ATV Adventures: Exploring Cottonwood Canyon at the Kanab Red Rock Jamboree
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- The towering Grosvenor Arch in Cottonwood Canyon at the Kanab Red Rock Jamboree.
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- Some of the beautiful rock formations found in Cottonwood Canyon on the second day of the Kanab Red Rock Jamboree.
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- Three riders on the Cottonwood Canyon Road are traveling through the amazing scenery found in the canyon at the Kanab Red Rock Jamboree.
I have often said that to see the real Utah, you need to get off the highway and into the backcountry. Some do it on a bike, some like to hike, but I prefer driving through the wilds of Utah in a UTV. One of the best examples of what I mean about seeing something you won’t see from a highway is the dirt road through Cottonwood Canyon east of Kanab.
This scenic backway passes through the heart of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, connecting Highway 89 on the south to Cannonville and Kodachrome Basin State Park on the north. This was one of the trails offered at the 2026 Kanab Red Rock Jamboree. The riders met at a staging area on the north side of US Highway 89, near Mile Marker 18. Leaving our trucks, we followed the Cottonwood Canyon Road north.
The trail took us into the Canyon, where we followed the Paria River. Entering the canyon was a jaw-dropping moment for me. The green of the trees along the river on our left stood in stark contrast to the reds and whites of the canyon wall above.
It wasn’t just the colors – the canyon wall showed evidence of being twisted, folded into itself, warped, distorted, and misshapen. I saw solid rock valley floors standing on end – once they were horizontal, their flat surfaces were now pointing to the sky. I could see where multiple forces had carved canyons into the wall. “What secrets do those canyons hold?” I wondered.
The other side of the road was different, but no less impressive. Giant rock formations jutted into the sky. It also showed evidence of the Earth suddenly standing on end. My first impression was that this was not a place I wanted to be when all of this turmoil happened.
It was difficult to take all of this in as we rode through the canyon. At one point, the Paria River bent toward the west to take a course through its own canyon. Our track took us eastward, where just half a mile before we reached Hackberry Canyon, Cottonwood Creek began flowing to the left of the trail.
The warning to watch the weather before venturing into this canyon is not to be taken lightly. We were driving UTVs, but the road is open to cars and trucks as well. The material the road base is made of is called bentonite clay, which is plentiful in the area and is derived from volcanic ash. When it gets wet, vehicles lose traction. It is so slick that walking on it is difficult.
We continued our ride until we reached the picnic area near Grosvenor Arch. We stopped for lunch and took time to appreciate this massive and spectacular sandstone double arch. The arch towers 150 feet up the cliff and spans 92 feet. It is named in honor of Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor (1875 – 1966), a president of the National Geographic Society.
After lunch, we lined up and headed back the way we came, enjoying the rock features on the south side of the road. I was so absorbed with the wall of rock on the north side that I didn’t get a good look at the other side of the road. That changed on the way back.
Just past Hackberry Canyon, we turned north of the main road on a trail that began to climb up the side of the mountain. The views of the canyon became more impressive the higher we got. At one point, we crossed a narrow saddle that dropped off hundreds of feet on both sides.
After gathering at the top, we followed a trail down the other side, across a plateau, and down some switchbacks, into a wash that followed Coyote Creek. On this trail, I came upon a section covered with a white substance. If the temperatures had not been in the 70s, I would have believed it to be snow.
We followed the leader through the alkali and rode through the wash to a junction that put us back on the main trail and back to our trucks. We made a loop that totaled about 64 miles through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. Had I not turned off the highway and made this loop, I would have never known it was there. When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down, and put Cottonwood Canyon on your bucket list.
Lynn R. Blamires can be reached at quadmanone@gmail.com.
