Buckskin Gulch – The Longest Slot Canyon In The World

On the warmest Saturday we spent in Utah, we hiked into the longest slot canyon in the world and fell into a tourist trap! Buckskin Gulch is roughly an hour from Kanab and relatively easy to access. The canyon is on the way to Page, Arizona, so we continued there to see Horseshoe Bend and stop for groceries and gas because they are so expensive in Kanab!

Wire Pass to Buckskin Gulch

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There are a few options to get to the gorgeous slot canyon. We opted to hike through Wire Pass. So, we drove down a bumpy dirt road to the trailhead. The Wire Pass trail is a flat wash that leads through a short slot canyon. There used to be climbing involved, but someone built a ladder over the rock, making it very accessible. Eventually, the pass meets Buckskin Gulch, the longest and one of the world’s deepest slot canyons.

Don’t make our mistake: There is a fee collection box for $6 per person at the trailhead. We did remember to grab cash on our way out of town but only had twenty-dollar bills. There was a park ranger checking permits for other trails that head out from the same parking lot, but he did not collect the money or offer change. We weren’t upset as the cash goes maintaining the land, but we should have brought smaller bills.

Once the trails converge, we found petroglyphs carved into the sandstone, unfortunately, alongside quite a bit of modern graffiti. There is the option to go left or right into Buckskin Gulch; we chose to go right. We meandered through narrow Buckskin Gulch for around 4 miles. At lunchtime, we plopped down on a couple of rocks in a sunny section, but it didn’t stay sunny for long as the sun passed over the canyon. We then turned around and went back the way we came. The way out was even more gorgeous than the way in as the afternoon light filtered through.

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It was beautiful, but we wished we would have done a mile or two less by the end.

Travel tip: By the time we exited the canyon in the early afternoon, many folks were entering. On the way in, we didn’t see much of anyone, but on the way out, we felt the need to keep our masks on the whole time. Our advice would be to come early in the morning and leave by noon, the lighting is good before midday, and you would be able to avoid the crowds.

Horseshoe Bend

After exiting Wire Pass, we headed to Page, Arizona, to try getting to Horseshoe Bend for the second time. It costs $10 to get in, which we didn’t mind. However, there isn’t anything to do other than make the easy 10-minute walk to see the feature, which is pretty but packed! It wasn’t what we expected and is a tourist attraction rather than a hike off the beaten path. We grabbed our picture and got out of there fast!

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