Zebra Slot Canyon Dogs Allowed
Zebra Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
I am hoping to visit Zebra Slot Canyon next week. Do you have any suggestions for best times to photograph the slot? I had thought that mid-day would be best since it's a slot canyon, but I'm worried that there would be too much direct light then. The Zebra Slot Canyon gets very narrow in parts, so it does take some skill to climb thru and navigate the slot. If you are interested in making the hike a little longer and seeing another interesting slot canyon, you can hike thru Zebra Slot and the loop around to the Tunnel Slot Canyon. However, you should be aware that the Tunnel Slot Canyon. Zebra slot canyon is one of many hikes to be found along southern Utah’s Hole-in-the-Rock Road, where many sandstone canyons feed the west side of the Escalante River. As always when exploring slot canyons, it’s important to be mindful of local rainfall. Grand Staircase-Escalante’s summer heat is no joke, either.
The nearly 6-mile round-trip hike to this beautiful yet short striated slot canyon is a route-finding journey. And discovering the opening to the slot, near the end of the hike, is just the beginning of the adventure.
On the cross-country hike in, don’t miss the tall, orange sandstone slopes off to the far left, featuring sweeping, layered patterns of bizarrely angled waves. This slope is best photographed up close, with a wide-angle lens, and it’s better to wait until the return hike, when it will be in afternoon shade.
Speaking of shade, there’s none along the way, so bring several liters of drinking water. And speaking of water, the entry to this slot canyon is often guarded with waist-deep cold water.
When you first enter the slot canyon, the slanting cliff walls meet underwater in an ankle-straining V-shaped junction of stone. It’s so narrow that you’ll need to hold your backpack overhead and shuffle through sideways. Remember, it’s not an adventure if it’s easy.
Once beyond the water, you continue by bracing yourself up and through the angular canyon walls, encountering the sensation that you’re navigating the anatomy of inner Earth. To reach the most photogenic sections, you’ll wriggle still deeper through the sculpted striations of this trance-inducing chamber. At some point, you’ll begin to notice dark Moqui marbles, spherical concretions of iron oxide, a surprise anomaly embedded in the striking sandstone. Ranging in size from tennis balls to ping pong balls, they’re the pictorial adornment to the already-extravagant slot canyon.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, this hike is for experienced route finders and agile scramblers only. If you’re new to this type of experience, then canyoneering terms like chimneying, stemming and manteling will begin to be part of your adventure lexicon.
[Excerpt from “Southwest Serenity,” published in Outdoor Photographer magazine, 2019 Special Issue.]
Zebra Slot Canyon Dogs For Sale
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. Once you’re in, all you have to do is walk through a scenic paradise of red and purple rock.
From the trailhead, get into Dry Fork Wash via moderate scrambling down some short cliffs and following cairns as needed. Once you’re off the cliff and into the sand dunes, you’ll hike along the creek wash until you see the mouth of Peek-a-Boo. There are hand and foot cut-outs in the rock to help you get up and into the canyon.
Once you leave Peek-a-Boo, keep hiking (longer than you think you should, most likely) until you come to a juniper tree, then follow the trail and cairns leading to the right and the entrance of Spooky Gulch. Scramble down a mellow rock face to get into the canyon. It soon tightens up, and you’ll be having a good time navigating the confines of this fun canyon. The loop generally takes about 3-4 hours depending on pace and skill level.