Slot Canyon Albuquerque

• We had the canyon all to ourselves and didn’t see another soul the entire weekend. This was the first time I’d ever seen a slot canyon and was instantly smitten by its beauty. I marveled at the logs that were wedged between the walls of the canyon, hinting at the depth of a flash flood that put the logs there.
• Starting with arguably the most popular slot canyon, Antelope Canyon is actually divided into two: Upper and Lower. Both areas feature the gorgeous curvy walls that beckon visitors from all over the world but you’ll find the tourist traffic significantly less in Lower Antelope Canyon.
• Definitive guide to slot canyons and other narrow ravines of Arizona, California and Utah, mostly on the Colorado Plateau - route descriptions, access details, campsites, maps and photographs, for over 120 slot canyons.

Other slot canyons we’ve hiked: Wire Pass Trail – Slot Canyon Hiking! 05/22/14; Goblin Valley, UT – Where the Ghosts Are 10/16/07; Other Stories from our RV Travels in New Mexico. Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, New Mexico – A Dog’s Eye View! 11/30/18; Valles Caldera National Preserve & a Spring Blizzard in New Mexico! There are 2 hiking trails here: Slot Canyon Trail (3-miles round trip) and Cave Loop Trail (1.2-miles). I recommend you do Slot Canyon Trail first. It starts with a flat trail and turns to steep and require climbing at the last part of the trail. This path is popular, and despite its above average difficulty, most people managed to get to the top.

×Buckskin Gulch is the longest and deepest slot canyon in the Southwest, and while others are narrower, prettier or more challenging to explore, the length and variety of the terrain in the gulch make it the best overall. The canyon is narrow for 12 miles; the cliffs become steadily higher downstream, reaching a height of 500 feet above the streambed at the end, where Buckskin Gulch meets the Paria River which also flows through a deep canyon for several miles either side of the confluence.
The walls of both canyons are rather dark, and the great depth means that the sun rarely illuminates the narrow passages fully, and Buckskin lacks the pretty patterns of light and color as are found in, for example, Water Holes Canyon. Still, the walls of the gulch do show the characteristic swirls and curves worn by countless millennia of floods, and they are eroded into innumerable eerie rock formations which, given a vivid imagination and the right kind of light, can resemble all kinds of distorted creatures and strange objects.

Map

Topographic map of Buckskin Gulch.

Location

Buckskin Gulch (named on some maps as Kaibab Gulch, or The Dive) is a tributary of the Paria River that drains an area around the Vermilion Cliffs in far south Utah and joins the Paria exactly at the Utah/Arizona border, 20 miles from Lees Ferry next to the Colorado River.
Three trailheads give access to the gulch; Middle, Wire Pass and Buckskin. The Middle Trail leads to the canyon about half way, but involves a 5 mile trip on bad roads and a climb down the cliff walls. The other two entry points are more popular, and are both reached along a reasonable quality dirt track - fine for 2WD cars - that heads due south from US 89 near milepost 26, 4 miles east of the turn off to the Paria ghost town. After 4.5 miles, a signpost points to the Buckskin Trailhead, where the gulch is unremarkable - wide and meandering, filled with soft sand, and remains similar in appearance for several miles downstream. Most people prefer the Wire Pass Trailhead, 4 miles further south since it affords quicker access to the deep, scenic parts of the canyon. Only about 2 miles of the narrows are by-passed, and the start of the route is along the Wire Pass side canyon that is also quite narrow and interesting.

Buckskin Gulch Trailheads

Again there is a signpost, with a carpark, self-pay fee point and a good area for free camping a short distance along a side-track opposite. This has nice views of the enclosing hills and the start of Wire Pass, with interesting cacti all around. There are also scattered specimens of petrified wood in various nearby locations, which have bands of the same colorful clayish soils (the Chinle Formation) that are found in the Petrified Forest National Park. The hills are part of the Coyote Buttes region - an extensive area of eroded sandstone cliffs and mounds which includes The Wave, an oft-photographed formation of curving rock layers framing a depression in the cliffs. Permits for The Wave are quite difficult to acquire, as the BLM allow only 20 people per day to visit.

Permit

Buckskin Gulch is popular, potentially hazardous and part of the Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, so there are several rules regarding access. A fee is required for all visits (see www.blm.gov) for details. Day use is $6 per person, camping an additional $5 per person; overnight trips must be booked in advance and are restricted to 20 people per night, though this limit is rarely reached.

Photographs

34 views of Buckskin Gulch.

Route

A more detailed trip report.

Route Description

The Gulch has some open, shallower sections, but averages less than 10 feet wide for most of its length. There are always some residual pools of water and mud; the extent depends on how recently the canyon has flooded. Occasionally swimming will be necessary but normally the pools are just 2-3 feet deep and a few yards long.
The water is permanently cold and muddy, and the canyon is certainly not a place to take expensive footwear. The walking surface is roughly half sand - sometimes hard and damp but mostly soft and dry - and half stones or boulders, so progress is more difficult than might be expected as the terrain is largely flat. There are some places where the floor drops a few feet but none of the sheer dryfalls found in some other slot canyons.

Slot Canyon Albuquerque New Mexico

All Contents © Copyright The American Southwest Comments and Questions Contribute Affiliate Marketing Disclosure Site Map

One of the truly classic hiking trails in the United States, let alone the world, Buckskin Gulch swerves through a subterranean paradise for the senses. Attempt this visually-arresting walk as a day trip, or walk the entire 20 miles over the course of four days.
Located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (near Kanab, Utah) and Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness (Arizona), Buckskin Gulch trails takes hikers through the veritable layer cake of the Colorado Plateau's geographical wonderment. It is the longest and deepest slot canyon in the Southwest and offers obstacles like rock jams, pools, quicksand, and the potential for flash floods. Yet a day hike option via Wire Pass Trail is moderately easy, and should be a must-do tour on any hiker's list.

Slot Canyon Albuquerque Nm

Note: there are multiple trailheads that provide access to Buckskin Gulch. Wire Pass Trailhead offers the most direct access for a day hike. This is not to be confused with the Buckskin Trailhead, which follows a wash for several miles before intersecting with Wire Pass Trail and then the confluence with the Paria River.