Shuttle to the trailhead: 5-hour drive from St. George

Mileage: 5 miles

Elevation Loss: 300 feet

This Utah backpacking trip begins at a remote trailhead at the “headwaters” of Utah’s Coyote Gulch. From the trailhead we hike a short distance before entering an open and dry wash, the upper section of Coyote Gulch. The day’s hike continues downstream and gradually the wash begins to resemble a canyon as short walls of Navajo Sandstone begin to appear on either side of the wash and we come to several pour-offs and short waterfalls. Just as the canyon begins deepening we’ll find ourselves in a beautiful cottonwood grove and our camp for the evening.

Mileage: 6 miles plus optional day hikes

Elevation Loss: 200 feet

Continuing our hike downstream through stands of cottonwood and willows, the gulch deepens and narrows and encloses us in a towering corridor of sandstone. The creek is flowing continuously now and there are numerous crossings. As we progress, the day’s changing light plays on the canyon’s walls in a brilliant show of reds, yellows and browns. These imposing walls are the backdrop for features closer at hand: beautifully sculpted streambeds and intimate little cascades and waterfalls.

After a few miles of hiking in an especially sinuous and narrow part of the gulch, we’ll hike by an amazing backcountry arch. Another half mile hike downstream brings us to a natural bridge. We’ll walk directly underneath this unbelievable feature and make camp in the vicinity.

After dinner we’ll explore the truly amazing Native American ruins nearby. Bands of Fremont people, a pre-Columbian culture that lived contemporaneously with the Anasazi through 1300 AD, once called Coyote Gulch their home. They farmed plots of land and made their dwellings beneath the canyon’s walls. Our second night’s campsite allows us to see a fine pictograph panel at the base of the Navajo Sandstone, a small ruin littered with artifacts, and a Fremont Indian dwelling.

Mileage: 2.5 miles and 2 miles optional day hiking

Elevation Gain: 600 feet

Elevation Loss: 600 feet

A casual morning and delicious breakfast will precede more beautiful hiking downstream. Several miles from camp we’ll hike beneath yet another wonderful rock feature, a spectacular arch several hundred feet above the canyon floor. The character of the canyon changes again as we progress, becoming wider with steep vegetated hillsides beginning to appear beneath the canyon’s walls. Larger pour-offs accompany a higher stream volume and sandstone terraces begin to appear above deep overhangs where the stream flows.

After traversing a sandstone slab we’ll follow the terraces for easier hiking and ascend 200 feet above the stream to our dramatic campsite overlooking the confluence of the Escalante River and Coyote Gulch. Camping here under a steep cliff wall, looking directly through Stevens Arch. Time permitting, we’ll have the opportunity to attempt to day hike to the confluence of the Escalante River or to a remote and spectacular side canyon. Those so inclined are more than welcome to relax in camp and enjoy the breathtaking views of the stunning Escalante Canyon rather than day hike.