One of the best reasons to travel is the opportunity to see nature in a completely different setting. And hiking in a slot canyon is a special treat.
Kanab is a Southern Utah city that conjures up scenes from the Wild West. Its rugged natural beauty can easily be imagined just by its name, “place of the willows,” the Native American meaning of Kanab in Pauite. From sage green desert brush to vivid red sandstone cliffs nestled under striking blue skies, it’s a photographer’s dream. It’s also a very different world than life on the East Coast.
The visit to Kanab was part of a Spring break trip out West I took with my older son in mid-March. He wanted to hike in Zion in Utah and another park in Nevada. From my research, Zion looked like it would be a truly memorable place to hike, and there were also great slot canyons nearby. Why not do both? A friend, who had previously been to Zion, mentioned a wonderful AirBnB not far away in a town called Kanab. She said the backyard of the home was stunning. It looked out onto the desert and they had two very interesting pets in their yard.
A Tale of Two Rescue Burros
With that intriguing introduction, I booked us a night at Burro Flats High Desert Lodge. In the backyard, we met these two furry friends. Donny and Chocolate Bear make a nice contrast to the local color. Although they were resting comfortably in this shot, they ambled over to the fence when we arrived at night. These two rescue burros were adopted by the owners from the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in town.
We had a great stay and really enjoyed our room with two comfortable beds. It was decorated with lots of great touches including these Wild West movie props. Clearly, they are a reminder that Kanab is well known for its history and popularity as a location for filming. Beginning in the 1920s, well-known stars and crews from big name Hollywood studios arrived. Over the years, they filmed over 180 movies and television series including The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Lassie, F Troop, and Westworld.
Great Restaurants in Kanab
The Kanab Visitors Center on Highway 89 has a wonderful staff and free maps, directions and displays about the geology of the area. They can also point you towards different places to eat. Some of these include:
- Kanab Creek Bakery is wonderful, especially for breakfast. They feature European-style baked goods with imported flour from Belgium which is where the owner is from originally. If you like crusty baguettes and flaky croissants, you will love this place.
- Houston’s Trails End serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They have a great Western ambiance. The waitresses wear holsters and serve delicious classics like chicken fried chicken and chicken fried steak.
- Escobar’s Mexican Restaurant is the perfect place for a delicious meal after a day
of activity. It’s a family-owned restaurant that is both friendly and fun. The food is authentic Mexican and comes in generous portions. The homemade salsa is wonderful.
What is a Slot Canyon?
Slot canyons are fascinating and beautiful to visit. They are narrow sandstone and limestone canyons formed by the erosion from water rushing over rocks for millions of years. Vegetation can grow on the walls and you may even see crevices filled with snow and ice in the winter. In many places, only one person at a time can fit through the path. When sunlight peeks through the carved slot walls, you can get incredibly stunning photos.
How to Get to Peek-a-Boo Canyon
To find most of the slot canyons, you will need a four-wheel drive vehicle and an experienced guide. They are usually located down a rocky path off the main road. We booked an AirBnB experience with a wonderful company called Coral Cliffs Tours of Kanab. Our guide, Julie, met us at our lodging and drove us in her jeep. Julie and her family are locals so she knew this slot canyon well, and the area’s history and geology. The weather was still cool in mid-March and no one else booked a tour that day. We were particularly lucky and ended up with a private tour.
What’s So Special About Peek-a-Boo Canyon?
Located in the Dry Fork area of the Grand-Escalante region, this particular slot canyon is a great place for a first-time visitor. The trail is short and not particularly difficult to hike. No rappeling or special equipment is needed. Peek-a-Boo Canyon does require visitors to scramble over boulders or fallen trees in some spots. The canyon can be combined with a hike in Spooky Gulch resulting in a
Tips for Visiting a Slot Canyon
Our guide told us to dress appropriately because the narrow canyons are often cooler than the surrounding area. Good footwear is very important because the trails are often rocky and at times, slippery. I had new hiking boots and I was really glad.
Even though it was a beautiful sunny day, Julie told us that she had checked the weather beforehand. This is particularly important because flash floods can produce dangerous conditions in an instant. A fast-moving wall of water in a slot canyon can be deadly.
What is a Hoodoo ?
Outdoor Adventures Near Kanab
I really wish we had planned more time in the area because there is so much to see and do near Kanab. There are seven state parks in Southern Utah including Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Edge of the Cedars State Park, Goblin Valley State Park, Goosenecks State Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, Snow Canyon State Park, and Kodachrome Basin State Park. In addition to Zion, the other four national parks include Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Capitol Reef National Park. I also wanted to visit another well-known slot canyon. Antelope Canyon is very popular with tourists, especially for selfies and Instagram shots. Just one more reason to return to the area in the future.
Photo courtesy Tyler Cornell – KCOT
How to Get to Kanab, Utah
Kanab is about 200 miles from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. We rented a car and made it in a little less than 3 1/2 hours. Smaller airports, within about 55 miles, include St. George Municipal Airport and Cedar City Regional Airport, both in Utah.
This is such a great guide and explainer about an area I’d never heard of and put a name on formations I’d seen but didn’t know what they were called. Thanks so much for the great suggestion!
Thanks. It’s a wonderful place to visit and photograph.