1. San Rafael Swell Utah Blm
2. San Rafael Swell Utah Camping
3. San Rafael Swell Slot Canyons

San Rafael Swell Utah Blm

1. The San Rafael Swell is full of petroglyphs, but there’s an unusually large number hidden away in Three Fingers Canyon. There are several different ways to approach this ride, but almost all will carry you from the lower terrain at the base up onto the Swell itself.
2. San Rafael Swell Overview Little Wild Horse is a classic slot canyon located in south-central Utah, near Goblin Valley. It is a popular hiking spot for families and youth groups.

Mar 23, 2017  Excellent half-day loop hike, video has route diagram. A family friendly non-technical canyon hike through Little Wild Horse canyon near Goblin Valley, San Rafael Reef, Utah.

×Probably the best slot canyon system in the whole of the San Rafael Swell is found not through the upturned cliffs of the reef, but winding across open grasslands in the south central region, a place known as Sinbad Country. Here, the upper end of Chute Canyon and its Baptist Draw tributary cut deep into Cedar Mesa sandstone, forming long stretches of twisting, very narrow passages through colorful, nicely patterned rock, equal in beauty and extent to the Navajo canyons of Page. Like some of these Lake Powell slots, upper Chute has dryfalls, pools, logjams and various points that require ropes to pass, but the majority of the narrows can be descended without any equipment though this is still a demanding canyon to explore, and one where the conditions can change dramatically after floods.

Location

The canyons are reached from an eastwards side track along the main road to Tomsich Butte/Hidden Splendor Mine, 4 miles south of the junction with the road to Reds Canyon. The track was little used until a few years ago when the canyons first became publicized, and remains rather bumpy and narrow for much of its course across open prairie, passing no particular landmarks until the grassy plateau begins to break up into a series of valleys, when distant cliffs and canyons come into view. The track may be suitable only for 4WD if particularly muddy, and always has one steep, rocky spot that may stop some vehicles even if dry, though this occurs quite near to the end, just after crossing a neck of land between the ends of two shallow canyons, so cars could be parked here. Just after this point, the track forks, with the left branch soon splitting into various lesser tracks, all ending in bushy land near the plateau rim, beyond which the land falls away above upper Chute Canyon. There is no shortage of nice campsites along the latter part of the approach road.

Photographs:

8 views of Baptist Draw, 14 views of Upper Chute Canyon.

Map

TopoQuest topographic map of Baptist Draw and Upper Chute Canyon; the approach track is shown as ending at point 6739T, but it continues a little further northeast along the plateau.

Description

The approach tracks lead to the edge of a flat promontory, the north rim of which overlooks the curving canyons of Chute and Baptist Draw, and is high enough to afford views of more distant hills and ridges in the north and east. The route to Baptist starts from anywhere near the far northeast corner of the promontory - down the steep, ledgy hillside into a side drainage, across this and round the right edge of a beehive-shaped rock then down into the small canyon beyond, which is Baptist Draw just before its slot section. Turning downstream, nice narrows start right away, soon becoming quite dark in places, with gloomy, blackish rocks rising above and a few chokestones wedged between the walls. It has a wide section after 10 minutes walking then constricts again and in wet weather contains at least two pools, one of which might have a log to assist in climbing down but would be harder to pass if not. Soon after is another wide part with an entry/exit route on each side, then more dark passages, now deeper, and finally a 5 meter drop that may be free climbable though rappelling is preferred, followed soon after by a drop of over 20 meters as Baptist Draw joins upper Chute Canyon.

San Rafael Swell Utah Camping

San Rafael Swell Slot Canyons

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