Peekaboo Slot Canyon Map

If you are looking on a map you will see the slot canyon marked as Red Canyon, but the locals have chose to call it Peek-a-Boo Slot Canyon, perhaps because of the nearby section of Dixie National Forest known as Red Canyon. This is also a 4WD area as well as the very nearby Coral Pink Sand Dunes. When you reach the canyon floor, you’ll follow the wash for about a quarter mile to the entrance to Peek-a-Boo slot canyon. You will see a slot canyon just before Peek-a-Boo. This slot canyon is called Dry Fork, and it isn’t very narrow so most people skip it. After passing Dry Fork, you will walk just a few minutes to the Peek-a-Boo slot.

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Peekaboo Slot Canyon Map

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Peekaboo And Spooky Slot Canyon Map


Slot Canyons > Zion National Park > Red Canyon (Peek-a-Boo Canyon)

Half a mile of colorful, medium depth narrows along a minor tributary of Kanab Creek, surrounded by a rolling landscape of sand dunes and small hills
Length: 4.5 miles, to the dryfall, via the sandy track. Less if walking cross-country over the Sand Hills, or driving along the track
Difficulty: Easy. One blocking chokestone near the upper end
Management: BLM
Rocks: Navajo sandstone
Season: Spring and fall are best; summers are hot
Trailhead:Start of a sandy track on the north side of US 89. 4WD vehicles can drive all (2.8 miles) or part of this track, which leads to the drainage below the narrows
Rating (1-5):★★★★
Like the similarly named Red Cave and Red Hollow, Red Canyon forms a colorful series of narrows through the deep red sandstone rock of the Glendale BenchPeekaboo slot canyon trailhead, a few miles east of Zion National Park, although the drainage is a tributary of Kanab Creek rather than the Virgin River.
The canyon has about half a mile of enclosed, curving passages up to 100 feet deep, mostly without any obstructions, and quite easily reached from a main road (US 89); the canyon runs parallel to the highway about 2 miles from it, and may be accessed either by driving along a very sandy 4WD track or walking cross-country, hiking over a rolling, open landscape of dunes and occasional trees (the Sand Hills). Adventure tour companies from Kanab sometimes take visitors to the slot, which is known locally as Peek-a-Boo Canyon, though the place is in general little visited compared to the more famous narrows within the nearby national park.

Peekaboo Slot Canyon Map

Topographic Map of Red Canyon



Photographs


9 views of Red Canyon.

Location


A secondary road leaves US 89 a mile east of the turn-off for Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and runs eastwards alongside (to the north) for 4 miles, rejoining the highway shortly before it begins the descent into Three Lakes Canyon towards Kanab. The secondary road is partly paved, and it provides many good places to camp, close to the main road though mostly out of sight. The track to the canyon starts at the east end of this old road, by the junction with US 89, and is very sandy from the start, as it skirts around a large area of dunes, rises slightly to cross a low ridge then descends towards a dry wash (a tributary of Kanab Creek) where the surface becomes even softer. The remaining stretch is more level though still across deep sand, as the road curves east then back west just before the streamway, meeting it one mile downstream of the end of the slot. ATVs can drive along the streambed right up to the start of the narrows.

Colorful chamber in Red Canyon, not far below the dryfall

The distance along the track is 2.8 miles. For hikers, the quickest way to reach the canyon is probably to follow the track for 1.2 miles, a little way after the sandy wash, then walk due north cross-country for another mile, over land that is quite open and relatively flat so navigation is easy - aided by distant cliffs rising above the dunes to the north - and the surface generally quite firm. Walking all the way on the track only adds about one mile to the overall journey, however.
Note that the slot is quite separate to the more famous Red Canyon further north along US 89 - this is a partly wooded valley containing sandstone hoodoos, a few miles west of Bryce Canyon National Park. It is also not to be confused with Peekaboo Gulch, which is in the Escalante area.

Route Description


Peek A Boo Slot Canyon Map

The wash is enclosed by low cliffs for a short distance below the slot, offering plenty of entry/exit routes before the walls become vertical and form the first section of narrows. The Navajo sandstone here is dark red in appearance, typical of this region, and is eroded into delicate curves bearing graceful surface patterns, from thin horizontal bands of lighter rock crossed by vertical strips of desert varnish. The first narrows are quite short, opening out to a sunlit section, but this doesn't last long as the drainage constricts again to a longer, deeper slot. Some parts are quite dark because of overhanging rocks above, and the smooth curving walls allow for pretty reflections and light effects, quite similar to canyons around Page in Arizona, such as Antelope. The floor is sandy and has no potholes to hold any water so the passages are largely unobstructed, until a 20 foot pour-off topped by protruding chokestones, a blockage not easily climbable. The nearest exit route to bypass this drop is quite far back. Above the dryfall, the canyon is not narrow for much further, soon becoming wider and less sheer-sided.

Peekaboo Slot Canyon Trailhead


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Peekaboo Slot Canyon Directions

On most Southern Utah bucket lists, you’ll find the local favorite one-two punch of Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Slot Canyons. These magnificent hikes, located in the Dry Fork area of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument area, can be done individually, but they make for a killer loop you can tackle in one afternoon of adventure. Once you’re in, all you have to do is walk through a scenic paradise of red and purple rock.
From the trailhead, get into Dry Fork Wash via moderate scrambling down some short cliffs and following cairns as needed. Once you’re off the cliff and into the sand dunes, you’ll hike along the creek wash until you see the mouth of Peek-a-Boo. There are hand and foot cut-outs in the rock to help you get up and into the canyon.
Once you leave Peek-a-Boo, keep hiking (longer than you think you should, most likely) until you come to a juniper tree, then follow the trail and cairns leading to the right and the entrance of Spooky Gulch. Scramble down a mellow rock face to get into the canyon. It soon tightens up, and you’ll be having a good time navigating the confines of this fun canyon. The loop generally takes about 3-4 hours depending on pace and skill level.