Canyoneering Route Description

Spooky and Peek-A-Boo Slots - 2A I
Eerie Slot side trip - 1A I (optional)
Escalante National Monument, Utah.

Quick Facts

05-12-07, 2 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 4.5 hours) - Including Eerie Slot
06-11-05, 8 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 3.5 hours)
04-11-12, 2 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 5 hours) - Including Eerie Slot
04-06-18, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 4.1 hours) - Including time to explore small lots in the area.
11-01-21, 1 person, 1 day (Travel time in route 

Time Required - 3 to 5 hours
Distance - 2.9 miles Total, 0.6 miles Technical 
Add a 0.5 to 1.0 mile if doing the side trip through Eerie Slot
Rappels - 0 Rappels, Longest Rappel N/A feet.
Elevation Range - 4966 - 4670 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger High Clearance Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

No special gear is needed as this is a level 2 canyon.  Having a 20 or 30 foot piece of webbing along can be a good idea to assist people in a couple spots but should not be needed.  Be sure to bring water, food and what every you need for a hike.  It can get hot out there.

General Comments

This is a very fun hike.  It is easy travel to 2 very nice slots.  The slots have nothing technical but feel like they should.  Parts of Spooky get so tight, larger people will have to crawl to get through.  The bottom at times gets so narrow you can not put your feet flat on the ground.  Peek-A-Boo (Peekaboo) is a little more wide open but has very twisted walls and arches that make it a must see as well. The route shown here is from Dry Fork trailhead, up Spooky Slot, down Peek-A-Boo slot then back to the Dry Fork trailhead the same way.

Note:
Some guides recommend going up Peek-A-Boo then down Spooky (the opposite direction of this route description).  When these canyons get crowded (and they will be crowded at times like spring break) it will be difficult or impossible to pass people traveling in opposite directions in Spooky Canyon.  If it is crowded, and you find you are going against the traffic, simply turn around and do the route in the same direction most of the people are going.

Eerie Slot:
There is a very scenic and non-technical slot up canyon in Dry Fork from Peek-A-Boo slot.  I call that slot Eerie Slot to stay in keeping with the Spooky and Peek-A-Boo theme.  Eerie slot is about 0.5 miles of tall narrow scenic canyon.  An enjoyable addition to the day if you have time is to walk up as far as you like into Eerie Slot then retreat, or continue 0.5 miles to the top of Eerie Slot then route find your way southeast back to the Dry Fork trailhead.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the city of Escalante drive about 4 miles southeast on Hwy 12 to the turn off for Hole-In-The-Rock road on the right (extHoleInRock). The condition of the dirt Hole in the Rock road varies a lot with recent rains and road maintenance.  High clearance may be needed in extreme cases but most of the time passenger cars will be fine for the first 30 or 40 miles on Hole in the Rock road.

Travel about 26 miles southeast on Hole-In-The-Rock road to the turn off for the Dry Fork trailhead to the left (extDryForkTH1).  From Hole-In-The-Rock road drive about 0.7 miles to a fork in the road (extDryForkTH2) and turn left (north) at this fork.  After turning left at the fork continue 0.9 miles to the Dry Fork trailhead (tDryFork).  The distance from Hole-In-The-Rock road to the trailhead is about 1.65 miles.

Most of the time the road conditions on the Hole in the Rock and the road to Dry Fork trailhead are good.  The last half mile to the trailhead may be difficult for some passenger cars.  If you find the last half mile a bit difficult for your car, you can park and walk the last part.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle is needed.  This is done as a loop route.

Maps

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the entire route.

Details

I did not take detailed notes for the route but is short and pretty easy to follow.  A GPS would definitely help though.

The Approach
From the trailhead (tDryFork), follow the trail going north leaving the parking area.  After about 400 feet the trail will fade away where you will find a steep slope of slick rock.  Route find your way northwest down the slick rock down to the flat desert floor below.

After getting to the bottom of the steep slick rock slope, route find your way north about 700 feet over to the top of a deep side drainage (wDryForkRP-01) that drops northeast down into Dry Fork.

Follow down into this drainage for about 0.16 miles where you will find yourself in the Dry Fork Drainage (wDryForkRP-02).

Note:
From this point (wDryForkRP-02) you can access a scenic and non-technical slot in Dry Fork by traveling northwest up the Dry Fork drainage.  If you have extra time when visiting the area from the Dry Fork trailhead this scenic slot makes for a a great addition to the day.  You can hike as far up the slot as you wish then turn back or you can follow the slot for about 0.5 miles where it becomes shallow and easy to exit (yEerieTp).  I refer to this slot as Eerie Slot to stay in keeping with the Spooky and Peek-A-Boo theme.  After exiting Eerie Slot you could route find your way about 0.5 miles southeast back to the Dry Fork trailhead.

Once in the Dry Fork drainage (wDryForkRP-02) turn right to walk east(ish) down canyon in the Dry Fork drainage.  About 250 feet down canyon is the bottom exit of the Peek-A- Boo slot (yPeek-A-BooBt) which will be on the left (north) side of the wash you are in.  The bottom of Peek-A-Boo slot has a couple of drops to up climb or downclimb (depending on travel direction) as it joins the Dry Fork wash.  So looking up at it you get the feel it is a slot you would need to climb up into (I added that note to help people figure out if they were staring at the correct slot).

Continue east down the Dry fork wash about 0.3 miles to a spot where a trail / wide wash like area (jFrk2Spooky ) veers left (northeast).  This is a short cut over to the bottom of the Spooky slot and is easily passed since it is a small fork off of a very wide drainage.  The actual Spooky drainage meets Dry Fork about 0.3 miles east of here.  Veer left and follow this route northeast to the bottom of the Spooky Slot.

Note:
If you happen to miss this fork and continue to the bottom of the Spooky Drainage (jSpookyBt), you can just turn left at the confluence and travel about 600 feet north to the bottom of the Spooky Drainage.

After turning left at the short cut fork walk about 0.25 miles northeast to the bottom of Spooky slot (ySpookyBt).

The Canyon / Technical Section:
From the bottom of Spooky Slot travel up canyon to the upper end.  Spooky Slot is about 0.3 miles long and one of the most enjoyable non-technical slots I have been in.  It gets very tight in places.  Some spots you need to turn sideways to pass through.  Larger people will need to crawl to pass some spots where walls are wider close to the floor.  There are some areas in Spooky that the bottom is not wide enough to put your foot flat on the ground as you walk.  Long sections of this slot are only 2 or 3 feet wide. 

Near the end of Spooky you will need to scramble up a few spots to get out but nothing is very difficult.   Take your time through this slot!  It is worth taking time to enjoy it!

Route between Spooky top and Peek-A-Boo top:
From the top of Spooky Slot (ySpookyTp) turn left then go up the steep sandy hill.  Follow the faint trails on top of the hill over to the top of Peek-A-Boo Slot (yPeek-A-BooTp).  You will find you need to weave here and there as you find your way along the path but keep in mind the top of Peek-A-Boo is about 0.4 miles due west of the top of Spooky.  I have been here twice and took different paths over to the top of Peek-A-Boo each time.  GPS may be helpful here.  If you keep your mind on where you are and know that the top of Peek-A-Boo is about 0.4 miles almost due west of the top of Spooky you should be fine.

Entering the top of Peek-A-Boo:
From the top of Pee-A-Boo (yPeek-A-BooTp), travel down canyon to the bottom of the slot.  Peek-A-Boo is also worth taking time to enjoy.  It is more open than Spooky but the walls and arches twist all over.  Peek-A-Boo is also about 0.3 miles long.  At the end of the slot is about a 12 foot drop marking the exit of Peek-A-Boo slot (yPeek-A-BooBt).  The drop can be navigated easily but some may enjoy having a rope held for them for safety.

The Exit:
After dropping out of Peek-A-Boo turn right (west) and travel a couple hundred feet upstream in the wash to find the smaller wash you entered from (wDryForkRP-02).  Retrace your steps back to the trailhead.

Note:
Alternately you can continue upstream in Dry Fork to enjoy the scenic non-technical Eerie Slot that continues for about 0.5 miles before it becomes shallow and allows easy exit to the desert above.  After exiting to the desert above, route find your way about 0.5 miles southeast back to the Dry fork trailhead.

GPS Waypoint Information

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........

Spooky Peek-A-Boo Eerie (1) - Drive to Dry Fork Trailhead

extHoleInRock          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.72448   W -111.52668        Elev: 5,732 Feet Turn off to Hole-In-The-Rock road from Hwy 12. extDryForkTH1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.46638   W -111.22344        Elev: 4,890 Feet Turn off of Hole-In-The-Rock road toward Dry Fork trailhead. extDryForkTH2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.46579   W -111.21226        Elev: 4,849 Feet Turn left (north) to Dry Fork trailhead. tDryFork          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.47650   W -111.21994        Elev: 4,966 Feet Dry Fork Trail Head.

Spooky Peek-A-Boo Eerie (2) - Approach to Bottom of Spooky

tDryFork          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.47650   W -111.21994        Elev: 4,966 Feet Dry Fork Trail Head. wDryForkRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.47965   W -111.21958        Elev: 4,780 Feet Head of a small side drainage dropping down into Dry Fork. wDryForkRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48130   W -111.21751        Elev: NaN Feet Down in Dry Fork after dropping in from the Dry Fork Trailhead. yPeek-A-BooBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48156   W -111.21673        Elev: 4,721 Feet Bottom of Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon. jFrk2Spooky          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48024   W -111.21254        Elev: 4,675 Feet Fork to Spooky Slot Canyon. This is a little short cut over to the bottom of the Spooky Slot. The actual drainage for Spooky joins Dry Fork about 0.3 miles east of here. ySpookyBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48159   W -111.20909        Elev: 4,680 Feet Bottom of Spooky Slot Canyon. jSpookyBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48033   W -111.20835        Elev: NaN Feet Confluence of the Dry Fork wash and the bottom of the Spooky draiange.

Spooky Peek-A-Boo Eerie (3) - Spooky, Peek-A-Boo and Eerie Slots

ySpookyBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48159   W -111.20909        Elev: 4,680 Feet Bottom of Spooky Slot Canyon. ySpookyTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48532   W -111.20947        Elev: 4,750 Feet Top of Spooky Slot Canyon. This is the top of the narrow slot section in the Spooky Drainage. yPeek-A-BooTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48559   W -111.21690        Elev: 4,790 Feet Top of Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon. yPeek-A-BooBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48156   W -111.21673        Elev: 4,721 Feet Bottom of Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon. yEerieBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48144   W -111.21847        Elev: NaN Feet Bottom of Eerie Slot. A non-technical slot that makes a good addition to the Spooky and Peek-A-Boo canyon day. yEerieTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.48304   W -111.22549        Elev: 4,745 Feet Point where the slot becomes shallow and allow escape to teh desert above. I refer to this as Eerie Slot in keeping with the Spooky and Peek-A-Boo theme.