Willis Creek Slot Canyon:
A VR Splash Through Utah's Perfect Family Hike
Imagine a hike where the trail is a gentle, trickling stream and the path is a beautiful, sculpted slot canyon that's perfect for all ages. Welcome to Willis Creek Slot Canyon, a hidden gem in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It’s one of those rare adventures that’s both incredibly beautiful and wonderfully accessible, making it one of my all-time favorite family-friendly hikes in Southern Utah.
The Golden Nugget 🌟
Don't Miss This: The best part about this hike is the creek itself! You can have a great time trying to hop from side to side to keep your feet dry, or just give in and enjoy splashing through the cool, shallow water. It turns the hike into a fun game for kids and adults alike.
TRANSPORT YOURSELF TO WILLIS CREEK
Since I can't bottle up the feeling of the cool water on a hot day, this is the next best thing! This immersive experience will take you right inside the canyon walls. Grab your VR headset and search for "VR Getaway" to explore this amazing place.
Adventure at a Glance
| 🏞️ Area: | Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument |
| 📍 Location: | Near Cannonville, Utah (about 1 hour from Bryce Canyon) |
| 🚶♀️ Hike: | Willis Creek Narrows |
| 📏 Distance: | Up to 5 miles (8 km) round trip, but you can turn back anytime. |
| 📶 Difficulty: | Easy |
| ⭐ Shauna's Rating: | 💎💎💎💎💎 (5 out of 5 Diamonds) |
| ☀️ Best For: | Family Hikes, Slot Canyons, Photography, Beating the Heat |
| ⏳ Recommended Time: | 2-4 hours |
My Willis Creek Story
While visiting the Bryce Canyon area, I was craving a waterfall hike to beat the heat. A quick search led me to Willis Creek, and as soon as I saw "slot canyon," I was all in! I arrived on a 91-degree afternoon and was a little hesitant, but a family leaving the trail raved about how cool and shady it was inside the canyon. They were absolutely right! I headed in and was immediately delighted. The canyon walls provide plenty of shade, and following the cute little stream is so much fun. I never felt too hot. The canyon is wide enough that you don't feel claustrophobic, and the formations are beautiful and unique. It definitely did not disappoint and became an instant favorite!
The Story Behind the Scenery
Willis Creek is a tributary of the Paria River and has spent thousands of years carving this beautiful canyon out of the soft sedimentary rock of the region, specifically the Dakota and Carmel Formations. The incredible wavy patterns and streaks of color you see on the canyon walls are layers of ancient sediment and minerals that have been sculpted and polished by millennia of flowing water. Unlike many other slot canyons that are carved by violent flash floods, the gentle, perennial flow of Willis Creek has created a wider, more open, and inviting canyon, which is why it's such a pleasant and accessible hike.
Your Trail Guide: Helpful Hints
- ♦️ Best Time to Go: Spring, Summer, and Fall are all great. Thanks to the shade and water, this is one of the few slot canyons that's fantastic even on a hot summer day.
- ♦️ The Road: You'll need to drive about 6 miles down Skutumpah Road, which is a graded dirt road. While passable for most passenger cars in dry conditions, it can become impassable after rain or snow. Always check road conditions before you go.
- ♦️ What to Wear: Water shoes are a great idea! While the creek is shallow, you'll have more fun if you can just splash right through it. Otherwise, wear hiking shoes you don't mind getting wet.
- ♦️ Flash Flood Safety: This is the most important rule for any slot canyon. Check the weather forecast for the canyon AND for areas upstream. If there is any chance of rain, do not enter the canyon.
- ♦️ Turnaround Point: The most spectacular narrows are in the first 1.5 miles. Many people turn around after this section, but you can continue as far as you like.
VR Video Treasure Hunt!
While you're exploring the canyon in the immersive video, see if you can spot these details:
- 🔎 The "Ship" Rock: Look for an awesome rock that sits right in the middle of the slot. To me, it looks like a ship or an animal that can't make its way any further upstream.
- 🔎 The Four Cairns: At one point, I found four cairns (stacked rock piles) in a row. See if you can spot this curious landmark!
- 🔎 Wavy Walls: Pay close attention to the canyon walls and find the sections with amazing wavy streaks of yellow, black, and orange.
- 🔎 The Sound of Water: Listen for the gentle, trickling sound of the stream. It' _______
Willis Creek is a perfect reminder that a great adventure doesn't have to be difficult. It's a place of simple joy—splashing in a creek, marveling at sculpted walls, and enjoying the cool shade on a hot day. What's your favorite family-friendly hike that's perfect for all ages? Share your recommendations in the comments below!
Here is a 360 Video link of Willis Creek Slot Canyon. Use the button on the bottom right to change from 360 to rectangular, to tiny planet.Here is the 2D Version if you would like.Tiny Planet Video LinkI am doing the pictures and videos in reverse from end to beginning since the last canyons were the most stunning.
I was walking along the trail and I found 4 Cairns in a row. That is unique and must mean something important is there. I looked for hooks for rock climbers, but couldn't see any. I did find 2 amazing caves up above. They might be for those, or they might just be a path out of the slots in case of a flash flood. Either case left me curious about those 4 Cairns laying in a row and where they went.
Want Green time for your kids, but just not sure if you can keep them thrilled about the outdoors very long? Well here is the perfect itinerary for you. Head down to Bryce Canyon and hike the Arches trail in the evening on the way into Bryce. It is actually in the Dixie National Forest, but it is close to Bryce.
Link to Arches Hike
While driving down throw a great audio book about Fairies and then the next day make up a challenge to find as many characters from your book hiding in Fairyland loop. See link here.
Link to Fairyland
When the kids get a little bored, don’t force the whole hike, just turn around and head to Cannonville and grab popsicles at the Grand Escalante Inn. Drive down the Kodachrome road and follow a Downloaded offline map to Willis Creek Slot Canyon. Prepare yourself to best hike ever. Make sure you bring water shoes...Rules are please splash in the Creek as we following it through this amazing slot. As you head home from an amazing day and the the car starts to stink from having so much fun, stop in Meadow, Utah. Take the short 5 minute drive off the freeway and short walk to some hot spring pools and let them play and wash off the stink. Finish the drive home with huge smiles on their faces (at least for a few minutes). Great memories, great green time, and great hiking...what more could you want! Whole adventure easily done in day and half.
I love this awesome rock in the middle of the slot. It looks like a ship or animal that can't make its way up any further.Here is a 360 Video at the Dragon Shaped Rock above. Use the buttons on the bottom right to toggle between 360, to tiny planet.
.Directions to Trail
Easiest way to get there is to make sure you do an offline map with google of the area and have Google take you. You go to Cannonville and turn at the Grand Staircase Inn. I always grab gas here so I have a full tank, and a Popsicle. They had good WiFi here so I make sure I have the maps I need. You turn right at that Grand Staircase Inn onto Kodachrome Road/Cottonwood Canyon Rd. Turn right on Skutumpah Rd and is will be about 6 miles down a dirt road. It has wash boards, but it not a bad dirt road as long as there had not been lots of rain. Also just FYI, you could camp here in the parking lot as long as your group is smaller than 12. Just FYI.
360 Trail Where they Waves get more amplitude and more Orange
My Hiking buddy and myself in Willis Creek Slot Canyon
I love how the canyon walls keep getting taller the longer you walk into the canyon. This sequence is mostly in reverse, so the first pictures were closer to the end of the hike.There are 2 cool waterfalls, but you will mostly see them from above unless you make your way backwards into the slot to see them also from the front.
The trail is about 2.5 miles, but most the cool stuff ends after 1.5 miles. This is the Rock that says you are out of the coolest stuff.
This stumped me for a moment, for it looked a little tough to get back into the slot, but have no fear, there is a detour around this both to the left and right. Easy paths abound, just choose one.
I love this canyon because it is not too hard for the little kids, and it is open enough for fun pictures. Another canyon that is kid friendly and photo perfect is Dry Fork Slot Canyon in Escalante. Check it out when you are done here. :)
Link for Dry Fork Slot Canyon
At the trail entrance, I headed right on the first trail I could that was heading that way, I crossed over the stream on these rocks and found such an easy path down into the slot. Hit forward and backwards here so you can get a visual of the easy path in. From the parking lot, the trail is just across the street. You want to find the river and get down into the slot as soon as possible, so take the trails that go right.- __________________________________________________
If you enjoyed this area, there is so much more to see. Just click on the Willis Creek Google Earth Link then click on the little dude in the bottom corner, then any blue line or dot to see more.
Willis Creek Google Earth Link
______________________________________________If you would like to see my favorite hikes in Escalante, here is a GoogleList with all my Escalante Favorites on a map.___________________________________________________
If you liked this area, you will also LOVEKANARRAVILLE SLOT CANYON
and___________________________________________________WAH WEEP HOO DOOS ESCALANTELink To Wah Weap HoodoosHooDoos
and___________________________________________________DEVIL'S GARDEN
___________________________________________________andTUNNEL SLOT CANYON
___________________________________________________andZEBRA SLOT CANYON
__________________________________________________andRED REEF TRAIL
Willis Creek is a perfect reminder that a great adventure doesn't have to be difficult. It's a place of simple joy—splashing in a creek, marveling at sculpted walls, and enjoying the cool shade on a hot day. What's your favorite family-friendly hike that's perfect for all ages? Share your recommendations in the comments below!
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