Okay, I'll keep this short because you don't need a lot of convincing when the score is literally 100 out of 100.
Wire Pass to Buckskin Gulch in the Vermilion Cliffs is running perfect right now. 59°F, AQI 36 (that's crystal clear, by the way), winds at 12 mph, and zero chance of rain. The conditions don't get better than this for a slot canyon hike. Like, mathematically they don't.
What You're Getting Into
This is 7.2 miles round trip with only 400 feet of gain, which sounds easy until you're wading through ankle-deep sand in a canyon that's 8 feet wide and 200 feet tall. The "moderate" rating is real — it's not a death march, but you're not going to cruise through it either. The canyon swallows you up and doesn't let go for hours. Your phone is going to run out of storage before you run out of things to photograph.
Wire Pass is the warmup. It's maybe a mile of narrowing sandstone walls that keep getting tighter until you hit the junction with Buckskin Gulch — the longest slot canyon in the world. Once you're in Buckskin, you're in it. The walls twist and ripple in ways that look like someone was sculpting them at 3am and couldn't stop.
Riley, my Aussie, came with me last fall and was absolutely losing his mind the entire time. Dogs are allowed here (BLM land, leash required), and honestly it's one of the better dog hikes I've taken him on — the terrain isn't technical enough to worry about his paws, and the shade keeps it cool even when it's warm out.
The One Thing You Cannot Ignore
Flash floods. I know you've heard this before, but at Buckskin Gulch it is genuinely not a drill. The canyon is so narrow that a storm 20 miles upstream — a storm you can't see, won't hear until it's too late — can send a wall of water through here in minutes. The current 0% rain chance is exactly what you want to see. If there's any chance of rain in the forecast within 50 miles of this area, you don't go. This is non-negotiable.
Check conditions the morning of. Seriously.
Logistics
- Drive: About 40 miles south of Kanab, UT. The BLM road off Hwy 89 is mostly passable in a standard car but gets sketchy after rain — high clearance doesn't hurt.
- Permit: None required for day hikes. There's a self-serve fee station at the trailhead ($6/person).
- Water: Carry more than you think. There's no water on trail, and you'll be generating body heat in an enclosed canyon.
- Timing: Start by 8am. The light in the canyon hits different in the morning, and you want to be out before afternoon heat builds.
The Bottom Line
If you're in southern Utah or northern Arizona this weekend and you don't take advantage of a 100/100 score at one of the most photogenic slot canyons in the American Southwest, I genuinely don't know what to tell you. We all complain that we never have time — this is time. The conditions are perfect. Go.
Riley would tell you the same thing if he could talk.
[Check live conditions at alwayshave.fun/az/wire-pass-buckskin-az before you head out.]
📍 Live conditions for Wire Pass to Buckskin Gulch →