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Wonderful series of beautiful slot canyons. They get better the further you go. Believe there were a total of five slot canyons. Once I completed the last slot canyon, turned around and enjoyed the slot canyons a second time. Was a amazingly beautiful hike.
The hike is along a flat river bed. There are comments about the likelihood of getting your feet wet. I hiked in mid-July, and was able to jump or cross the steam stepping on rocks, so came out with relatively dry feet. However getting your feet wet would not be a problem.
There is a section about a mile in where there is a small waterfall. It appears the trail goes along a narrow ledge on the east side. However, there is a safer alternate rout on the west side. It's shaped like and upside down "V". Walk along a path heading up the hillside. Then at about 25-30 feet the path will then go downhill and take you to the creek bed again. There is a rock cairn were the trail reaches the creek bed. The rest of the hike an easy and wonderful. Each of the successive slot canyons had its own special character.
When I hiked it the July temperature was probably in the high 70/low 80s. Because your mostly in the shade, did not notice it. But would not do the hike if the temperature was very hot. Regardless, bring plenty of water. Initially were a lot of people, but after about a mile most people had turned around. After the first mile did not see another person until met a couple on my way back.
Now for the big issue. Driving Skutumpah Road to the trailhead. The road is a rutted and bumpy. There is some sand in some places, which may cause your car to slide a bit. The road is wide and reasonably maintained. However, there are some major hills. One in particular about a mile and a half from the start of the road, which is a bit of a challenge getting over.
A 4x4 or vehicle with a high suspension will not have a problem. I drove a Ford Ranger truck there with no major difficulty. Saw a sedan with not that high of a suspension make it. I do believe a sedan with a reasonably high suspension will make it, despite the ruts, bumps and rocks. Would not recommend the road for a vehicle with a new paint.
But despite the difficulty getting there, this is a great easy hike, and very...
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This trail was so much fun!
Tl;DR: Dirt road to get there, nice intro to slot canyons, super flat and goes for a while. Would be a great one for kids to play along the way.
How to get there: the road is a dirt path for about 3 miles. It was freshly graded when we went so it wasn't bad at all. However we were definitely grateful we had a 4x4 suv for many of the parts. I don't think a 2 wheel drive could have made some of the climbs.
The parking: big parking lot, plenty of room for cars. There is a trail map and sign in book.
The trail: the info on the sign at the parking lot said the hike was 2.2 miles. If you keeping following Willis creek it can go much longer than that. The trail begins just across the road from the parking lot. You just follow the creek down so it's not difficult to find. Once on the trail it's amazing. Tons of variety from slot canyons to bigger open views and back to slots. There was not a lot of water when we went so we could easily avoid getting wet. I imagine that in the spring this would be much more difficult if not impossible with more water. There wasn't many people on the trail and it was so peaceful!
I'm sure there was and elevation drop during the hike with the water flowing downhill but it was so gradual that it felt flat the entire time so it wasn't strenuous at all.
For kids: kids would love this hike. From little caves to climb and hid in to the running water that you follow it is sure to have plenty for your little explorers! We can't wait to bring our kids.
The slot canyons were beautiful but not like some of the others options. This would be a great beginner hike or introduction to...
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WOW, what a great experiance. Worth the uncomfortable drive along a dirt washboard road for sure. It's an easy BLM road to follow, but as always with a lot of slot canyon trails and anything where you have to drive over a dirt trail check the weather. Once there the trail is easily marked and you literaly walk straight into the slot caynyon, the stream can be fast our slow depending on the weather, when we where there we didn't need water shoes and could easily step and jump over the water when we had to o. The total length of the trail is 3 miles if I remember correctly, yet the slot canyon kinda ends when you get to a large rock. You could turn around here and not feel like you would have missed anything. The slot canyons are the gem on this trail, think narrrows in Zion but smaller, still great photo chances for sure. The water looks clear and clean, but just be aware this water goes through cattle land, we saw some people standing under one of the small water falls. If you do decide to do this close your mouth....LOL Plan around 2 hours for the hike and that included lots of phototaking and about 20 mins to drive along...
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