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Hike Buckskin Gulch

This famous slot canyon hike in Utah and Arizona delivers broad views of the Colorado Plateau

by: Eric Hansen

Buckskin Gulch is chock full of solitude in early winter and typically dry, although you still need to follow standard precautions for a slot canyon hike. With a good forecast, day hike east five miles from the House Rock Valley Road, first following the Wire Pass drainage and then going deep within the beautiful, flash-flood-carved, walls of Buckskin Gulch. Retrace your steps to the road and scoot south, a little more than a mile, to the Arizona border. There, backpack four miles southwest, following the Arizona Trail as it switchbacks up to the Kaibab Plateau. Don't forget to take in the sweeping views across Buckskin's slickrock plateau to Navajo Mountain.

Contact Information

Bureau of Land Management: (435) 644-4600, www.az.blm.gov/paria/

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