Squeezing Through Zebra Slot Canyon
One of our main hiking goals of our May RV adventure was to hike through the Zebra Slot Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument with our Corgis. It was challenging, but we did it! The hike was a very unique experience and provided for some amazing views. We used this blog as one of our main resources as we prepared for the hike and would recommend it. It details how to find the trail and the canyon and helps you know what to expect along the way. We won’t go through the details from that blog, but will share some notes from our experience that may help you along the way.
The Hike To Zebra Slot Canyon
The hike itself is pretty easy to follow until you get a bit closer to the canyon itself. In the blog post referenced above, it talks about staying to the left of the wash and close to the rock walls. We apparently hung to the left a little too hard and started down the path shown in red above. You need to follow the path shown in green (there are two wash paths which is what’s confusing). The terrain can get quite sandy especially as you get closer to the canyon so be prepared for quite the calf workout! There is also little relief from the elements so we started at 4pm to avoid the heat and the crowds. Be sure to bring lots of water!
While the 3 narrow areas are tough, the views inside are worth it The second narrow inside the canyon. Once through the 3 narrows it widens up for some more comfortable photos Learning to wall walk You can see just how narrow it gets at the bottom and why wall walking gets you through much quicker Learning to wall walk 
We made it out!
Heading into the Slot Canyon
Luckily, there was no standing water in the canyon when we were there as that tends to be common. People talk about going barefoot when there is water, but we relied a lot on our grippy shoes. There is a nice spot at the beginning of the canyon to leave packs which several people did. Since our packs are carrying the Corgis, we took them with but we did unload some waters and bulk.
Inside the Slot Canyon
Once in the canyon, it can be a bit mentally challenging to not panic – there will be times that you think you may get stuck! We took our time between each canyon section to take a break and plan out how we were going to approach going through – for us this also included planning how the Corgis were going through (a lot of passing back and forth). There are sections that you simply can’t walk through and have to go up high on the canyon walls. For this, we found it best to get a good footing and then push your back firmly against the other wall and shimmy on up and through. We’d also recommend trying to avoid busy times. There aren’t many places in the canyon to have people pass each other and so I can’t imagine being there while it’s busy – we luckily only had one other group with us and one that we had to pass leaving as we entered in. Overall we really enjoyed the hike and would highly recommend it – just make sure you’re prepared for what you’re getting yourself into!
We hope this helps you plan your next trip! Check out more of our outdoor adventures here.
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