two incredibly narrow, but non-technical slot canyons in southern Utah. Non-technical means they don’t require ropes or harnesses. Narrow means contrary to Chris’s request, I definitely became a little uncomfortable.

The Escalante Wilderness

Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument is a big name. Then again it’s a big place – almost 2 million acres of wilderness. This section of southwestern Utah holds the last river mapped in the lower 48 US states. The last explored mountains. The last areas surveyed by the USGS. By design, the monument keeps infrastructure and services to a minimum to preserve the wild, labyrinthine landscape. Escalante is where it still takes a little work to reach the good stuff.

But the stuff? It’s very good. Centuries of violent floods carved Peek-a-Boo and Spooky into long, pseudo-hallways where the sandstone mirrors the water that shaped it. Squeezing and clambering through the rocks of these slot canyons with just a dim slit of sky above is half childish glee, half existential awe. It took me back to clambering over statues and jungle gyms at the park, except this was built by nature alone – and more unforgiving.

Under no circumstances should you hike a slot canyon if there is the chance of rain.

Bring What You Need

Thanks to the national monument, there are no long lines or tourist traps near these slot canyons. The small towns of Tropic and Escalante provide necessary services, but when you head into the monument itself, bring everything you need. Don’t anticipate being near water, bathrooms, or cell signal on your hikes. A high-clearance vehicle is also best for navigating the unpaved roads, and necessary in some parts.

Once we cleared Peek-a-Boo, where we shimmied around warped corners and scrambled over ledges, we’d had a good workout. That’s when Chris happily chimed in again.

“So, if you found that claustrophobic, Spooky is where it’s going to actually be tight. Just a fair warning.”

Required Skills

A non-technical slot canyon does require one important piece of equipment: your body. While no ropes or tools were required, you will have to be fit, flexible, and comfortable supporting your own weight. Once you’re in a slot canyon, your only choice may be to keep going–there’s no early exit, and your entrypoint may become unreachable if you drop far enough in.

Spooky canyon didn’t mess around. At least twice, we had to navigate by bracing back against one wall, legs against the other, and walking down a steep drop. I was forced to take off my pack off and lead it in front of me–and often hand it up or toss it down to a partner so that I could use all four limbs to work past a particularly thorny section. Turning around slot canyons isn’t always an option, but turning around in Spooky was sometimes physically impossible.

Watch Out for Monsoons

At some point, the thought “I feel trapped” will occur to you in a slot canyon, and that’s part of the fun! But this should also occur to you before you hike, for one very important reason: monsoons. Under no circumstances should you hike a slot canyon if there is the chance of rain. For the monsoon period of July through early September, many canyoneers put away their equipment. It is impossible to see bad weather coming from inside a slot canyon, and desert monsoons approach very quickly. If a deluge comes down, there is no escape. Unfortunately, people die every year from these floods.

One of Many Mysteries

When we finally emerged, I enjoyed the novelty of stretching my arms under an open sky. Incredibly, Peek-a-boo and Spooky represent only a sample of the wonders that can be explored in Escalante. It’s also home to haunting 1,000-year-old pictographs, sandstone cliffs covered in massive brushstrokes of desert varnish, and a 50-mile-long ancient shoreline that’s still visible today. There are a hundred mysteries to be discovered inside the monument, if you’re ready to leave the national park infrastructure behind. Our excursion only cost us some sore muscles – definitely worth it.