This picture-perfect slot canyon – Little Wild Horse Canyon located between Arches and Capitol Reef National Park is definitely worth a stop!
When we were planning our road trip across southern Utah, we knew that we wanted to add a slot canyon to our itinerary – we just needed to find the perfect one for us! Little Wild Horse Canyon is located about 2 hours from Arches National Park and 1.5 hours from Capitol Reef National Park, so it is a great place to stop on your way from one to the other.
Why do we enjoy slot canyons? They are beautiful, fun to navigate, allows us to problem solve individually and together, and perfect for spending quality time together creating memories that we will always remember.
Little Wild Horse Canyon
Little Wild Horse Canyon (Slot Canyon) to Bell Canyon is an 8-mile loop trail, however, you can choose to only do one of these canyons and then turn back at any point. My recommendation is to hike as long as you want through Little Wild Horse Canyon which is the prettier of the two canyons and then turn around and make your way back to the trailhead. This was our original plan, however, we ended up hiking the entire 8-mile loop.
Tip: Snap a picture of the trail map at the trailhead so that you have a map with you while hiking.
At the trailhead, you will hike across flat land to get to the entrance of the canyon. A little way into the canyon the trail will split – to the right for Little Wild Horse Canyon and to the left for Bell Canyon. This trail does require some scrambling over rocks and climbing.
During our visit, the canyon did have standing water which did make our hike more difficult. We did not want to step into the deep water and get our feet completely wet and we did succeed!
Remember NEVER hike in a slot canyon if there is a chance for rain due to flash floods.
We loved Little Wild Horse Canyon – there was lots of climbing and it was fun for the whole family.
Have you hiked a slot canyon before?
