What Makes it Great

This is a gorgeous, easy hike with a minimal commitment of less than three hours. During that time, you’ll enjoy shapely walls and delicate colors in the Navajo sandstone as it closes in around you. You’ll also peer down at lovely rocks that the orange-tinted creek has smoothed over time.
To get into Willis Creek Slot Canyon, simply park and walk into it from your car. No ropes, ladders or guides are needed, and there are no obstacles on the hike (except one spot, but there is a way to walk around it). Here's how you find the trailhead and more detailed information about the hike, to better help you plan great Willis Creek adventures.
As you venture into the narrows, you’ll start to hike over and on top of the creek. At the onset of the canyon, the walls are less than 25 feet tall, yet only approximately eight feet wide. However, the walls quickly grow to tower 100 feet above you and become less narrow. Colored with desert varnish, they stand to complement the sand and pebbles of the trail.
Continue along the narrows, which will dissipate at around 1.3 miles in. The trail along the creek continues for 2.4 miles at which point you will make a loop and turn around.

Willis Creek Slot Canyon Trail Utah Lake

What You’ll Remember

Willis Creek Slot Canyon Trail Utah National Park

Willis Creek trail is an easy hike and a great way to escape the Utah summer heat. As the name implies the trail follows the creek, your feet will get wet but it is generally only an inch or two deep. Upon entering the canyon, the walls quickly narrow and become taller to form a slot. Getting to Wills Creek. Willis Creek is a slot canyon that follows a small stream and never gets too narrow. It is beautiful and shady and there is a good chance to see wildlife along the way. From the trailhead (see directions for finding the trail below), cross the road, or simply walk down the road to where you see the water flowing, and start along the creek. Thanks to my brother-in-law, we left Bryce Canyon National Park for a quick excursion to Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument to hike through a slot canyon. The hike is called Willis Creek, and the trail is six miles down a dirt road just outside of Cannonville, UT. Located within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Willis Creek is a relatively easy slot canyon hike that is an enjoyable outing both for those who are new to slot canyons and to the seasoned veterans.

The smooth and curvaceous rock walls of the narrows, which have been carved by thousands of years of flash floods; the color and the texture of said walls; feeling small as the narrows tower 100 feet above you; your desire to now become a slot canyon junkie.

Who is Going to Love It

Anyone who likes hugs, because slot canyons and narrows are like hugs from Mother Nature. Anyone who wants to experience slot canyons for the first time, or slot canyon veterans who want a mellow afternoon adventure with a big pay off. Anyone who loves taking pictures of incredible rock formations.

GPS Coordinates, Parking and Regulations

Hike Willis Creek Slot Canyon Trail Utah

GPS Coordinates
(37.481550, -112.096136)
Willis Creek Slot Canyon is accessible year-round. Most people will enjoy visiting the area from late-March through September. Unlike many of the exposed attractions in the surrounding area, Willis Creek is cool and a mostly-shaded hike, which makes it a favorite even during hot summer afternoons. The area is dog-friendly, as are a few of the nearby hotels in Kanab.
There are no fees or permits required. Skutumpah Road is accessible to all visitor vehicles, but may be impassable when wet or it is has not been recently graded.