Salt Creek canyonlands

[Schmede]

I snagged some permits for salt creek. I have 3 nights at SC1, but am considering switching the second night for a night in Salt/Horse zone or even Butler/West zone if that makes sense With that arrangement it will be an out and back or even a base camp at SC1 with some day hikes. It will be me my husband and three kids. The kids have done 14 miles in two nights in Chesler park. I want to keep it around 14-18 miles total, including exploring etc.

Anyone who has been in this area 1) what would be your turn around goal? Angel arch seems a little too far so maybe 4 faces? And 2) where would you camp in the salt/horse zone (or butler zone) the second night? It looks like from the map salt/horse zone may be farther than we want. Any other hot tips you could send my way would be great! Thanks!

 

[Janice]

When are you going? I've only been to Salt Creek once, so I'm not as knowledgeable as others here who have been multiple times, but I think water sources could be an issue for you in the Salt/Horse zone. (I don't know anything about Butler/West.) In early April 2023, which followed a much wetter winter than this one, we camped in the zone and found enough water, but someone we talked to who knew the area well said there was a lot less water that day than there had been just a few days prior, so we realized that water around there is very limited at best. If you consider switching, I would definitely check on the situation.

Assuming you stay at SC1 all three nights and do dayhikes:

1) If you want to keep total mileage at 18 or less, you would only get to 4 Faces if you have a day where you do nothing, as it's almost 5 mi one way from SC1 to there. Maybe you could get to All American Man, but that's still almost 4 miles one way.

2) Even if you don't make it to All American Man - Big Ruins and the Squash Patch area are interesting and should be close enough that your family can get to them. If you're not familiar with those, I can provide details.

3) Depending on when you go - If you care at all about flowers you might want to go a bit past Squash Patch to 38.02335, -109.75043, where there are a ton of cacti. They might be blooming, and that would be spectacular. I was wishing I could see that! Here's a photo pre-bloom:


4) When we camped at SC1, we went up on the rocks above camp (to the east) shortly before sunset and loved that. Your kids might enjoy some scrambling and the views were fantastic.


5) In addition to going down the Salt Creek trail, you might enjoy exploring Big Pocket and/or the nearby part of this route: https://www.backpacker.com/trips/canyonlands-national-park-salt-creek-lavender-canyon-loop/ We didn't do this, but I was intrigued - and if we had been basecamping at SC1, I would have given this a try.

Hope you'll have a great trip!

 

[Schmede]

Thanks Janice, that's really helpful and those are great photos!

 

[lostmuhnkee]

Hi - I've been to Salt Creek a number of times. It's somewhat different from hiking around Chesler. I've stayed in SC1 and love it - there's an alcove about 200 ft from the campsite (you pass it hiking in) that I call "the kitchen" where I cook and keep my bear canister.

I'm assuming you're entering from Cathedral Point? If so, take into account that the last day will be a climb out of 1000 ft in only 2 miles. It's slow and can be taxing (could especially be with kids depending on ages). You also have to navigate the "marsh" going in to SC1, which is not a big deal, but just make sure you have some maps and, preferably, a GPS with maps. The trail becomes very obscure through the marsh and gets lost due to overgrown trees and tamped down marsh grass. There's usually trail marker flags on the trees to mark the path, but those disintegrate or get hidden over time.
Loss of trail due to marsh grass is also an issue in the Salt/Horse Zone if I remember correctly (haven't been on that section in a number of years).

Janice's question about when you are there is critical - if it's anytime around summer, I would decrease the expected mileage by 5-7 miles. It gets much hotter and colder in Salt Creek Canyon than at the top of Cathedral Point. If it's near winter, also be aware the hike down and up to Cathedral point can be icy and slippery since it's in the shade (I take yaktraks or some other traction if I'm there near that time).

The best water sources are near Kirk's cabin (by SC1 and SC2) and at Upper Jump by the Four Faces panel. Outside of that, it's not super easy to reach the creek.

It's almost 10 miles on trail from SC1 to the Salt/Horse Zone, so I don't think that's really feasible for the type of mileage you're looking to do. If you wanted to split it up, ideally you would have SC3 for the second and possibly third night (or back to SC1 for third night). This would give you the ability to take time exploring the areas mentioned by Janice above (Wedding Ring arch is pretty cool as well).
But you could also stay in SC1 all 3 nights and do one long day hike to All-American Man/Four Faces (10 miles round trip, relatively flat, but can be taxing when hot) and spend a lazy day exploring the Big Ruins, Kirk's Cabin, etc.

One last thing I'll note is that if there has been any significant moisture, the Beef Basin road out to Cathedral Point can be an absolute mess and one has the potential to get stuck if not an experienced 4WD (again, mostly an issue around/during winter).

With careful planning, Salt Creek really is a magical place to visit - hope your family makes some awesome memories!