Buckskin Gulch, Slot Canyon

Duration: 8 Hours

Difficulty (1-10): 6

Departure Times: Year-round: 8am  (6am in the hotter months)

Recommended Abilities: This tour entails substantial amounts of hiking (5 miles minimum) but it is mostly on flat albeit uneven ground.

Permit Required: No special permit is required for this tour.

*Tour Prices include all sales taxes & base guide gratuities.

Description

Buckskin Gulch is the grand daddy of all slot canyons – we’ll guide you into the belly of the earth. 

If you are interested in slot canyons, chances are that you recognize the name Buckskin Gulch.  You’ll frequently hear desert adventurers talk about Buckskin Gulch in hushed voices, awed by the enormousness that it entails.  Buckskin Gulch bisects the western part of the Paria Plateau and the Vermilion Cliffs, creating a formidable obstacle for any cross-country traveler — in fact it is one of the reasons that it takes us so long to reach White Pocket from Kanab.

Buckskin Gulch via Wire Pass

Enter into Buckskin Gulch from its most accessible entrance at Wire Pass, and you’ll soon find yourself in a shaded, climate-controlled gorge with towering sandstone walls soaring around you.  The length of the Buckskin narrows runs uninterrupted for 14 miles, but you don’t have to hike quite that far to get a taste of what Buckskin is all about.

On this Buckskin Out-and-Back adventure, we’ll lead you into the belly of the earth via Wire Pass.  The approach to Wire Pass and Buckskin is just under 2 miles in length.  Once we reach Buckskin, we’ll explore as far downstream as you’d like before we retrace our steps and return to the trailhead at Wire Pass.  Given the mandatory 2 mile approach which we have to cover both ways, be prepared to hike a minimum of 5 miles on this tour.  The terrain is mostly flat but with uneven footing. Depending on the energy and interest level of the group, we can hike up to 8-10 miles on this tour.

About Buckskin Gulch

It’s deep. It’s dark.  And it’s considered one of the most dangerous hikes in the US because of the risk of flash floods.  Buckskin Gulch exists thanks to millions of powerful flash floods that have carved deeply into the soft sandstone. Seeing the evidence of these floods in Buckskin is both humbling and enthralling; encountering a live flash flood while at the bottom of Buckskin could very well be fatal.  As such, we only access Buckskin Gulch on days when there is no risk of flooding, which is why you won’t find this tour on the schedule during monsoon season from late June to late August.

Why Hire a Guide for Buckskin Gulch?

You don’t need a guide to access Buckskin Gulch via Wire Pass.  During normal conditions, the dirt road to the trailhead is typically passable for regular passenger cars.  Day-hiking permits for Buckskin Gulch are easy to obtain at the trailhead.  So why hire a guide?

We find that many of our guests appreciate both the peace of mind, and the added educational element that a guided trip into Buckskin Gulch brings. Head out with one of our guides and they’ll help you get the most out your adventure, bringing the hike to life with insight about the history and the geology of the area that you wouldn’t typically find out on your own.  All of our guides are naturalist interpretive guides as well as first-aid providers, and they know how to assess flash flood risk in the region so that you can enjoy a worry-free day in this remote area.  Let us do the work: after all, this is your time off.

FAQ´s

1. What is included on your tours?

Daytours include pickup and dropoff from local hotels, off-road transportation, natural history narration, guided hiking, photo advice, snacks, water, and lunch on tours of 6 hours or more. Our multi-day tours include all of this plus camping equipment, camp management, three excellent meals, stargazing, sunsets and sunrises for the photographer, and lots more time outside.

2. What kind of vehicles do we tour in? Do you offer ATV/Jeep Tours?

All of our tours are run in Chevrolet Suburbans or Crew Cab Silverados for comfort and safety. We do not offer ATV or Jeep Tours.

3. How soon should we book?

This depends on several factors, but our best advice is to book as soon as you finalize your plans. We do fill up, and if you have a limited window of opportunity, you may miss out. The smaller your availability window and the tighter your schedule, the earlier you need to book in order to ensure availability. The larger your group, especially if it involves more than one of our trucks (>7 passengers), the earlier you need to book.