Due to COVID-19, Antelope Canyon is closed, so we were looking at alternatives when we came across Wire Pass Canyon. The drive from Springdale, UT was about two hours but definitely worth it. Are there closer alternatives like Peek-A-Boo Canyon? Yes, but they also require 4 wheel drive to get to them which is something we didn’t have.
Along the way, you will end up on a dirt road that is around 8.5 miles long to the Wire Pass Canyon trailhead. This is also the same trailhead that hikers start the route to the Wave Trail, which you have to enter a lottery to win one of the 20 permits available per day. There are toilets at the trailhead but no visitor center. There is a wooden box to fill out with your fee of $6 per hiker. You will have to put the paper on your dashboard and on our way out, there was a ranger checking dashboards of cars to be sure they paid.
Wire Pass Canyon Trail
Once you get started, you are on a flat dirt road for about a mile, although it did seem longer to me. As you get closer, the red cliffs gradually get higher.
Once you get to the canyon, you have two choices, either climb up the side before the canyon and you have to navigate down the canyon. or climb down the side of an 8 foot drop. I’m terrified of heights, but it wasn’t actually that bad, but I can see how some can’t do it. I watched the man before me go down and it is quite tricky, but you should go down belly down to make it easier. The man in front of me helped guide my foot to catch myself and then I did the same for Danny. In the past, there was a ladder from what I’ve read, but there was not one.
There are two slot canyons. One is shorter, but the second is deeper and it does get quite narrow at points. You can keep going until you get to the Buckskin Gulch, which is what we did and then turned around. Getting out of the canyon was also difficult with the 8 foot climb back up.
Driving Through Kanab, UT
On our way back to Springdale, we made a stop at the Moqui Caverns. Don’t confuse Moqui Caverns with the museum, Moqui Cave. There is parking on the opposite side of the road and it’s easy to find between the turn off for Best Friend’s Animal Sanctuary and the museum, Moqui Cave. Getting up to the caves is tricky and I would not recommend trying it in flip flops. It is harder than it looks.
Our last stop for the day was the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. You pay a small entrance fee, and you can go in and explore. The visitors center also has sand boards available to rent. We took some photos, walked out into the dunes a bit but quickly turned around as we saw others struggling with the hills. If we come back to visit, we will definitely do the ATV tour.
