On May 4 we made this hike into a 3.4 mile out and back, from the trail head on House Rock Valley Road to the narrows of the slot canyon. Our dog Carson was happy to hike with us off leash, one of the advantages of hiking in remote areas of the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument. The trail does connect with the Buckskin Gulch system, so you can certainly make a longer hike out of it. The hike follows a wash for about a mile before you enter the narrows. We walked through the narrows until we came to a large bolder with a 10 foot drop. At that point we turned around, hiked back out of the canyon and found a trail going up and and around the narrows, at which point we entered the canyon again from the other end, hiking back to the bolder. While in the canyon, I broke out the camera and tripod to see what I could do with the sculpted sandstone. The light and shadows and vertical sandstone walls give this canyon an other-worldly experience. Two-wheel drive with high clearance is recommended and we had no problem driving the road in with our Subaru Forester. The road was dry. Wet weather might be another matter so check with the BLM office regarding road conditions.
More photos here and a map and track of our walk here
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