Spooky & Peekaboo Slot Canyons Hike Guide

February 9, 2021 The Virtual Sherpa Comments 1 comment

Spooky & Peekaboo Slot Canyons is a popular hike located in the Grand Escalante National Monument in southern, Utah. Making a complete loop with Dry Fork Narrows creates an awesome day in the desert. Dry Fork is a mini version of its famous older brother located in Zion National Park while Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons are much more narrow and can be under 20 inches wide in many sections. Spooky Slot Canyon is by far the more narrow of the two and involves a 10-15 foot dropdown that can be tricky for novice or solo hikers. The entire hike is great almost all year and suitable for hikers without a fear of claustrophobia.

Spooky & Peekaboo Slot Canyons Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Dry Fork Narrows, Peekaboo and Spooky Slot Canyons

Spooky & Peekaboo Slot Canyons Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)

Distance: 8.5 Miles RT

Elevation Start: 4,902ft

Highest Point: 4,960ft

Total Elevation Gain: 880ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 4-6 Hours RT

Difficulty: Moderate Difficulty System Explained

Class: Class 3 What does this mean?

Season: Year Round (best to avoid in mud season though) Expect water (especially near Green River) in Spring and Summer.

Weather: Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Spooky & Peekaboo Slot Canyons

Trailhead: Lower Dry Fork Narrows Trailhead OR Upper Dry Fork Trailhead

Getting Here: From UT12 just outside of Escalante, turn onto Hole in the Rock Road and drive for about 24 miles until you reach the first (upper) TH. If you want to hike all three of these canyons, I would recommend starting here. If you want to JUST hike Peekaboo and Spooky continue about another mile to the lower TH. Both locations are listed below. The road to both areas is dirt and usually fairly well maintained but can be nasty after a big rainstorm and in the spring when snow is melting. Avoid driving on this road in a passenger car in both of these situations.

Fees: There is no fee to hike Dry Fork Narrows, Peekaboo and Spooky Slot Canyons.

Parking: There are two parking areas for this hike: the upper trailhead and lower trailhead. Both parking areas have non-plumbing bathrooms and parking lots that can fit 20+ cars.

Summary

Camping: Camping along the hike itself probably doesn’t make a ton of sense but since this hike is located within the Grand Escalante National Monument, there are a ton of options to camp on Hole in the Rock Road. You can grab a free camping permit at either TH or the National Monument Visitor’s center in Escalante. Water is very scarce here though so be sure to bring plenty.

Dogs: This hike does allow dogs, but is not one that I would recommend bringing a dog on unless they are very small and used to being in a backpack. If you wanted to bring a dog, the rim trail and Dry Narrows are both 100% suitable, but not Spooky or Peekaboo Canyons.

Make it a Loop: This hike is commonly hiked in a loop starting at the Peekaboo and Spooky Slots, working over to Dry Fork Narrows and then taking the rim trail back to the parking area. You can easily cut out Dry Fork or Peekaboo and Spooky to make smaller loops as well.

Trail X Factors: Without a doubt, the biggest X Factor on this hike is the 10-15ft drop that is found in the Spooky Slot Canyon. This move can be extremely tricky if you are hiking solo. I descended this section and it was very sketchy. I would not trust any rope or rope ladders that are secured to the rocks in this area. I think it MIGHT be easier to climb this vs downclimb it so that you can see the entire move vs going into it blind. If you were to fall here you would most likely avoid serious injury but could easily break a bone or sustain a bad cut/bruise.

In addition to this move in Spooky, there is a small class 3 climb to start Peekaboo Slot Canyon that can be tricky for some hikers as well. This is about a 15-20ft climb to get up into the canyon.

Hike Tip(s): If you plan on hiking the entire Dry Fork Narrows, Peekaboo and Spooky Slot Canyons the most logical place to park would be the Upper trailhead (which you pass before getting to the lower one). I don’t think it makes sense starting on Spooky vs Peekaboo – they both present their challenges but I would recommend starting on this hike very early so that you don’t have to have hikers coming the opposite direction as you. This would be incredibly tricky in many spots as there is not enough room for 2 people to pass by each other.

Best Views: Dry Fork Narrows, Peekaboo and Spooky Slot Canyons is a beautiful hike from start to finish but my favorite views were in Peekaboo and Spooky Slot Canyons. The red rock in the canyons, beautiful lighting and unique landscape really makes for endless photo opportunities.

Spooky & Peekaboo Slot Canyons Trail Route

Started at Peekaboo, went to Spooky, then to Dry Fork then ended on the Rim trail.

Gear Needed

Hiking Boots or Trail Runners
Backpack
Protection from Sun
LOTS of water – At least 2+ liters – especially in summer
Optional: Map of area or GPS – I use the Garmin inReach
Optional: Hiking Poles
Optional: Headlamp
Optional: Camera
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My Trip to Spooky & Peekaboo Slot Canyons: January 2021

Slot Canyons have always intrigued me so when I arrived in southern Utah at the trailhead for this hike, I was extremely excited and a little nervous. I don’t typically do well in very tight spaces and had fairly little experience with slot canyons in general. I decided to hike all three of the canyons in the area: Dry Fork Narrows, Peekaboo and Spooky.It was a brisk winter morning with a coating of white snow covering the red desert landscape. The hike down to the canyons was pretty straight forward outside of a little sketchy downclimb on some slick rock.

I started with Peekaboo first and made easy work of the class 3 climb to get into the canyon. I was immediately blown away by the beauty in the area. I worked my way through Peekaboo Slot canyon enjoying almost every step. Eventually the canyon ended and I was back above the ground in the desert with some grazing cows. Spooky Canyon started off much more narrow with higher canyon walls. The hike was extremely straightforward until I reached the downclimb. I had a hard time finding the move at first but climbed down through some rocks and was faced with a evident drop that I had to make.

Reluctantly, I decided to use rope ladder that was tied to one of the rocks and very carefully lower myself down deeper into the canyon. It was awkward, not extremely safe and definitely sketchy, but I made it. The rest of Spooky Slot canyon was extremely narrow – in one section I had to crawl on the ground to get through. Spooky eventually ended and I made my way back over to end with Dry Fork Narrows. This last canyon was much less exciting than the previous two but still was beautiful and cool to explore in its own right.

Overall, this was an A+ hike and one that I would do again in a heartbeat. Check out some pictures from my hike through Dry Fork Narrows, Peekaboo and Spooky Slot Canyons below and then watch the virtual trail guide.