San Rafael Swell Recommendations

[Diane Greer]

My husband and I are going to spend a week hiking in the San Rafael Swell at the beginning of April. I did a lot of research and ended up with a very long list of possible canyons to explore. Would love some recommendations to narrow down the list.

We love wandering through scenic canyons with interesting formations, narrows and the possibility of discovering rock art. Anyone have any favorite canyons in the Swell? We have a high clearance-4WD. (Prefer to stay away from any routes that require exposed scrambling.)

 

[SteveR]

Have you been to the Swell previously, @Diane Greer? We haven't done a whole lot there, other than a handful of more well known and accessible locations, all of which were worthwhile if you've never been in the area.
Skylight Arch, Wildhorse canyon.

Crack Canyon.

Little Wildhorse-Bell Canyon.

Black Dragon and the ridgelines above it.

 

[regehr]

Crack Canyon is as good a place to start as any -- not that many people, fun and a bit athletic, but nothing that should scare anyone (and of course just turn around if I'm wrong). Head of Sinbad area is a good place to see some first-class rock art. Or just scroll over to http://udink.org/ and page through it until you find something you want to see and then figure out where it is and if you can get there

 

[Diane Greer]

Hi SteveR - We have done a minor amount of hiking in the area. Visited some of the rock art along I-70, such as Black Dragon, but never hiked the ridges above the site. Also visited the Rochester Rock Art panels and the sites along the Buckhorn Wash road. We have done Little Wildhorse and Bell Loop but not done Crack or Wildhorse. Those canyons look interesting, as do the ridges above Black Dragon. Thank you for the photos.

We are hoping to explore areas in the northern part of the Swell. Have a long list of hikes gleaned from Kelsey's book. Possibilities include Cottonwood Wash, the San Rafael River Gorge, Calf, Cow and Pine Canyons, Red Canyon, East Fork and Spring Canyons (along Mexican Mountain Road) and Salt Wash -- to name a few. To the south of I-70 there looks like there are more interesting canyons, such as Farnsworth, Old Woman Wash and Upper Eardley Canyon.

There is an amazing wealth of possible places to explore in the Swell. Obviously more hiking than time will allow. So just looking for some guidance on what spots to prioritize on this trip.

Thank you for the recommendations.

 

[Diane Greer]

Crack Canyon is as good a place to start as any -- not that many people, fun and a bit athletic, but nothing that should scare anyone (and of course just turn around if I'm wrong). Head of Sinbad area is a good place to see some first-class rock art. Or just scroll over to http://udink.org/ and page through it until you find something you want to see and then figure out where it is and if you can get there

Thanks for the recommendation and link. I will take a look at udink.org.

 

[priz1234]

You mentioned Cottonwood wash in the northern part of the swell. That one is pretty good. Another good loop up in that same area is to combine Cave canyon and Arch Tower canyon. I liked that hike better than Cottonwood wash but both were worth doing.

 

[Diane Greer]

Thank you. That loop was not on my list. Found a description of the hike and it looks great. Appreciate the advice. Also sounds like there is a good camping in the area.

 

[regehr]

yes there's plenty of good camping east of the reef both north and south of Smith cabin. the sheep cave / arch tower hike is an excellent introduction to this area, which contains plenty of great routes.

 

[kansas]

We hiked part of the way to Sid's cabin last October. We camped on the overlook.

There's a rock art panel up high that was easy to see but impossible to get to, The trail out of the wash was very hard to follow with cairns leading to many different paths.

You can see lights along the highway to the west at night. No people at all.

I liked camping at the Wedge Overlook. We were there in March and there were no other people but a lot of campsites.

As an old guy with no real climbing experience, we turned back at the drop off in Ding Canyon. We couldn't find an safe way around it.

Farnsworth Canyon is an easy hike with pretty good narrows and a rock art panel we were able to get to with a little climbing, no people.

I liked Crack Canyon a lot, cool narrows. We skipped Little Wild Horse Canyon cause there were many cars at the trailhead.

 

[Diane Greer]

Thank you regehr and kansas for the camping and hiking suggestions. That is a second vote for Crack Canyon and Cave/Arch canyons. Will put both on my must do list. Farnsworth also sounds good. Love hikes off the beaten path.