Kanab, Utah

Tucked seemingly in the middle of nowhere in far south central Utah is a small town called Kanab. With Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks not too far to the west, the popular Page Arizona to the east and the north rim of the Grand Canyon to the south what would be the draw to Kanab? You might just be surprised.

Many of the sights in this area are quite remote and require a 4WD vehicle, but they are some of the most amazing natural wonders imaginable. The most well known of these locations is The Wave, a colorful rock formation on the slopes of Coyote Buttes. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the few who are fortunate enough to be chosen in the lottery system to hike the strenuous hike. It wasn’t in the cards for us, but there is a very worthy alternative that we did experience called White Pocket. We set up camp at a horse ranch called Paria River Ranch along the Paria River about 30 minutes to the east of Kanab.

White Pocket is located 2-2.5 hours off the main pavement and is only accessible by 4WD vehicles. The trail traverses through deep sand to a very remote area across the state line in Arizona. Frankly, the trip there is half the fun (assuming you have the right vehicle) and the destination will blow your socks off. A short trail of deep sand takes you to the White Pocket, which reminded me of walking to the beach in Cape Cod. White Pocket is a large area of grey, white and red rock formations that you are able to freely explore, and explore we did. There are so many hidden gems that you come upon, you never know what lies around the next corner or over the next hill. We were blown away and the dogs had the time of their lives climbing along with us. Plan to spend at least a couple of hours here and consider the long ride back which you do not want to do in the dark.

TIP: Stop at the BLM office a couple of miles to the east of the turnoff on highway 89 to get a map and clear directions of how to get to, and return from White Pocket.

The second adventure on our list was Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon aka Red Canyon. This is located a few miles north of Kanab down an 8 mile sandy off-road trail. This sand was even deeper than the road to White Pocket but with airing down the Jeep tires we had no problem. At this point I’m really starting to enjoy Jeeping in the sand, but I’ve digressed. The slot canyon is accessed right from the parking lot at the end of the trail. What a treat this was! It’s a short hike through the narrow slot canyon. If they rated trails by ROI (investment in time and effort) this would be a no brainer investment. Simply gorgeous!

On the way back into Kanab is a great short stop at Sand Cave, a series of caves located on top a a vista that you must first climb up to experience. There are a lot of theories of the origin of these caves, whether man-made or natural, or a combination of both. Either way, they are extremely cool and worth the short side trip. As an added bonus the local search and rescue team was doing repelling drills while we were there, so we got to watch them at work.

We ended the day with a well deserved early dinner at the Wild Thyme Cafe in Kanab. This farm-to-table restaurant with an Asian flare was exceptional. Another small town dining treasure for us.

Closer back to our basecamp is a great little hiking trail called Toadstool Hoodoos. It’s a short hike with a whole lot of extra available adventuring once you reach the main “toadstool”. We really thought we were transported to Mars at one point, the terrain is unworldly.

Just west of Page is another off-road trail called Nipple Creek. At the risk of sounding redundant, I’m about out of adjectives to describe this area. If Toadstool Hoodoos was Mars, maybe this was Jupiter. The trail goes for 20 plus miles but we only did the first 10 since the day was getting late. To get to this trail just follow Fish Hatchery Road. Once you reach the fish hatchery the trail begins. You will travel across grey mounds and through canyons and up and down hills that will make you feel like you’re riding a roller coaster. Many times I was wishing either my seat was higher or hood was shorter so I could see the trail from the top of the hills. The beauty and diversity of terrain in Utah is indescribable.

Our last adventure was the southern half of the 47 mile Cottonwood Canyon Road. We did the top portion as part of our Bryce Canyon stop. If the trail is dry this can be driven in a 2WD vehicle, but it had rained the night before we drove it and there were some spots that would have been extremely difficult if we didn’t have a 4WD vehicle. It’s a beautiful drive through the canyon that all can enjoy. Read our Bryce Canyon blog to learn about the Cottonwood Narrows trail and the amazing Candyland.

Many people visit these locations as an extension of a trip to Bryce, Zion or Page but we found it more convenient to make this a separate stop and it certainly was worthy of it. Check out the rest of our pictures of the Kanab area.