Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Kanarraville Falls and Spring Creek Slot Canyon



It is hard to believe in a week’s time we had a temperature drop of almost 70° from the upper 80’s in Quartzsite to a very comfortable 60’s-70’s in Lake Mead to the chilly low 20’s in Kanarraville, Utah. The heat of Quartzsite is a welcome and distant memory. Although it is a bit chilly here we certainly prefer the cooler weather to the heat…..we are definitely not heat people.
Red Ledge RV Park & Campground is a nice little Passport America campground right in the heart of Kanarraville. I say little as we had a hard time fitting in, they were nice enough to allow us to take two spots along the edge (3 with the jeep and trailer). Laundry services, showers, free Wi-Fi and full hook-ups! We have not had full hook-ups in….(I really had to think about this one)…. almost 7 months!
Our site at Red Ledge
So what brings us to Kanarraville? Our #1 reason for stopping here was Kanarra Creek Hiking Trail – commonly referred to as Kanarraville Falls. This combined with a few other hiking trails and its proximity to the Kolob Canyon area of Zion National Park made this the perfect area for a layover on our way to Salt Lake.
Due to the rain and snow we had to put off our falls hike for the first two days. Instead we took a drive up Kolob Canyon during a snow storm.

You know you are in Zion when you start seeing the red roads!


 
Snow over the mountain
 
The first hike we ventured out on was the Spring Creek Canyon hike a really cool slot canyon hike just south of town. First, let me say that for a couple of people who spent the winter at sea level, this 5,000 - 6,000 elevation kicked our butts for the first hour or so. To get to the trailhead take Spring Creek Road to the east just south of town. This will lead you past the town ball field to a parking area.
Follow the trail for a mile and a half to the mouth of the slot canyon. The narrow walls, coloring of the walls combined with the green of the pines and white from the snow are really what made this hike! The main canyon goes for about a mile before it gets too narrow and overgrown to go any further. If you are really ambitious you can follow one of the several smaller slots that branch off but be prepared to do some scrambling over rocks and under trees. We apologize in advance for all the pictures but it was just so beautiful!

Headed down the trail

The entrance to the slots


Daisy in a little cave

A little scramble area


Daisy chill'in in the snow
 
Barb admiring the view

Looking up one of the side canyons

Barb ahead on the trail






 
Time to head back to the jeep!

Wow! Those were the words that kept coming out our mouths as we did the Kanarra Falls hike. The trailhead is right in town. We walked right from our campground but those passing through can pay $10 and park right at the trailhead. This 3.5 mile roundtrip hike (4.5 from the campground) rates as our second coolest hike ever! (Angel’s Landing is still #1).
The trail starts up a gravel road with a moderate grade eventually winding downhill where it meets the creek. From there the trail follows along, crisscrosses or is in the middle of the creek. I will tell you right now, it is impossible to do this hike without getting your feet wet. There were times we were hiking in water up to our knees, and it was none too warm! Don’t worry, your feet soon go numb and you can’t feel a thing.
Information at the trailhead
 
Starts with about 1/2 mile on this gravel road

No Daisy today....too rough and too wet!


 
 

 


It's peek-a-boo Barbie!
Every time we turned a corner we were in awe of the scenery, a waterfall or the color of the rock formations. The hike took us a total of 4.5 hours up and back. We really took our time going up taking a lot of pictures and spent about 10 minutes finding a geocache near the top of the hike. My favorite part of the hike had nothing to do with the scenery or a waterfall, nor did I get a picture let alone see it…..Barb had stopped to take a few pictures and I hiked ahead. When she caught up to me she was totally soaked from head to toe! As she tells it, she slipped on a rock and she fell backwards on her back. Since she was wearing her backpack she said she felt like a turtle trying to flip over! I asked her to reenact it so I could get a photo but she refused!
There are two waterfalls that require you to climb ladders.......


Ladder #1



Ladder #2
 

Not many people find this geocache! Time to head home......
If you are traveling I15 in the Cedar City/St.George are I highly recommend a stop in the quaint little town, you will not regret it!  


34 comments:

  1. Wow, now that's a hike. Very nice. And I will say that the snow almost looks like a welcome sight.

    Dave & Diane

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    1. It was nice to see some snow, that is something we really miss about Wisconsin. That said, it is nice to be able to drive out of it too!

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  2. Poor Barb! Adorable Daisy, love the colors! I forgot what snow is like. What great hikes! I will file them away for another time.

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    1. Not only is the hike cool, the town is really nice too!

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  3. Very nice. I can see why you didn't want to invite us. JK.

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  4. This was an awesome hike!! We've never done this but have heard of it. Looks like something to keep in mind:) Poor Barb!! We really do need to hike together:) That was a lot of water to hike through this time of year. Way to go!

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    1. We will find you guys next winter and get out on a hike or two! She did manage to get a golf ball size lump on her elbow when she fell....

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  5. Wow! Beautiful scenery and snow!!! Can't get much better than that. No frost bite I hope.

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    1. No worse for the wear, although we won't be doing another hike until our boots dry out!

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  6. Replies
    1. We welcomed the temperature drop, it was just getting too hot down south. What we did not anticipate was the effects of the elevation change!

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  7. Beautiful pictures....thanks for sharing. File us under warm weather souls, still enjoying the warmth in Arizona.

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    1. Thanks Pam, 75 tops for us, anything over that we start to get cranky!!!!

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  8. What an awesome looking area! Definately putting this one on our to do list. Glad you're okay Barb :-)

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    1. You guys would really enjoy it although you might want to do it during a little warmer weather!

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  9. Sad that they have to say that flip flops are not proper foot attire!!

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    1. Believe it or not, there were people hiking up there in flip flops!

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  10. Replies
    1. Thanks Mark! We try to get there at for at least one night when we are in the area.

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  11. Great pics! You guys sure do find the best places to visit!

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    1. Thanks, we took over 400 pictures and had a really hard time picking which ones and how many to include. We finally just had to say enough already!!!!

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  12. Oh, MAN, I wanted to do that hike so badly last fall, but nobody else wanted to get their feet wet, and I was too chicken to try it on my own. Those photos of the falls and ladders are just spectacular!

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    1. It is totally worth getting your feet wet. When we first rounded a corner and saw these narrow slots we were in awe. Love your Mexico adventure!!!!

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  13. Great pics! We are heading north now too, not looking forward to the cold weather or seeing that awful white stuff again.

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    1. Thanks Scott! It is a might chilly but I will take this over being too hot any day!

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  14. Great pictures look like some nice hikes sorry to hear Barb took a fall hope she's ok
    Thanks for sharing
    Rick R

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    1. Thanks Richard, she is almost healed up and ready to get out there again!

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  15. Really impressive. Cold, wet, and beautiful. Loved all the pictures

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    1. Thanks, we took so many pictures it was hard to narrow them down.

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  16. I can relate with you in terms of the Wow factor in Southern Utah! My camera too was on overdrive. We have not heard of this hike, and we were looking for one when we completed all Zion hikes.
    I wonder if we had meet at Kolob Canyon, we were there but did not hike it was too cold and windy.

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    1. You should definitely try this hike next time you are in the area. Be prepared to get wet though!

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  17. Hi Barb and Jim. Just joined your blog thanks to Kevin he stopped by today.Lots of catching up to do on our part about your adventures. All is well on Dueholm Dr.The ice went out March 29 I bet you miss that:)
    We pulled a camper to Alaska during the summer of 2012. Looks like we will be going back to AK this summer. We are not leaving until after mid July. Maybe we will see you up there. We really liked the coastal areas.
    Take care. Bob

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    1. Welcome Bob, it is good to hear from you! We miss this time of year back on the lake with the waterfowl moving through and the docks going back in the lake. Heard you caught a monster Muskie last year! Let us know where and when you will be in Alaska, it would be great to meet up.

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