Red Breaks Slot Canyon Escalante Utah

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I was seriously thinking of doing a route at some point that would leave from the trailhead you are thinking of, head over to the sandslide where the old Harris Wash road descends to the river, head downstream to Harris Wash & then head up Harris Wash & around Red Breaks via a narrows/slot canyon that is just east of Tunnel Slot & then walking. Spooky Gulch is a short slot canyon hike in the Grand Staircase-Escalante area, located on the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, 26 miles south of the town of Escalante. Coyote Gulch; Located in the vast Grand Staircase-Escalante desert, Coyote Gulch is a winding, semi-narrow canyon that snakes its way down through incredible red rock.

×Harris Wash is a major Escalante tributary, and one that offers an easy route to the river - amongst the most popular hikes in the region, this 10 mile trip passes much fine red rock scenery without any obstructions, through a canyon that becomes deep but is never very narrow. Side canyons offer more of a challenge; the longest is Red Breaks which joins the wash close to its main trailhead and heads due north, cutting through various sandstone rock layers with colorful formations, a variety of erosional and water-carved features and with one extended narrows section that is quite testing to explore. This is a journey deep into the wilderness; the canyon is remote, quite pretty and offers total solitude.

Map

Topographic map of Red Breaks.

Location

The signposted side track to the Harris Wash trailhead joins the Hole-in-the-Rock road from the east at mile 11. It passes a small reservoir on the right then traverses a flat, open area towards a small mesa where the route divides. The left fork is required here; this becomes quite bumpy, descending steeply along a ridge and into a small ravine, with two dry streambed crossings that may prove difficult for 2WD vehicles. The final section is along flat land beside the wash, past a corral beneath a sloping sandstone cliff with a series of Moqui steps cut into the rock. Most people camp/park here though the road does continue half a mile more, through a soft sandy area prone to flooding, and ends at the banks of the wash, which is wide, stony and usually dry since at this point the waters flow only after recent rainfall. The Harris Wash hike involves simply walking downstream towards the Escalante River, while Red Breaks is reached by crossing the wash and walking along the course of an old track at the far side, which soon descends into the dry streambed at the lower end of the target canyon.

Photographs

5 views of Red Breaks.

Route Description

After a short distance the streambed becomes enclosed by reddish cliffs a few meters high but remains fairly wide and open, containing a lot of boulders, reeds, trees and bushes and occasional small dryfalls. The first major obstacle is encountered after 30 minutes walking - a vertical step of 20 feet, by-passed by climbing the walls on the east side. Several minor side canyons join the main ravine which cuts through various colorful layers of the Carmel formation, and has flat sections alternating with short eroded channels and pools as it erodes into the different strata.
The main narrows start after about one hour of hiking, where the wash enters the Navajo sandstone layer. The passageways are never very deep but are enclosed and quite interesting. The canyon here has frequent pools - usually just 1-2 feet deep - and several chokestones beyond which the canyon continues up to 10 feet higher up and so need careful climbing; in several places the chimneying technique is necessary. After the last such blockage, Red Breaks opens out and next are several shorter, less deep narrow channels separated by wider, sandy stretches. Travel through the narrows section can be avoided by scrambling up to a bench on the east side and walking along above the canyon.
Almost three miles from Harris Wash and after about 2 hours walking, the canyon divides - to the right, above a dryfall, is a narrowish passage that doesn't extend too far and is replaced by a shallow streambed that heads towards a butte on the horizon, across a wonderland of eroded rock domes and hoodoos. The main (left) fork soon ends in a pool and a 10 foot drop below a narrow passage; it is not possible to climb up here but beyond the canyon becomes deep and narrow once more, as can be seen by scrambling up the ridge between the two branches and traversing the slopes above.

Similar Canyons

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Roger and I spent last weekend enjoying the perfect Springtime weather by exploring some of the best places that Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has to offer. We left Salt Lake on Thursday evening for the five hour drive to Escalante in south central Utah where I had reserved a convenient campsite in Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. As we passed over Boulder Mountain on the drive south, we were treated to a spectacular sunset with views across Capitol Reef National Park.

Sunset on Boulder Mountain

Red Breaks Slot Canyon Escalante Utah Hotels

After a great breakfast, we broke camp on Friday morning and headed down Hole in the Rock Road with a backcountry permit and plans to explore Zebra and Tunnel slots canyons as well as find a place to camp for Friday night. Some trail guides make these canyons sound difficult to find, but there was a well established trail from a parking area along Hole in the Rock Road leading directly to Upper Harris Wash. Once in the main wash, there were enough footprints to make the location of Zebra Slot Canyon fairly obvious. Still, the GPS was useful to confirm we were heading up the right drainage from Harris Wash.

Roger exploring a dryfall and pothole.

Along the trail to Zebra Slot Canyon

The fun began as soon as we reached Zebra Slot Canyon. The canyon narrowed up and water presented itself immediately. Trail guides seem to indicate there is almost always water in the canyon, but recent thunderstorms meant that water levels we running on the high side. There were a few minor obstacles to crawl over which were only difficult because we were often in water over our waists, but overall this was a spectacular and easy canyon to explore.

Wading into Zebra Slot Canyon

Zebra Slot Canyon

Roger works his way through the canyon

Zebra Slot Canyon

Zebra Slot Canyon

Zebra Slot Canyon

After enjoying Zebra Slot Canyon, we walked down Harris Wash to find Tunnel Slot Canyon. This was another fantastic, short slot with lots of water to add to the fun. This canyon was deeper with the water being about chest high in one spot. After the main tunnel section, the canyon opens up a bit but remains beautiful and worth exploring. We finally turned around for the return trip back through the cold water of the tunnel before sunning and drying ourselves on the rocks and hiking back to the trail head.

Roger in Tunnel Slot Canyon

Tunnel Slot Canyon

Roger trying to avoid the deep water

Flowering yuccas in Harris Wash

After a fun day at Zebra and Tunnel slots, we headed off to the Harris Wash trailhead to find a place to camp for the night. We found a great spot about a half mile from the trailhead and enjoyed a great dinner and a walk along Harris Wash before calling it a day.

Awesome company for a fun adventure

Harris Wash

Camping near Harris Wash

We spent Saturday hiking from our camp near the Harris Wash through a portion of Red Breaks Canyon, another slot canyon that doesn't receive much in the way of hiker traffic. This canyon was much longer than either Zebra or Tunnel and presented many obstacles to overcome along the way. Some trail guides indicate this canyon is generally dry, but we found water throughout most of the canyon on this trip. Avoiding the water added another fun challenge to the hike.

Roger in Red Breaks Canyon

Red Breaks Canyon

Red Breaks Canyon

Red Breaks Slot Canyon Escalante Utah Restaurants

Red Breaks Canyon

A dryfall at the end of the main canyon

Red Breaks Slot Canyon Escalante Utah Pictures

We returned to camp for a nap after hiking through Red Breaks Canyon and back down along the canyon rim to Harris Wash. Although our campsite was great, there wasn't much shade and it was too hot and sunny to be hanging around camp. We decided to check out Devil's Playground a few miles south on Hole in the Rock Road and spend our last night camping back at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. We took the opportunity to hike the petrified wood trail within the park, my first time despite several trips to this park to camp.

Whipple's Fishhook

Cottonwood Trees are my favorites

Metate Arch at Devil's Playground

Red Breaks Slot Canyon Escalante Utah Map

Cowboy

Petrified wood

Red Breaks Slot Canyon Escalante Utah Campgrounds

Petrified wood

Red Breaks Slot Canyon Escalante Utah Weather

Sunset at Wide Hollow

On Sunday, before returning to Salt Lake, we did two must-do things in the Escalante area: breakfast and coffee at Kiva Koffeehouse and a short hike to Upper Calf Creek Falls. It was a great ending to a perfect weekend - thank you Roger!