Bull Valley Gorge
Trip Ideas
Explore Further
- Distance: 1 mile one-way
- Duration: 1–2 hours
- Elevation change: 850 feet
- Effort: moderate–strenuous
- Trailhead: 10.5 miles south of Cannonville along Skutumpah Road
Approximately 1.5 miles farther south on Skutumpah Road from the trailhead for Willis Creek Narrows, a narrow bridge vaults over Bull Valley Gorge. Like the Willis Creek Narrows, this is a steep and narrow cleft in the slickrock; however, scrambling along the canyon bottom is a greater challenge, part of the reward for which is viewing a wrecked automobile wedged between the canyon walls.
From the bridge, walk upstream along a faint trail on the north side of the crevice until the walls are low enough to scramble down. From here, the canyon deepens quickly, and you’ll have to negotiate several dry falls along the way (a rope will come in handy).
When you reach the area below the bridge, look up to see a 1950s-model pickup truck trapped between the canyon walls. Three men died in this 1954 mishap; their bodies were recovered, but the pickup was left in place. The canyon continues another mile from this point; there is no loop trail out of the canyon, so turn back when you’ve seen enough.
© W.C. McRae and Judy Jewell from Moon Utah, 8th Edition
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