Are you interested in hiking slot canyons in Escalante National Monument?
So were we! We’d wanted to hike a slot canyon for a while. We’ve been to Zion National Park several times but have never been able to hike the Narrows. Then earlier this year, we had reservations to hike the Antelope Canyon in Arizona. Unfortunately, with the Covid 19 pandemic, our trip got cancelled. So, finally, in July of 2020, while visiting Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument we were able to do two slot canyons: Peek-a-boo and Spooky Gulch. This simple guide to hiking slot canyons in Escalante National Monument will help you plan your trip.
A Simple Guide to Hiking Slot Canyons in Escalante National Monument
The trailhead to both canyons starts in the same spot. You can make it a loop and see both Peek-a-boo and Spooky or you can choose and just do one of them. The loop is about 3.5 miles long.
How to get to the canyons?
- Getting there:
About 5 miles east of the town of Escalante turn south of Highway 12 onto a gravel Hole in the Rock Road. Next, drive for 24.7 miles on the Hole in the Road Road until you see a parking lot on the right hand side. The trailhead will be on the left side of the road.
- Hiking to the canyons
Once on the trail, follow the pink ribbons on the plants and the cairns to identify the trail. Eventually, you will get to a sign for Dry Fork Narrows. Take it. Here, we actually made a mistake and extended our hike considerably by hiking along the rim of the Dry Fork. Rather than staying on the rim, hike through the Dry Fork Narrows. It’s a lovely slot canyon which will provide the needed shade if you are here in the summer. After about a mile you will emerge from the canyon and find a sign for both Peek-a-boo and Spooky Gulch. Peek-a-boo is about 100 yards to your left while Spooky is another 0.6 miles further.
I recommend you do Peek-a-boo first and either retracing your route or continuing to Spooky.
Hiking Peek-a-boo Canyon
You will be faced with the first challenge of a slot canyon right at the entrance to Peek-a-boo. Nothing to worry about, though. You’ll just have to scramble up 12 feet to enter the canyon. Once inside, you’ll see the lovely wavy walls of the canyon. The canyon is named appropriately – you can certainly play peek-a-boo in it. There are several spots where the canyon gets quite narrow but you emerge from those sections fairly quickly. Overall, it’s a fun introductory slot canyon which is absolutely beautiful inside. The hike through the canyon took us about 45 minutes with stops for pictures and short breaks.
Hiking Spooky Gulch Canyon
From Peek-a-boo we continued along the trail until we reached the entrance to Spooky Gulch. Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to hike Spooky as I am a little claustrophobic. Let me assure you, however, that you can see the sky basically at all times. That was what was important for me as it gave me the feeling of having access to fresh air. Nonetheless, Spooky is much more difficult and narrow than Peek-a-boo. The walls of the canyon are taller and it is much darker inside. Occasionally, you will need to go sideways to get through the slots. The canyon gets pretty tight in spots, no wider than 10 inches. I am pretty small (XS size of clothes) and had to walk sideways a few times with my backpack off my back. In addition to the narrow sections, there is one spot where you need to use a rope to get down. The rope is already there, so use the hand loops to help you come down. I had my husband help me as my legs seemed too short to reach the ground. The hike through the canyon took us again about 40 minutes.
Hiking back
This time, we hiked back through the Dry Fork Narrows for the needed shade. It was definitely needed as we were there in the middle of the summer.
To avoid the hottest part of the day, we started the hike for the slot canyons around 6:45 and were back at the parking lot around 10:30.
Overall Impressions
Hiking slot canyons in Escalante National Monument was the highlight of my 7 week long road trip across the Western United States. It was, in fact, one of the most amazing outdoor experiences for me. There were moments while in Spooky Gulch that I felt like turning around but once I emerged from the canyon I was so glad I persevered. I am definitely hooked on slot canyons and will be planning trips to include them in the future.
