Little Wild Horse Canyon & Bell Canyons Hike Pictures

Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons Trail Guide

December 6, 2021 The Virtual Sherpa Comments 0 Comment

Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons are a pair of moderately trafficked canyons located in Central Utah. These slot canyons are nice because they are not super technical making them dog and family friendly. If you do bring a dog on this one, I would recommend an athletic dog and just be prepared to help them out in several sections. This hike is doable all year and is the perfect introduction to hiking slot canyons.

Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons

Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 Stars)

Distance: 8 Miles

Elevation Start: 4,964ft

Highest Point: 5,675ft

Total Elevation Gain: 722ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 3-5 Hours RT

Difficulty: Moderate Difficulty System Explained

Class: Class 2/3 – Most of the Class 3 moves can be avoided if needed What does this mean?

Season: Year Round (best to avoid in mud season though [April, May])

Weather: Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Little Wild Horse & Bell Canyon

Trailhead: Little Wild Horse & Bell Canyon Trailhead

Getting Here: Take UT 24 North from Hanksville or South from exit 149 on I70 until you reach Temple Road and signs for Goblin State Park. Take this for 5.2 miles and then turn left onto Goblin Valley Road. Continue for 6.2 miles and then take a right onto wild Horse Road. After 5.2 miles you will reach the well signed parking area on your left. All cars should be able to get to this TH no problem unless there is a big storm in the area which may cause flooding.

Parking: The small parking lot at the TH can fit about 10-15 cars and does have a non-plumbing bathroom. Parking will fill up on most weekends but there is extra parking along the road and in additional overflow parking lots.

Fee: There is no fee to hike the Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons as of 2021.

Summary

Dogs: Little Wild Horse and Bell Slot Canyons is a dog friendly hike and one that I would consider suitable for most dogs who have some experience with minor scrambling and tighter places. After I hiked this one on my own, we went back with Juno and while she was able to do it – we did have to help her out in 5-10 spots. If you bring your dog, expect to do the same. The entire hike is in a wilderness area, so be sure to keep dogs leashed.

Camping: Camping in the area is fairly easy between Goblin State Park and standard dispersed camping along the roads that lead to the TH. There is a bunch of open range land in the area so be sure to be aware of that but otherwise camping should not be a problem. On the hike itself, there are potential places to backpack if you wanted to near the end of each slot canyon, but I would consider this not worth it IMO.

Make it a Loop: This hike is a lollipop loop with so many additional slot canyons to explore in the area. The Green River Valley is known for its slot canyons and I can’t wait to go back to explore more!

Trail X Factors: Time of Year You Visit

I checked out this hike on a weekday in January and still had 5-6 other cars at the TH when I was done. Spring typically brings flooding concerns and more mud while summer brings the heat and makes an early start on this loop a necessity. Winter is by far the least popular time to visit Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons and is the time I would recommend a trip. However, this hike is getting more popular so getting there during off hours (early morning or later afternoon) is best if you want to avoid crowds.

Hike Tip(s): Although it does not really matter, I would recommend starting on Bell Canyon first and then heading over Little Wild Horse. By doing this you do have more elevation gain at once, but I feel that overall you are saving the best hiking for last in Little Wild Horse Canyon. Little Wild Horse Canyon is by far the better slot canyon as it is more narrow, more technical and MUCH longer than Bell.

Best Views: From start to finish, you can’t really go wrong on this hike with a good view but my favorite spot to take pictures was in Little Wild Horse Canyon and in between Little Wild Horse & Bell on the 4×4 road. I felt that this was such a great spot to get a sense of how you small you can feel in a desert because of the expansive views in all directions.

Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons Trail Route

Gear Needed

Hiking Boots or Trail Runners

Backpack
Protection from Sun – this entire hike is exposed
Water (2+ Liters in the summer)

Optional: Map of area or GPS – I use the Garmin inReach
Optional: Hiking Poles
Optional: Camera

Optional: Microspikes – only necessary in winter after big storm
Optional: Yaktrax – only necessary in winter after big storm
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My Trip to Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons: January 2021

In late 2020 and early 2021 I was on a slot canyon kick. Earlier in the week, I hiked the much more narrow Dry Fork Narrows, Peekaboo, and Spooky Slot Canyons and was ready for another one. After a quick search, I found Little Wild Horse & Bell Slot Canyons. They were on the way home from another few hikes so I decided to check them out.

When I arrived at the TH on a brisk January morning I was the only car in the parking lot, SCORE. The hike itself started with some river bed walking but quickly entered a canyon and a fork to start Bell or Little Horse Canyon first. For no reason at all I choose Little Wild Horse. The canyon was mellow at first but quickly got more narrow and in some spots got to about 16-20 inches across. This hiking continued for a while until the slots ended and the canyon opened up to MASSIVE sandstone walls in all directions. I continued out of Little Wild Horse to the 4×4 and made my way over to Bell.

Bell was much less exciting and significantly shorter “slot” canyon hiking but still a cool trail. I arrived back to the car in no time which was now surrounded by other cars. All in all, I enjoyed this hike but it was not my favorite slot canyon experience since it was pretty mellow. If you were looking for a good intro slot or one that was dog friendly though, look no further!