One of our favorite hikes during our Sept/Oct 2020 road trip was Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Slot Canyons near Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah. This hike is actually quite an adventure!
Location
Peek-a-Boo and Spooky slot canyons are located in The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) area alongside Escalante. We drove through part of Escalante to get there and also when we left. Follow highway 12 until you see the Hole in the Wall Road. Turn there and drive for 26.3 miles and you will find the trailhead on the left. This is a rock, dirt and sand road. It took us an hour in our Jeep. I can’t remember if it required a 4×4 to drive it but I would advise it.
Don’t Forget
This is one of those trails you have to sign in that you are hiking. Why? Because you are hiking in a dessert with no resources and it is quite primitive. Don’t forget lots of water, electrolytes, hat, sunscreen, salt tablets or salty snacks. You are responsible for yourself out here.
The Trail
The trail to the slot canyons was an adventure in itself. For the most easy but an area where you walked down large rocks with a significant slant. The rock was porous so there was some grip. Basically you will notice many cairns on the side of the rock you are descending and that is your path.
Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon
Once you get to the slot canyons the sign points a bit erroneous to a slot that is narrow it is not Peek-a-Boo. You will find Peek-a-Boo just a few feet further along the cliff, it is wider and has shallow steps in the rock. Steve still has to boost me up to get in.
Once in you will be totally amazed!! We loved this canyon! Absolutely beautiful beyond words! To walk through Peek-a-Boo you will have to have some big steps up and down. A bit technical but nothing difficult.
On Top of the Mesa
After you finish Peek-a-Boo you can go back through and then enter Spooky from the front or you can do like we did and walk up on the Mesa and enter Spooky from the back. The Mesa was hot and many false trails up there. Follow the cairns. We probably walked it maybe 30 minutes and the cairns seemed to disappear, we looked carefully and saw them down towards the canyon floor and right after that was the Spooky entrance.. the incline was just walking down a hill.
Spooky Slot Canyon
Spooky proved much more technical and significantly more narrow. There are a couple of places where you had to drop down with your arms to get to the floor below (or climb up if going the other way. There were also large boulders to climb over at the beginning. We have heard people say they climbed under them but we couldn’t seem to find a way to do that. I will admit we had a few scrapes and scratches on us and my Camelback took a beating. Steve has to rake his camelback off to pass through many of the narrow spaces.
M
Back on Up
We were pretty happy getting to the end! We loved the adventure but certainly felt all the climbing! To get back just follow the marked trail through the riverbed and than back to where you came down. Getting back up was a bit of a challenge as well. The entire trip booked on my Fitbit at 5.08 miles and took us 4 hours and 46 minutes.
Conclusion
Peek-A-Boo and Spooky hike near Escalante was one of our highlights of our trip. It was tough. I loved Peek-a-Boo and would do it again. It was prettier, less technical and fun. Spooky was technical and a bit stressful, not sure if I would do it again but probably!
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Check out my other UTAH adventures in the links below:
Sunset at Arches National Park Sept 2020
Mesa Arch in Canyonlands Sept 2020
I loved this hike! This was one of my first blog posts and I did without photos, so I appreciate yours: https://daringdayhikes.home.blog/2019/01/05/peekaboo-gulch-spooky-gulch-escalante/ . The interesting part (do you trust YouTube) has a rope in your pictures. I went around a different and tighter way.
Anyway, great post!
It was fun! Someone else we were talking to mentioned the rope was recent!
That looks incredible. Every post makes me want to start planning a trip to Utah and Arizona!
You should!!! We are still on vacation but I’m hoping to get the rest of my Canyonlands and Bryce Canyon posts out over the next couple of weeks.
I tried to reply to this yesterday, but it wouldn’t go through. Anyway – jealous!!!
😊
It’s good to know the difference between the two trails, it gives nice and funny pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading!!
both hikes look wonderful. the pictures look like you are on another planet, like Mars….
They were wonderful! I didn’t care for Spooky as much though!!
I can see why – some pretty tight spaces!
So cool!! What I’d give to be able to go on an adventure like this right now!
It was fun and exactly what we needed!!
Wow! The Peek-A-Boo and Spooky Slot Canyons greatly resemble the more-famous Antelope Canyon, albeit with less tourists, I assume. The slope of that hike looks a bit too treacherous for me, but then again, I’m not as adventurous of a hiker as you are! Love the charming names of the canyons, too, as they’re apropos for the upcoming Halloween holiday haha. Thanks for sharing a lesser-known, but lovely part of the region!
I loved this area but I wasn’t too fond of the slope on the hike in and out. I too think it resembles Antelope but have not been there. There were not many people here when we were although we went in the afternoon. Thanks for reading!!
Love the slot canyons. We were fortunate to be able to visit Antelope Canyon near Page in 2018. Very beautiful how they are sculpted, even in January’s lighting. Thanks for sharing. Allan
We really enjoyed them! The colors changed so much with the sun positioning. Have not been to Antelope but on my list! Take care!! Lori
Awesome post! Your pictures, and the colors they capture, are amazing.
Wow….amazing! Reminded me of our visit to Antelope Canyons!
It was pretty amazing!!
Beautiful images! I feel like I was with you two on this trip.
Thank you! We could have used an extra hand at times!! Lol
Ugh! We were RIGHT THERE! The husband woke up feeling ill, and by the time he felt better it was too late in the day (noon in July in southern Utah is not the time to start a hike). It looks so fun – we’ll have to go next time!
It was amazing! Sorry you didn’t get to go!! Next time!!
I love traveling vicariously with you two — you’re adventurous, brave, and sure-footed! I’m pretty sure that if I didn’t slide down one of those slick spots, I would have been trapped in one of the tight crevices! So, I’m happy to see what you did and clap for you here at home! Great photos!!!!
Thank you! We have had our moments though!!
Awesome landscape! What I wouldn’t give to see that in person!
It was pretty amazing!
I can imagine! 🙂
Beautiful, and a little scary! Our first slot canyon was Willis Creek in the Escalante area some years ago. Recently did Little Wild Horse Canyon near Goblin Valley – a tighter squeeze! Hike on!
I may have to check those out next time I am out that way!!!!
Beautiful photos!
Thank you! It was such a fun place and so many views to photograph!!