Spooky Slot Canyon Hike

Spooky Slot Canyon Trail Description Begin the hike by walking to the other end of the parking area, signing in, and then beginning the slickrock descent toward the canyon. If you’re not comfortable with a few steepish walks on slickrock, you may want to skip this one entirely. On most Southern Utah bucket lists, you’ll find the local favorite one-two punch of Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Slot Canyons. These magnificent hikes, located in the Dry Fork area of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument area, can be done individually, but they make for a killer loop you can tackle in one afternoon of adventure. Peekaboo and Spooky are the quintessential first slot canyon experience for many. Relatively easy access, incredible slots, and a short day make this a hike to bring the family on. These canyons are popular for good reason. The story goes the canyons received their names by a school group visiting from the town of Escalante around Halloween one. As with most slot canyons hereabouts, the gulch becomes shallow after a while and the slot gives way to a wide, open, sandy streamway which continues for several miles across gently sloping land towards a distant plateau, en route forming two other short slots; an alternative way to reach the narrows is by hiking downstream from the far north.

Spooky Slot Canyon Hike Pass

One of our favorite adventures of all time. This one is quite out of the way, but the effort is rewarded with the COOLEST hike in one of the more remote areas of the country.

TAKING A DETOUR

After we left Valley of Fire State Park just outside of Las Vegas, we drove for a full day in order to get to Escalante. Since we only had a few days to explore, we wanted to be sure we had plenty of time in Escalante. We ended up driving through Zion National Park and past Bryce Canyon National Park, but not stopping in either place. Don’t worry, we’ve been to both places before and will go again! This time it was about getting to Escalante and having our next adventure.

GETTING THERE:

HOLE IN THE ROCK ROAD

Arriving in Escalante (the nearest town), we drove 26 miles down one of the most washboarded roads we’ve ever been on. It didn’t help that our shocks were in severe need of replacing (we replaced them here), so it was a bumpy ride. Pyros probably thought the van was shaking apart for 26 miles, but it was well worth it.

Tip: pressuring down your tires helps tremendously on rough roads like this. We aired down to 25psi. There is a tire shop in town that let us air back up. If they are closed or busy, the gas station out front has a coin op air compressor.

Aside from the long drive over rough road, Hole in the Rock Road is home to some amazing landscapes, filled with slot canyons and hikes galore. It cuts through part of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. There is some fantastic free camping right at the beginning of the road, too, which makes for a great base camp while you explore the area. Here’s where you can find that camping.

Hole in the Rock from Escalante Utah to Peek-a-boo Gulch Parking Area.

IS HOLE IN THE ROCK A 4X4 ROAD?

Eventually, yes… but the trailhead you are headed to isn’t.

BUT!!…

The road in is INCREDIBLY rough. It’s a VERY washboarded road. If you are looking for a nice, leisurely drive, this isn’t it. There’s no hazard, really, of getting stuck or anything, but it’s just simply rough.

AND…

The one mile stretch of road from the Peek-a-boo Gulch Parking Area to the Dry Fork Trailhead where the actual hiking trail starts is borderline 4×4 required.

Our Recommendation: Park at the Peek-a-boo gulch parking area and walk up the road to the Dry Fork Trailhead unless you are driving at LEAST:

• 4×4 Truck (stock height is likely fine)
• 2 wheel drive Truck (if it’s got a mild lift with, perhaps at least 31″ tires

High Top 4×4 Sprinter/Transit/Promaster? Probably park and walk. The trail is SUPER off-camber and the roll-over hazard isn’t particularly high, but will be unsettling for someone un-experienced-untrained with off road travel. Also, there is a pretty sizeable ledge that will give most vans issue when coming down in regards to departure angle.

HIKING PEEK-A-BOO & SPOOKY GULCH SLOT CANYONS

Spooky Slot Canyon Hike California

Hiking Peek-a-Boo and Spooky slot canyons is basically a loop between the two canyons. You come to Peek-a-Boo first, hike up that canyon, and then take a short trail that connects to the top of Spooky to hike down that canyon. Once you reach the bottom of Spooky, a trail then takes you back up to the entrance.

However, if you want to add a bit to your adventure, you can simply turn around and reverse the trail when you get to the bottom of Spooky. With plenty of daylight left, we opted to do this. We certainly weren’t ready to call it quits yet!

GPS BASED TRAIL MAPS: VIEW ON GAIA – VIEW ON ALLTRAILS

PEEK-A-BOOK OR SPOOKY FIRST?

Coming the reverse way (going up Spooky and then down Peek-a-boo) posed different challenges. There is a large chalkstone in the middle of Spooky Canyon which you downclimb if you are coming down from the top. Going reverse and coming up the canyon, you must scramble up the obstacle instead. It isn’t a tough scramble, but definitely a difference in the reverse direction!

While we both enjoyed going through Peek-a-Boo and Spooky slot canyons in both directions, it was interesting that Nate prefered going up both of them, while I prefered going up Peek-a-Book and down Spooky. Either way, we had a blast and still can’t wait to do it again.

Spooky Slot Canyon Hike Trails

PEEK-A-BOO AND SPOOKY GULCH PICTURES

The textures of the walls are our favorite part of the canyons. There is nowhere else we’ve been where you can find these kinds of lights and shadows.

Although this canyon doesn’t require any technical rope skills, there are a few spots where some mildly exposed scrambling is necessary. The canyons DO get pretty tight, but are passable.

The light in these canyons are a photographers dream. Unlike Antelope Canyon, this canyon is free to enter with no tour-guide necessary.

Spooky Slot Canyon Hike South Rim

As you make the short hike from one canyon to the next, keep an eye out for lizards.

Slot Canyon California

EXPERIENCING SLOT CANYONS

The first time we ever hiked slot canyons were in these two canyons. I had felt an awe that pushed me forward, almost unable to take in everything for want of seeing what was around the next corner.

I remembered that feeling as I climbed the first wall into Peek-a-Boo, and the sandstone felt familiar on my hands. The grippy sandstone made it simple to scale up that first wall, and I turned to grab packs from Nate while he climbed up behind me. From there, we took our time exploring and taking in the beauty surrounding us as we made our way through both canyons.