Peek-A-Boo & Spooky Slot Canyons
Southern Utah is amassed with unique slot canyon adventures, but its difficult to find ones with narrower passages than the Peek-a-boo and Spooky side canyons of the Dry Fork Coyote Gulch. They are in fact so tight that hike may not be comfortable for claustrophobic or heavyset people. Both canyons get very narrow but Spooky, in particular, might make you suck it in a lot!
Need to Know
Directions: From the junction of Highway 12 and 24 near Torrey, UT, head south on Highway 12 for 58 miles. Turn left on Hole in the Rock Rd (BLM 200) and continue on Hole in the Rock Rd for 25.9 miles. Turn left on BLM 252 and continue to trailhead head parking lot. Note that the latter part of this road can become deeply rutted and impassable for some cars.
Description
These canyons can be explored independently, but given their relatively close proximity to one another, it is easy to link them into a loop adventure. The Dry Fork wash is accessed from a cairn-marked trail, and some rudimentary route finding skills are recommended. After descending in the wash, head east (downstream) to locate the entrances to the side canyons.
You can identify Peek-A-Boo by the stacked rocks and the hand and footholds carved into the sandstone in order to climb up into the canyon. Its entrance is elevated off the ground about 10 feet, so it possible to miss if you aren't watching for it. Use the handholds to clamber up inside. The canyon will proceed through a series of amazing mini-arches before becoming a narrow slot. Roughly 0.25 miles long, this canyon will end in a wide, sandy wash. You could turn around here to backtrack through Peek-a-Boo, but the loop continues overland to the east.
Go up and over the terrain of sandy trail and slickrock for about 0.5 miles. It's not long, but routefinding can be tricky because there's no real trail to follow. Try to stay on solid rock and worn paths to avoid trampling the cryptobiotic soil crusts. Soon you'll make your way into a large wash that leads to the mouth of Spooky, marked with a cairn.
The canyon itself is only 0.25 miles long, but is only 12 inches wide for much of this length. The constricted nature of Spooky can be uncomfortable for some (psychologically or physically) and downright prohibitive for others. It should also be noted that a boulder jam near the north end of Spooky requires climbing and stemming to negotiate passage.
After exiting Spooky look for a cairn straight ahead. You'll continue straight across the wash and make your way back to the entrance of Peek-a-Boo, then back up to the parking lot the same way you came down.