• Distance:42.75 miles one-way
• Duration: 8–9 days
• Elevation change: 1,000 feet
• Effort: moderate
• Trailhead: Harris Wash Trailhead off Hole-in-the-Rock Road
• Directions: From Highway 12 turn south on Hole-in-the-Rock Road for 10.8 miles, then left 6.3 miles on a dirt road (keep left at the fork near the end).

The Escalante continues its spectacular show of wide and narrow reaches, side canyons, and intriguing rock formations. A trip all the way from Harris Wash Trailhead to the Escalante, down the Escalante to near Lake Powell, then out to the Hurricane Wash Trailhead is 66.25 miles and requires 8–10 days. Many shorter hikes using other side canyons are possible, too.

Still in a broad canyon, the Escalante flows past Fence Canyon (on the west), 5.5 miles from Harris Wash. Fence Canyon has water and is a strenuous 3.5-mile cross-country route out to the end of Egypt Road. Get trail directions from a ranger and bring a topographic map. (Adventurous hikers could do a three-day, 20-mile loop via Fence Canyon, the Escalante River, and the northern arm of Twentyfive Mile Wash.) To reach the trailheads, take Hole-in-the-Rock Road 17.2 miles south of Highway 12, then turn left (east) 3.7 miles on Egypt Road to Twentyfive Mile Wash Trailhead or 9.1 miles to Egypt Trailhead.

Twentyfive Mile Wash, on the west side 11.5 miles below Harris Wash, is a good route for entering or leaving the Escalante River. The moderately difficult hike is 13 miles one-way from trailhead to river. Scenery changes from an uninteresting dry wash in the upper part to a beautiful canyon with water and greenery in the lower reaches. To get to the trailhead, take Hole-in-the-Rock Road 17.2 miles south of Highway 12, then turn left and drive 3.7 miles on Egypt Road.

Moody Creek enters the Escalante six meandering river miles below Twentyfive Mile Wash (or just 2.25 miles as the crow flies). A rough road off Burr Trail Road gives access to Moody Creek, Purple Hills, and other eroded features. The distance from trailhead to river is seven miles one-way (moderately strenuous), although most hikers find it more convenient to hike up from the Escalante.

Middle Moody Creek enters Moody Creek three miles above the Escalante. Moody and Middle Moody Canyons feature colorful rock layers, petrified wood, a narrows, and solitude. Carry water because springs and waterpockets cannot be counted on. Canyons on the east side of the Escalante tend to be much drier than those on the west side.

East Moody Canyon enters the Escalante 1.5 miles downstream from Moody Canyon, and it, too, makes a good side trip. There’s often water about half a mile upstream. Continuing down the Escalante, look on the left for a rincón, a meander cut off by the river. Scorpion Gulch enters through a narrow opening on the right, 6.5 miles below Moody Canyon. A strenuous eight-mile climb up Scorpion Gulch over rockfalls and around deep pools brings you to a trailhead on Early Weed Bench Road. Experience, directions from a ranger, and a topographic map are needed.

A challenging four-day, 30-mile loop hike uses Fox Canyon, Twentyfive Mile Wash, the Escalante River, and Scorpion Gulch. Water is found only in lower Twentyfive Mile Wash, the river, and lower Scorpion Gulch. The Early Weed Bench turnoff is 24.2 miles south on Hole-in-the-Rock Road from Highway 12; head in 5.8 miles to Scorpion Gulch Trailhead.

In the next 12 miles below Scorpion Gulch, Escalante Canyon is alternately wide and narrow. Then the river plunges into The Narrows, a five-mile-long section choked with boulders; plan on spending a day picking a route through this stretch. Watch out for chest-deep water here! Remote and little-visited Stevens Canyon enters from the east near the end of The Narrows; Stevens Arch stands guard 580 feet above the confluence. The upper and lower parts of Stevens Canyon usually have water.

Coyote Gulch, on the right 1.5 miles below Stevens Canyon, marks the end of the Escalante for most hikers. In some seasons, Lake Powell comes within one mile of Coyote Gulch and occasionally floods the canyon mouth. Coyote can stay flooded for several weeks, depending on the release flow of Glen Canyon Dam. The river and lake don’t have a pretty meeting place—quicksand and dead trees are found here. Logjams make it difficult to travel in from the lake by boat.

Coyote Gulch has received more publicity than other areas of the Escalante, and you’re more likely to meet other hikers here. Two arches, a natural bridge, graceful sculpturing of the streambed and canyon walls, deep undercuts, and a cascading creek make a visit well worthwhile. The best route in starts where Hole-in-the-Rock Road crosses Hurricane Wash, 34.7 miles south of Hwy. 12.

It’s 12.5 miles one-way from the trailhead to the river, and the hike is moderately strenuous. For the first mile, you follow the dry, sandy wash without even a hint of being in a canyon. Water doesn’t appear for three more miles. You’ll reach Coyote Gulch, which has water, 5.25 miles from the trailhead. Another way into Coyote Gulch begins at the Red Well Trailhead; it’s 31.5 miles south on Hole-in-the-Rock Road, then 1.5 miles east (keep left at the fork). A start from Red Well adds three-quarters of a mile more to the hike than the Hurricane Wash route, but it is also less crowded.