Buckskin Gulch (also known as Buckskin Creek, Buckskin Wash, and Kaibab Gulch) is a

gulch In xeric lands, a gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch. ...

and

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

located within southern

Kane County, Utah Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 7,125. Its county seat and largest city is Kanab. History The county was created on January 16, 1864, by the Utah Territory legislature, ...

, United States. It is located near the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

border and is one of the main

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

of the

Paria River The Paria River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in southern Utah and northern Arizona in the United States. It drains a rugged and arid region northwest of the Colorado, flowing through roadless slot canyons along part ...

which is a tributary of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

It is over long. Buckskin Gulch is the longest and deepest

slot canyon A slot canyon is a long, narrow channel or drainageway with sheer rock walls that are typically eroded into either sandstone or other sedimentary rock. A slot canyon has depth-to-width ratios that typically exceed 10:1 over most of its length and ...

in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

. Often visited in conjunction with the longer Paria Canyon, due to their close proximity of , hiking both canyons in one day is possible. Wire Pass, a short tributary to Buckskin, is a popular day-hiking alternative that takes hikers through the narrow, curving features which are the hallmarks of the slot canyons.

Access

Buckskin Gulch is reached via U. S. Route 89 (US‑89) in Utah or U. S. Route 89 A (US 89 A) in Arizona, and is roughly halfway between the towns of

Kanab Kanab ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Utah, Kane County, Utah, United States.Find a Co ...

, Utah and

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

, Arizona. There are four access routes to the canyon. There is a $6 per person access fee, which can be paid online ahead of time or on-site through a cash/check drop box.

Buckskin Trailhead

The Buckskin Trailhead is about south along House Rock Valley Road. The US‑89 turnoff for House Rock Valley Road is about east of Kanab and about west – northwest of Page. It can also be reached via House Rock Road (as House Rock Valley Road is known in Arizona) by heading north along the road for about . The US 89 A turnoff for House Rock Road is at House Rock in Arizona and is about southeast of Kanab and about southwest of Page. No restrooms are available at this trailhead.

Wire Pass Trailhead

The

Wire Pass Trailhead Wire Pass Trailhead is a recreation access point in Kane County, Utah that features several trails leading to natural points of interest. Description The trailhead is located in Paria Canyon–Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area of southern Utah ...

accessed along the same road, but is about south of US‑89 or about north of House Rock. This entrance is more popular than the other three as it provides the quickest access to the best parts of Buckskin Gulch and because it is the same trailhead used to access the

Coyote Buttes Coyote Buttes is a section of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), spanning extreme south-central Utah and north-central Arizona, south of US 89 halfway between Kanab, Utah and Page, Ariz ...

, home to The Wave, a famous

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

rock formation. (Access to The Wave requires a special, separate permit.)

White House Trailhead

The White House Trailhead is about south along White House Trailhead Road, which can only be accessed from US‑89. The US‑89 turnoff for White House Trailhead Road is about east of Kanab and about northwest of Page. Restrooms are available at this trailhead.

Lee's Ferry

In addition to the more direct routes to Buckskin Gulch, it can also be reached through Paria Canyon/Paria River at the Lee's Ferry. Lees Ferry, which can only be reached from US 89 A, is about northeast along Lee's Ferry Road in the

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (shortened to Glen Canyon NRA or GCNRA) is a national recreation area and conservation unit of the United States National Park Service that encompasses the area around Lake Powell and lower Cataract Canyon i ...

. The US 89 A turnoff for Lee's Ferry Road is just west of the

Navajo Bridge Navajo Bridge is the name of twin steel spandrel arch bridges that cross the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon National Park (near Lee's Ferry, Lees Ferry) in northern Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The newer ...

and about east – southeast of Kanab and about southwest of Page. Restrooms and water are available at this trailhead.

Regulations

Permits are required for overnight backpacking as well as day hiking in Buckskin Gulch and the

Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness The Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness is a wilderness area located in northern Arizona and southern Utah, United States, within the arid Colorado Plateau region. The wilderness is composed of broad plateaus, tall escarpments, and deep can ...

. Permits can be obtained from the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

(BLM) online. Only twenty overnight permits per day are allowed, and group sizes are limited to ten persons. The overnight fee is $5.00 per person per day, while day-use permits are $6.00 per person per day. There is also a $6.00 fee per dog per day. Due to the canyon's popularity, permits typically sell out several months in advance. Campfires are prohibited, and human waste cannot be buried and must be packed out in order to preserve the pristine condition of the area.

References

External links

Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness

* ttp://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=453569 Buckskin Gulch GPS mapBuckskin Gulch at Wikiloc.com. See the trail on Google Maps and Google Earth. {{authority control Rivers of Utah Slot canyons Canyons and gorges of Utah Rivers of Kane County, Utah Tributaries of the Colorado River in Utah Bureau of Land Management areas in Utah Protected areas of Kane County, Utah