Canyon Slots Utah

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Snow Canyon State Park is Utah's best kept secret, and Jenny's Canyon a definite highlight. Utah's most accessible slot Canyon, the trail is a short and easy hike; a half mile round trip (15 minutes) with small slopes and steps, offering spectacular views over stunning red sand dunes and soaring sandstone cliffs. Southern Utah has more tiny, narrow cracks than a shattered iPhone screen. Some are deep, some are wide, some are wet and some are dry, but none of them will shove tiny glass shards in your texting fingers. Slot canyons are nice because you don’t have to make very many decisions in them.

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Slot Canyons > Zion National Park > Red Canyon (Peek-a-Boo Canyon)

Half a mile of colorful, medium depth narrows along a minor tributary of Kanab Creek, surrounded by a rolling landscape of sand dunes and small hills

Slots Canyon Utah

Length: 4.5 miles, to the dryfall, via the sandy track. Less if walking cross-country over the Sand Hills, or driving along the track
Difficulty: Easy. One blocking chokestone near the upper end
Management: BLM
Rocks: Navajo sandstone
Season: Spring and fall are best; summers are hot
Trailhead:Start of a sandy track on the north side of US 89. 4WD vehicles can drive all (2.8 miles) or part of this track, which leads to the drainage below the narrows
Rating (1-5):★★★★★

Like the similarly named Red Cave and Red Hollow, Red Canyon forms a colorful series of narrows through the deep red sandstone rock of the Glendale Bench, a few miles east of Zion National Park, although the drainage is a tributary of Kanab Creek rather than the Virgin River.
The canyon has about half a mile of enclosed, curving passages up to 100 feet deep, mostly without any obstructions, and quite easily reached from a main road (US 89); the canyon runs parallel to the highway about 2 miles from it, and may be accessed either by driving along a very sandy 4WD track or walking cross-country, hiking over a rolling, open landscape of dunes and occasional trees (the Sand Hills). Adventure tour companies from Kanab sometimes take visitors to the slot, which is known locally as Peek-a-Boo Canyon, though the place is in general little visited compared to the more famous narrows within the nearby national park.

Topographic Map of Red Canyon

Photographs

9 views of Red Canyon.

Location

A secondary road leaves US 89 a mile east of the turn-off for Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and runs eastwards alongside (to the north) for 4 miles, rejoining the highway shortly before it begins the descent into Three Lakes Canyon towards Kanab. The secondary road is partly paved, and it provides many good places to camp, close to the main road though mostly out of sight. The track to the canyon starts at the east end of this old road, by the junction with US 89, and is very sandy from the start, as it skirts around a large area of dunes, rises slightly to cross a low ridge then descends towards a dry wash (a tributary of Kanab Creek) where the surface becomes even softer. The remaining stretch is more level though still across deep sand, as the road curves east then back west just before the streamway, meeting it one mile downstream of the end of the slot. ATVs can drive along the streambed right up to the start of the narrows.

Colorful chamber in Red Canyon, not far below the dryfall

The distance along the track is 2.8 miles. For hikers, the quickest way to reach the canyon is probably to follow the track for 1.2 miles, a little way after the sandy wash, then walk due north cross-country for another mile, over land that is quite open and relatively flat so navigation is easy - aided by distant cliffs rising above the dunes to the north - and the surface generally quite firm. Walking all the way on the track only adds about one mile to the overall journey, however.
Note that the slot is quite separate to the more famous Red Canyon further north along US 89 - this is a partly wooded valley containing sandstone hoodoos, a few miles west of Bryce Canyon National Park. It is also not to be confused with Peekaboo Gulch, which is in the Escalante area.

Route Description

The wash is enclosed by low cliffs for a short distance below the slot, offering plenty of entry/exit routes before the walls become vertical and form the first section of narrows. The Navajo sandstone here is dark red in appearance, typical of this region, and is eroded into delicate curves bearing graceful surface patterns, from thin horizontal bands of lighter rock crossed by vertical strips of desert varnish. The first narrows are quite short, opening out to a sunlit section, but this doesn't last long as the drainage constricts again to a longer, deeper slot. Some parts are quite dark because of overhanging rocks above, and the smooth curving walls allow for pretty reflections and light effects, quite similar to canyons around Page in Arizona, such as Antelope. The floor is sandy and has no potholes to hold any water so the passages are largely unobstructed, until a 20 foot pour-off topped by protruding chokestones, a blockage not easily climbable. The nearest exit route to bypass this drop is quite far back. Above the dryfall, the canyon is not narrow for much further, soon becoming wider and less sheer-sided.

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Mineral Gulch
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North Creek, Left Fork
Orderville Canyon
Parunuweap Canyon
Pine Creek
Poverty Wash
Red Hollow & Spring Hollow
Sand Wash (Red Cave)
Spring Creek
Taylor Creek, Middle Fork
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These are classic examples of slot canyons which typify the canyon country of southern Utah: deep, narrow, secret places within the Waterpocket Fold. The routes are largely unmarked. A few rock cairns may mark key points; carrying a topographic map is recommended. It is extremely hot in summer and water sources are unreliable; carry adequate water. Use caution in narrow canyons during flash flood season (typically July-September).

All three slot canyons are difficult hikes and only experienced canyon-country hikers should attempt these routes. All contain obstacles in the form of dry falls and chock stones (large boulders wedged in narrow slots) which must be climbed over. The canyons are extremely narrow in places; most people will have to work their way through sideways. Often there are pools of water that may require deep wading or short swims.
Beginning at the Notom-Bullfrog Road, Burro Wash and Cottonwood Wash can be done as long day hikes. Sheets Gulch can be done as a long day hike or an overnight, depending on where you turn around. Free backcountry permits are required for all overnight trips and can be obtained at the visitor center.

These routes are not official, maintained trails. Route conditions, including obstacles in canyons, change frequently due to weather, flash floods, rockfall, and other hazards. Route-finding, navigation, and map-reading skills are critical. Do not rely solely on unofficial route markers (rock cairns, etc.); they are not maintained by the National Park Service (NPS), may not indicate the route in this description, or may be absent. Your safety is in your own hands. Leave no trace of your visit.
A PDF version of this information, including maps, can be downloaded and printed.