Capitol Reef National Park

Burro Wash Slot Canyon Hike, Capitol Reef National Park

By Tony on | From blazeofgloryoffroad.com

One of the advantages of going to Caineville for us is it's location in relation to some fantastic National Parks, State Parks and some other well known, and some not so well known areas of interest. The Burro Wash Trail in Capitol Reef National Park was within a half hour drive of our camp near Caineville so we decided to go check it out! As we read in a description of the trail, the first mile or two of the trail had been open to vehicles in the past. Some may like the additional 2 mile walk through the sand, but we did not. It was a long trudge through the sand in the hot sun and our kids were ready to turn back before we even reached the park. Fortunately, we did not turn back, but continued on to one of the narrowest slot canyons I've seen. The canyon starts in a wide wash with red slickrock/sandy bottom and an occasional pool of water, then narrows into a blackish slot canyon that leads to a tight water filled slot with a precarious climb to get out. The directions we had said to turn back here(for our skill level and preparation), so we went another 100 yards past this to see the canyon get less interesting and then hiked back down the canyon. The 8 to 9 mile round trip was a stretch for our kids, but doable nonetheless. I'm not sure why the first 2 miles was closed to vehicles, but this would have made it possible for us to venture further into the canyon. It's a fun half day hike and worth the trip. We were able to do the hike in the morning and be back to our swing arm city camp for some dirt bike riding in the afternoon. Here's some pictures as well as a bit of video footage from our experience. I'll be posting up some footage of our second hike(Ding and Dang Canyons) later as well as the fun we had riding.

Burro Wash is located 7.8 miles south of Hwy 24 on the Notom-Bullfrog Road. As you proceed up the wash (west), always take the left branch at wash junctions. There are a number of trails that intersect the wash that will take off some distance, but make sure to keep an eye on the wash as some lead away from it. Approximately 2 miles in from the Notom-Bullfrog Road, the canyon begins to narrow as it cuts into the Navajo Sandstone. Below is a map showing the location of the trailhead(green arrow) at 38.181191, -111.094173 on the gps. There is a gate as you enter Capitol Reef, but you will not have to pay to get in.