Kane Creek Canyon 4x4 Trail

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Canyonlands National Park

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Difficulty: Difficult
Length: 13.2 miles / 21.2 km
Duration: Half day

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Overview: This trail winds back and forth across the floor of Kane Creek Canyon and crosses Kane Creek many times. It then climbs steeply out of the canyon along a narrow, photogenic shelf road. Officially this canyon is called Kane Springs Canyon, but most people refer to it as Kane Creek. Flash flooding is also possible, so keep an eye on the sky. Located on BLM land. For current status call Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office at (435) 259-2100.

Rating:

Difficult. Significant erosion over the years has made this trail more difficult. Flooding wiped out a section of trail for a while; however, it was repaired by the BLM and reopened. This situation will likely happen again, so it is a good idea to check trail conditions with the BLM before heading out. The rocky ledge road after Point #7 has also gotten more difficult. Route-finding is confusing along one section of the creek where conditions change with each storm.

This trail is one of 55 trails from the book, Guide to Moab, UT Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails, 2nd Edition, by Charles Wells, and is available at www.funtreks.com. This trail is also in FunTreks ATV Guide for Moab.

Tips: Take lots of water. Canyon can get very hot in the summer. In spots, the trail is overgrown with tamarisk and can be very buggy during hot summer months, so remember to take bug repellent.

Trail conditions can change without notice. FunTreks, Inc. and its owner and employees are not responsible for injury, death, or vehicle damage as a result of using this guide. The content of this guide is the property of FunTreks, Inc. and is made available to the user pursuant to EveryTrail’s Terms of Service (http://www.everytrail.com/tos.php).

Points of Interest

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Trail Starts Here

Turn left here following sign to Kane Creek Canyon. Straight goes to Hurrah Pass and Chicken Corners (available as eGuide from FunTreks).

Stay left here to start Kane Creek Trail Photo

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Creek Crossing

Cross over to other side of Kane Creek. Water is usually shallow except after heavy rain storms.

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Area of Extreme Erosion

Conditions can change dramatically as erosion constantly eats away at the trail. This section was completely washed away for a while until the BLM blasted away some rock to create a new road. It's alway a good idea to check with the BLM to make sure trail is open.

BLM did blasting here to reopen trail Photo

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Begin Numerous Water Crossings

Trail drops down into Kane Creek and begins crossing it many times. Do your best to follows the trail marked with brown carsonite post. It is easy to get off course. Spots can be deep in places.

So many water crossings you lose count Photo

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Fence

Pass through opening in fence.

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Creek Forks

Trail follows creek for distance. Stay left here where creek splits. You'll come out of the creek for a short distance, then drop in again.

Trail follows creek in places, then climbs out Photo

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Hard Right Up Shelf Road

After coming out of the creek, you start up a rocky road along a rock wall. The trail turns hard right and climbs up some challenging ledges, then continues across a high shelf with high views of the creek. There is a small parking area to the left here where an ATV trail descends to a difficult water crossing. We recommend ATVs turn around at this point.