Neon Canyon and Golden Cathedral

Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, UT Escalante Area

Trip stats

Distance
10.4 mi
Net Gain
1,400 ft
Time
8-11 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 2
ACA Rating
3B III
Longest Rappel
90 ft
Route
Out/Back

Ratings out of 10

Effort
4.2/10
Personality
8/10
Beauty
8/10
Solitude
6.2/10
What do these mean? →

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

37.593332, -111.218401

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

Technical canyon warning

This is a technical canyon requiring canyoneering skills and specialized equipment. If you are not experienced with building anchors or using the gear required for technical canyoneering, do not attempt this route.

Sep 1, 2017 — There is a difficult to follow trail that we kept losing, but a general good word of advice is to head to a massive rock feature in the distance, which sits just east of Neon Canyon. If nothing else, use this as a landmark and then find a route down the sandy slope leading to the Escalante River. From the river, head into Neon Canyon and after the first bend, take the ramp to the west side of the canyon, where you can follow cairns to a good entrance. There seemed to be more than one spot to rappel (or scramble) into Neon Canyon. A few rappels and full swimmers later, we arrived at the final rappel into the Golden Cathedral, which has been an iconic image of canyoneering for me for years and I was really glad to final have the chance to rappel through the gorgeous hole in the ceiling.

Apparently at some points during the year, a pretty serious keeper pothole appears. Fortunately, the water was high enough that we didn't have a problem.

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Photos

49 photos

  1. Head down into the open desert, and hike for a few miles. That big rock in the distance marks Neon Canyon.
  3. Big rock getting closer.
  4. Overlooking the Escalante River. That big rock is right above Neon Canyon.
  5. Crossing the Escalante River.
  7. Entering Neon Canyon.
  8. Leaving the canyon and finding a route up the north side of the canyon. It's pretty easy going. Follow the rim for a couple miles.
  15. There seem to be a few entrance spots. We rappelled off some webbing that was set up on a huge pinnacle natural anchor.
  19. Carlos squeezing through one of many narrow sections.
  24. A quick shot of me coming down one of many obstacles.
  26. Random natural arch in the canyon.
  30. Carlos going for a swim.
  31. Open space before another rappel.
  37. Little eroded holes.
  38. And another swim.
  39. Approaching the last rappel.
  40. Looks awesome.
  41. It was awesome.
  49. Big rock above Neon Canyon, shot at sunset on the way back.

Photo 1 of 1

Hire me or show some love!

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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