Hello fellow wanderers!
Have you been fortunate enough to hike and explore any of Utah's slot canyons? This was a bucket list item for us and it did not disappoint! We were fortunate enough to RV and stay in Duck Creek Village for a few weeks last September into October and we took full advantage of that location. We hiked Bryce Canyon (videos on YouTube), we visited Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park (also on YouTube) and we hiked a few slot canyons. Bull Valley Gorge Slot Canyon is our favorite (also on YouTube) but Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch are a very close second! These canyons are amazing. The depth of them, coloring in the landscape and the history. There is so much to take in while exploring these canyons.
The route we took started at the Wire Pass Trail Head. This trail takes you through a wash until you get to the entrance of the canyon. As you proceed into the canyon, you will come up to a complete drop off with no way down and the day that we were there, someone had tried to make their way down this 8'-10' drop and fell and we heard they cracked their skull. So please, when you get to this point, turn around and go back out to the wash. To the right of Wire Pass's entry, there are rock cairns that you can follow that take you straight up and over and then you drop down a sleep slope back into Wire Pass Canyon. Head back to the left and finish exploring that part of Wire Pass before proceeding to the right which takes you out to Buckskin Gulch. When you reach the confluence (intersection) of Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch, stop and take it all in. There are 800 year old petroglyphs on the walls in the confluence.
Wire Pass basically dead ends at Buckskin Gulch and you can take a right or left into Buckskin. We started out on the right and hiked in a ways (about a mile) and then turned around and hiked back through the confluence into the other side of Buckskin.
Buckskin Gulch is a total of 13 miles long and is considered the deepest and longest slot canyon in the Southwestern United States.
Wire Pass is a total of 3.7 miles round trip if you do not enter into Buckskin Gulch. We hiked a total of 6 miles after exploring about a mile of Buckskin on each side of the confluence. We will be back to finish exploring Buckskin Gulch in its entirety!
There is a day use permit that is required at the Wire Pass Trail Head. We were able to fill it out on site and left $6 cash in an envelope. I also believe you can register and pay on Recreation.gov but we have not done this for this trail.
We had great weather at the end of September 2020. Take lots of water and snacks. Wear good shoes while exploring these canyons and know your bearings. We always download trail maps prior to heading out.
As always, if you have any questions or would like more information about our hike, please leave us a comment of send us an email. Please watch our video on YouTube, like and share and don't forget to subscribe!
We truly appreciate you all wandering off with us!
Chris and Brandi
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