Lost Canyon and Squaw Canyon Loop

Canyonlands National Park, UT Arches + Canyonlands

Trip stats

Distance
8.9 mi
Net Gain
800 ft
Time
3-5 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 2
Route
Loop

Ratings out of 10

Effort
2.4/10
Personality
6/10
Beauty
7/10
Solitude
2.9/10
What do these mean? →

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

38.143570, -109.803470

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

Aug 11, 2017 — This popular loop in Canyonlands National Park's Needles District has a great amount of variety. The Squaw Canyon Trail leads through pleasant meadowy terrain to the junction with the Peekaboo Trail. I did the loop clockwise, taking Peekaboo Trail first. This is an interesting section of slickrock navigation using cairns on less-clear sections. A ladder aids in descending the rimrock and to the canyon below. The Peekaboo Trail meets with the Lost Canyon Trail on the right. This may be a little difficult to follow at times when washed out, but you can't get too lost. Lost Canyon becomes pretty lush and the contrast of vegetation against the gorgeous sandstone is really nice. The Lost Canyon Trail leads out of its drainage and back up to the slickrock above, where it then leads back to the Squaw Canyon Trail. This trail completes the loop and leads back to the trailhead.

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Photos

40 photos

  1. Starting along the Squaw Canyon Trail.
  3. View back along the trail.
  6. A little mini scramble, marked with cairns. There are a few of these.
  8. Navigating the slickrock rim.
  9. Approaching a ladder that brings you into the canyon below.
  10. Looking back at the ladder and the rim I came down from.
  13. Junction with Lost Canyon.
  15. Lost canyon starts pretty wide and slowly narrows a bit. There are some spots where the trail is washed out, but it's usually pretty easy to pick it up again.
  20. Gorgeous, lush sections within Lost Canyon.
  22. Lots of little grottoes like this where the trail gets swallowed by underbrush.
  24. Approaching the exit of Lost Canyon.
  25. Looking down into Lost Canyon.
  26. Heading up the ridge out of Lost Canyon.
  27. Looking back into Lost Canyon.
  28. Closeup of Lost Canyon.
  29. After crossing the ridge out of Lost Canyon, the trail continues through here.
  30. Looking back toward the ridge crossing after Lost Canyon.
  31. A fun little narrow section.
  34. Continuing along the Squaw Canyon trail back to the trailhead.

Photo 1 of 1

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Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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