Also towards the beginning, there is a little more water rushing on the creek bed, but not deeper than just above the ankle. In the wider stretches of the trail, you'll be in the full desert sun however, when you get into a 'narrows' you'll be in the shade - take it slow and take a break and cool off when you're in these sections. Just to be clear, you're not walking through a continuous slot canyon, but through a series of canyons.The first few 'slots' are wide and relatively small but as you go further, you see the slots getting higher and a little more narrow in some spots. There are two paths that allow you to drop into the canyon (both gentle and non-technical) - 1 is clearly marked, the other not officially (it was more obvious to us on our return). When you arrive at the trailhead, parking is across on your right.

We managed these roads just fine with a basic Toyota Corolla but you may be more comfortable getting there in an SUV, Jeep or other vehicle. To get to the trailhead is not particularly difficult by car but make sure to stop at the Grand Staircase Escalante Visitor Center in Cannonville for directions and drive with care - you'll be driving on primarily unpaved, dusty, and sometimes steep bumpy winding roads for at least an hour. If the water level rises by just a few feet, portions of the slot canyon will be underwater.The Willis Creek trail offers an easy hike for people of all skill levels to experience and marvel at some pretty amazing slot canyons. This seems like the quickest way to get to the beginning of the hike, but if you don't have access to a ski boat, you can also kayak from the marina (it's about 11 miles from the marina to the mouth of the canyon) and/or turn it into an overnight camping trip on the lake.Īlso keep in mind that how long the narrow section of the canyon can be and how deep the pools of water will be will depend on the current water level of the lake. We took a motorized boat from Antelope Marina to the entrance of Labyrinth Canyon before anchoring up and continuing up the canyon on stand up paddleboards. The slot canyon sits at the end of Labyrinth Canyon, whose entrance is located at mile 16 near Padre Bay of Lake Powell, so you'll need some sort of small watercraft like a kayak or stand up paddleboard to navigate up the narrow canyon.

Getting to the start of the slot canyon is probably the hardest part of this trip.

Water slot canyon utah