A classic, non-technical slot canyon loop of sculpted Navajo sandstone, featuring a 12-foot slickrock climb and extremely tight, shadowed squeezes.
Peekaboo and Spooky Gulch form one of the most famous non-technical slot canyon loops in the American Southwest, located in the rugged backcountry of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Carved over millennia by flash floods cutting through Navajo sandstone, these two distinct corridors are typically tackled as a 4.4-mile clockwise loop starting from the Dry Fork Trailhead off the unpaved Hole-in-the-Rock Road. Navigating the loop in a clockwise direction is the standard convention, a rule designed to prevent human traffic jams in the narrowest passages where passing another hiker is physically impossible. The journey begins with a descent into the sandy floor of Dry Fork wash, leading directly to the mouth of Peekaboo Gulch, which immediately challenges hikers with a 12-foot vertical climb up a sheer slickrock wall. Hand- and foot-holds carved into the stone, along with teamwork from hiking partners, are essential to scale this initial obstacle and enter the canyon's twisted, sculpted interior.
Once inside Peekaboo Gulch, the canyon reveals a whimsical, labyrinthine corridor of swirling orange and red stone. The path winds through a series of tight corkscrews, sculpted potholes that can occasionally pool with cold rainwater, and double natural stone arches that frame the blue Utah sky. After about a quarter-mile of scrambling and squeezing through these smooth, water-carved chambers, the canyon walls peel back, releasing hikers onto a sun-baked desert plateau. Guided by rock cairns across the open slickrock and sandy flats, the route heads east for roughly half a mile toward the dark, imposing slit of Spooky Gulch. This transition across the exposed plateau offers a brief, bright respite before the route plunges into some of the tightest non-technical slot narrows in the region.
Spooky Gulch delivers a starkly different, highly physical experience that lives up to its ominous name. The descent into the canyon begins with a scramble down a rocky slope, quickly leading to a challenging 12-foot drop-off at a wedged boulder pile, where hikers must carefully stem down the rock face. Beyond this obstacle, the Navajo sandstone walls close in dramatically, narrowing to a mere 10 inches in several sections. Navigating these deep, shadowed corridors requires hikers to remove their backpacks, turn entirely sideways, and shuffle slowly through the cool, dim passage where daylight rarely touches the sandy floor. The sheer physical confinement creates an intimate, sensory-rich environment where the only sound is the scraping of boots and clothing against the ancient, textured stone. Emerging from the final squeeze of Spooky back into the wide expanse of the Dry Fork wash completes a loop that feels less like a traditional hike and more like a natural obstacle course.
Always hike this loop clockwise (up Peekaboo, down Spooky) to safely navigate the obstacles and prevent bottlenecks. Leave large backpacks in your car, as Spooky narrows to a mere 10 inches.