Why backpackers keep returning to this one canyon in Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante

One canyon, more sights than you expect

Southern Utah has no shortage of red rock country, but Coyote Gulch is something else.

This canyon runs more than 25 miles through the desert, carrying a live creek, ancient rock art, giant arches and at least one waterfall with a nickname you won’t see coming.

Part of it sits in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Part of it spills into Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

The National Park Service calls it the most popular backpacking canyon in the Escalante region, and once you’re inside, you’ll understand why people keep coming back.

Sandstone walls carved over millions of years

The walls that tower over you here are Navajo Sandstone, deep red and orange, cut by water over a very long time.

Ancient people once called this canyon home and left their marks high on those walls, carvings and paintings that you can still see today. You’re asked to look and never touch.

The reasoning is simple: hands leave oils that break down the rock, and what’s survived thousands of years won’t survive much of that. Stand back and let the walls do the talking.

Jacob Hamblin Arch curves over the creek

Near the middle of the canyon, Jacob Hamblin Arch is the kind of sight that stops you mid-step. Also called Lobo Arch, it curves over a bend in the creek in a sweeping stone opening that seems too large to be real.

When the sun catches the pink-orange rock just right, the whole arch seems to throw off its own light. You’ll want to linger here.

Most people do, dropping their packs on the bank and just looking up at it for a while.

A live creek runs through dry desert country

What makes Coyote Gulch different from most Utah canyons is the water. A creek runs through it year-round, and wherever water goes in the desert, green things follow.

Cottonwood trees line the banks and give real shade on hot days.

Springs seep right out of the sandstone walls in places, feeding the whole thing from the inside out.

After miles of open red rock country above, dropping into the canyon and finding shade, running water and birdsong feels like stepping through a door into a different world.

Walk right under Coyote Natural Bridge

About halfway through the canyon, a sandstone fin juts out from the wall and the creek has carved a clean hole straight through it. That’s Coyote Natural Bridge, and it stands more than 60 feet high.

The creek runs right under the opening, so you walk through shade and cool air to pass beneath it. It’s a favorite rest stop for good reason.

The rock blocks the sun, the water keeps the temperature down, and the opening frames the canyon ahead like a picture window.

Look up to catch Cliff Arch on the north wall

Most arches in Coyote Gulch sit at trail level or just above it. Cliff Arch is different.

It’s set high on the north wall of the canyon, shaped like the handle of a jug, and easy to miss if you keep your eyes on the trail. The trick is to stop and look up.

A small waterfall sits nearby, which gives you a reason to slow down at that stretch of trail anyway. That’s usually when people spot it, glancing up after they hear the water.

Cool off at the waterfalls between the arches

The canyon doesn’t just have one waterfall. Several small cascades and falls flow through, most of them found along the stretch between Jacob Hamblin Arch and the Escalante River. Some are small enough to step around.

Others you’ll wade through. One cluster of falls goes by the name Swiss Cheese Falls, for reasons the rock will make obvious when you see it.

They’re good places to stop, pull off your pack, and let the cold water run over your feet before the trail picks up again.

Stevens Arch marks the canyon’s lower end

If you enter Coyote Gulch from the bottom, the first big thing you’ll see is Stevens Arch standing over the Escalante River. Its opening spans about 220 feet across, placing it among the largest arches in the world.

It rises high above the river, visible from a good distance before you reach it.

Coming from the other direction and finding it at the end of the canyon gives the whole trip a different feel, like the canyon saved its biggest statement for last.

Tight bends, tall walls and deep alcoves

Narrow is too small a word for some sections of this canyon.

The walls rise steep on both sides, streaked with layers of color, and in places they close in close enough that you can touch both sides.

Deep alcoves and overhangs cut into the sandstone, some large enough to camp under.

Every bend opens onto something new: a sweep of cliff face, a section of canyon floor carpeted in green, a shaft of light cutting across orange rock. The walls keep changing the whole way through.

The trail runs through the creek itself

For long stretches of Coyote Gulch, the trail and the creek are the same thing. The water is usually just a few inches deep, and you walk right through it.

Bring shoes you don’t mind soaking because your feet will be wet within the first hour. On warm days, that’s not a complaint.

The water stays cold even in summer, fed by those springs in the walls, and the streambed is firm enough underfoot to walk steadily without slipping all over the place.

Ravens, quiet and the way sound travels in a canyon

The canyon has wildlife, including ravens that work the updrafts between the walls and smaller animals drawn to the water and shade. But what many hikers remember most isn’t what they see; it’s what they hear.

Or don’t hear. Away from the most popular stretches, the canyon goes quiet in a way that’s hard to find anywhere.

Sound carries strangely between narrow walls, so a whisper from 50 yards away arrives perfectly clear. Most people drop their voices without thinking about it.

Why this canyon stays in your head long after you leave

Very few places put an arch, a natural bridge, multiple waterfalls and a live creek all within one hike.

Add ancient rock art on the walls and a creek you walk through barefoot, and Coyote Gulch starts to feel less like a trail and more like a place you had to see to believe.

Many hikers say it’s the best trip they’ve taken in southern Utah, and that’s saying something in a state that seems to have a canyon around every corner.

Start your trip at the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center

You’ll want to stop at the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center before you head in.

It sits at 755 W. Main St. in Escalante and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rangers there give out free backcountry permits, which you need for overnight stays, and they’ll tell you current road and trail conditions.

Groups are capped at 12. To reach the canyon, take Hole-in-the-Rock Road off Scenic Byway 12.

It’s long, rough and dirt.

A high-clearance vehicle is a real requirement, not a suggestion, and there is no cell service once you’re out there.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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