By William & Christine Dean
William and Christine Dean discovered that Buckskin Gulch is considered the longest slot canyon in the world, but the entire slot portion of the canyon cannot be ridden through on horseback. That means that as horseback riders, we have two Buckskin Gulch rides from either the end of the slot or from separate trailheads. The more popular upper Buckskin Gulch Trail is reached from House Rock Valley Road and the Buckskin Gulch Trailhead.
The Lower Buckskin Gulch is only reached after riding seven miles of the Paria River and the Paria River Narrows first. That trail is accessed from the White House Rock campground, just south of the Paria Contact Station on US89.
Christine and I began making plans to visit southern Utah on horseback, with a ride in upper Buckskin Gulch as the primary goal. This finally came together in the fall of 2019 when we arranged the time off and campground reservations at the Paria River Ranch in the heart of southern Utah’s spectacular sandstone country. Our first trip was just the two of us, but on our second trip in the fall of 2020, we were accompanied by our daughter Cheyenne, her husband Andrew, and our one-year-old granddaughter Caitlin. The photos are intermingled from both trips.
We arrived at Paria River Ranch and were greeted by the campground hosts, who lined us out on pens for the horses and our spot to set up the living quarters horse trailer. For our first ride, we decided on Long Valley as a warmup slot canyon ride, and it certainly didn’t disappoint with its gentle sandy bottom and gradually narrowing canyon walls—Long Valley dead-ends in a rather impressive pour-off box canyon featuring towering walls of red sandstone.
The next day's weather forecast was clear, with bright sunny skies and no rain for hundreds of miles, perfect for riding a slot canyon.
A word of warning is in order about slot canyons and flash flooding: always check the forecast for the surrounding area, particularly all the upstream area of the canyon drainage, and if rain is likely, choose another day to ride. Once in the slot, you cannot escape a flash flood; no ride is worth that risk. There are places in Buckskin Gulch where trees and limbs are wedged in the canyon walls well over 50 feet above your head! Not survivable and not worth it. Fortunately, southern Utah has an abundance of good weather days. Checking the forecast and using sound judgment is a must!
We left Paria River Ranch just as it was light enough to see, as we wanted an early start on the day. We traveled US89 towards Kanab for a short distance to the intersection of House Rock Valley Road. House Rock Valley Road is known to be impassable with inclement weather, but one would be foolhardy to ride a slot canyon in poor weather. We made the bumpy ride to the Buckskin Gulch Trailhead in good time, where we paid the day permit fee for ourselves and one dog. Interestingly, there is no fee for horses!
We were saddled with our feet in the stirrups just as the sun broke over The Dive. The Dive is an escarpment that forms the western edge of West Clark Bench and curves to the east, forming the northern edge as well. The Buckskin Gulch slot canyon lies just west of and curves to the east under the cliffs of West Clark Bench, eventually reaching the Paria River nearly 13 miles downstream.
Buckskin Gulch Trail (upper) starts with wonderful scenery in a nice wide valley holding shoulders of brilliant red and tan sandstone in an infinite variety of spires, turrets, and buttes. It’s an out-and-back 4.8-mile ride (9.6 total) to Wire Pass, where most of the hikers enter the gulch.
Wire Pass isn’t passable on horseback, nor is Buckskin Gulch below this point. The trail meanders in and out of the sandy gulch bottom for the first three miles, eventually entering the slot canyon portion of the ride near Edmaiers Secret.
Google “Edmaires Secret” to learn more about it and the strangely eroded sandstone features. As we rode into the narrowing slot, it was reminiscent of entering a place of reverence as the clip-clop of hooves reverberated from the ancient canyon walls in the darkening shadows. The slot deepens sufficiently to keep the sandy bottom dark even in high sun hours.
Once we reached Wire Pass, we were greeted by several groups of hikers and one family whose kids had never touched a horse. They marveled at how soft the horse’s noses were as they nuzzled for the carrot treats we snuck the kids to give them.
After lunch at Wire Pass, we headed back towards the truck, enjoying the slot canyon from the opposite perspective.
On the way in, it is easy to miss a formation in the canyon wall known as the “Elephant,” but nearly impossible to miss on the way out! It is a good place for photos.
We reached the trailhead by early afternoon and enjoyed a nice dinner at camp, where we began planning next year’s Buckskin Gulch adventure.
In the fall of 2020, we camped again at Paria River Ranch. This time, we repeated our 2019 ride with Cheyenne, Andrew, and Caitlin of Long Valley and the upper Buckskin Gulch for the first two days.
The third day found us riding one of the most memorable rides we’ve experienced, as we rode the Paria River to lower Buckskin Gulch... We intended to ride the Paria until Caitlin was tired out, then turn around, but just like her mother, Cheyenne, she never seemed to tire of being on a horse, and everyone was good for the entire 17.5-mile ride.
Our ride began at the White House Campground, where most backpackers entered Buckskin Gulch, having entered the gulch at Wire Pass. The trail meanders in and out of the Paria River and can change due to water flow. Most of the time, you will encounter water in the Paria, and at times of runoff or thunderstorms, it can be excessively deep.
We were blessed with some of the driest conditions in October in years. The first seven miles of the ride are all in the Paria River Canyon and pass through the Paria River Narrows, then past Slide Rock.
Three-tenths of a mile past Slide Rock, you will find the mouth of Buckskin Gulch on your right. We had no water at all until 200 yards before the mouth of Buckskin, and it was shallow. Quicksand can be encountered during times of high water, so be wary.
The Utah-Arizona border is only 100 yards past the mouth of Buckskin Gulch on the Paria, where we stopped for lunch.
Once done with lunch, we rode the 1.5 miles up Buckskin Gulch until we were stopped by rockfall choking the canyon. So, you have to ride 14 miles of the Paria just to ride three miles of lower Buckskin Gulch. That might not seem worth it on paper, but how spectacular that three miles is!
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