Willis creek slot canyon

I found this canyon while looking at what to see on the way from Bryce to Capitol Reef. According to the map, it seems nearby, and the road seems to be short, but it turned out that it is dirt. We trudged along it for half an hour. The crowd at the beginning of the trail is small, but I don’t think the trail is very popular - with such and such a road!

Already at the very beginning, the trail surprises - sheer cliffs with wavy walls rise on both sides. In one place we even had to climb down to get further. If you only go through the canyon, the round trip road will take 3 miles (5 km). If you walk the entire trail, it will be 5 miles (8 km).

The trail is easy, with an elevation gain of 300 feet (100 meters), which is nothing at all compared to the mountain trails in Washington. In the narrowest places of the canyon, the width of the passage between the walls is 8 feet (2-3 meters). They start out 25 feet (8m) tall, but quickly reach 100 feet (35m).

Before heading back, we sat in the shade and had a little snack. If you need winter jackets in the morning and the temperature is -6, then during the day you can walk in just a T-shirt, and it will even be hot. But keep in mind that in the canyon the sun rarely reaches - only at noon, which means there is often shade and coolness there. If it’s freezing on the way to the trail, then on the way back it’s a life-saving coolness after the heat.