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Lick Wash: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Entrance Fees: There are no fees to enter the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from the Glendale Bench Road or to hike the trails listed on this page. Road Map .

Lick Wash Slot Canyon

Photo Album: Lick Wash Narrows   Beyond Narrows
Trail Map: Lick Wash Map
Day Hike: Yes.
Trail Distance: 5.5 miles round trip. 9 miles round trip to LeFevre.
Average Hiking Time: 5 hours
Trail Usage: Skutumpah road is impassible if wet.
Difficulty: Moderate. To access slytherin slot and lost spire hoodoo, skills may be required to chimney in the slot canyon and hike up steep slickrock.
Sun Exposure: Sun and Shade mix.
Permits: No
Trail Conditions: Skutumpah Road is impassible if wet and remote so be prepared. Most of the Lick Wash narrows is a nice stroll through a dry wash. This is an easy hike that kids and families with enjoy.  Beyond the narrows the path is through a hot, sunny wash.
Trailhead: Skutumpah Road
Trailend: Same as trailhead
Best Season: Year-round if Skutumpah is accessible.  Hiking beyond the narrows is best done when its cooler.
Off the Beaten Path: Yes
Restrooms: None

This is an easy and shady slot canyon hike in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that the entire family can enjoy. Look for the faint petroglyphs while in the Lick Wash narrows.  Most hikers just walk through the narrows section but for those who continue once the wash widens look for Twisted Pine Arch. Lost Spire Hoodoo marks the way to a skinny side slot canyon to chimney through. This trail report ends at the historic LeFevre cabin.

Trailhead: From Mount Carmel Junction, follow Scenic Byway 89 north, to Glendale, Utah. Make a right turn on 300 North, also called the Bench Road. It's directly across the highway from the Buffalo Bistro. Travel the graded dirt Glendale Bench Road (road #600) and enter the Grand Staircase National Monument in 8.5 miles and at 15 miles arrive at a marked junction in the road. There is a kiosk at the junction with a map and other information. The road goes in two directions from the Glendale Bench Road. One road is the Johnson Canyon Road leading south and the other is the Skutumpah Road (road #500) traveling northeast..Turn left on the Skutumpah Road and travel 14.8 miles from the Johnson Canyon intersection to arrive at the Lick Wash trailhead/parking on the right side. Set your odometer and look for a yellow flood sign. The turn-off is unmarked and not easy to spot, but watch for the wash. The Lick Wash turn-off is marked as road #554 on the Grand Staircase detailed maps. Turn right on #554 to find the registration box.

The Lick Wash hike is an easy 5.5 mile round trip (9 miles round trip if traveling as far as LeFevre Cabin). This slot canyon excels in beauty and adventure and the added benefit is that it's remote and quiet. Make sure to bring a lunch and lots of water. Lick Wash is dry most of the time, but during times of flash flooding, the torrent of water details the high cliff walls, carving beautiful patterns of crossbedding in the sandstone. The end result is magnificent and abundant. Children will enjoy the easy hiking and climbing into the many holes and crevices.

Lick Wash Petroglyphs - Be sure to see the petroglyphs on the right side on the way down. After walking for .6 miles find the short canyon (15 yards deep) by walking under a leaning fir tree in Lick Wash, continue downstream another 20 yards and look for a short canyon on the right identified by a large ponderosa pine tree 6' downstream from its mouth. There are two somewhat weathered petroglyphs on the right side wall while walking into the short canyon.

Never touch Petroglyphs!
Treat them as you would an outdoor museum.

Twisted Pine Arch - Another feature to see after 1.8 miles is the Twisted Pine Arch high up on the cliffs above on the left side of Lick Wash. The arch is seen from the canyon floor and is pointed like an arrowhead just to the left of a twisted pine tree high up on the cliff.

Slytherin Slot and Lost Spire Hoodoo - By continuing down Lick wash for another .8 miles a wash enters from the right and is the path to Slytherin Slot and a close up view of Lost Spire Hoodoo. Choose to take reprieve from the sun under the large Ponderosa at the hoodoo viewpoint or continue up the wash a short distance to try working through the impossibly narrow slot canyon and the scrambling access to stand next to Lost Spire Hoodoo. The Hoodoo can also be accessed by scrambling up the sandy slope by the pine tree then working across the slickrock.

LeFevre Cabin - If the day is early and more exploration is on the agenda, continue down Lick Wash and find the LeFevre Cabin another 1.75 miles down Lick Wash and on the plateau on the left at the base of the cliffs of Calf Pasture Point.

Skutumpah Road - Continue another 3-miles northeast on Skutumpah Road to the GSENM kiosk. After the kiosk, it's another 3.5 out of the monument and onto the paved scenic backway to (Kodachrome Basin Road) Cannonville. There is a staffed GSENM Visitors Center in Cannonville.

Caution: Flash floods are a danger with any hike through a slot canyon. As with Willis Creek hike, check weather information prior to hiking.

GPS Beta: Coordinates WGS84 Datum

Directions: East Zion to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Grand Staircase Map Grand Staircase Road Map From Salt Lake City, travel south on I15 to U-20. Exit on U-20. Turn south on U-89 and follow U-89 to Glendale. From Las Vegas: Travel I15 to exit 16. Follow U-9 to the south entrance of Zion and through to the east entrance. Take U-9 for 12 miles to Mt. Carmel Jct, where U-89 and U-9 meet. Drive north on U-89 to Glendale. From Glendale, turn right on 300 N. (Bench Road) Follow the graded dirt road, Skutumpah, into the Grand Staircase. Remember the Grand Staircase is a wild and remote place. The dirt roads may be impassible when wet and there is usually no water, services or cell phone access. Skutumpah is a backway and should only be traveled in dry conditions. Call for road and weather information before travel: 435.644.4680			George, Patty & Fran Milligan hiking in Lick Wash of the GSENM.
	Lodging and services are available on the gorgeous east side of Zion National Park, where guests are close to Zion National Park (12 miles), Bryce Canyon National Park (60 miles), Cedar Breaks National Monument (45 miles), Coral Pink Sand Dunes (12 miles), and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (85 miles). It's where city traffic is absent and the skies are bright and clean.

Grand Staircase-Escalante Roads - Pristine and remote describes the roadways within the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Highway 89 defines the southern border and Highway 12 accesses the northern side. In addition to Highways 12 and 89, there are 959 miles of open road in the Grand Staircase. Glendale, Utah, located on Highway 89, northeast of Zion National Park, connects the east side of Zion to Bryce Canyon via the Glendale Bench Road and the scenic backway, Skutumpah Road. To the north, Highway 12 connects Tropic and Boulder, Utah. At the southern end of the monument, roads connect Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona. The most popular roads in the Grand Staircase are probably Skutumpah Road accessed either by the Glendale Bench Road, near the east entrance to Zion, or the Johnson Canyon Road near Kanab, both leading to Kodachrome Basin near Bryce Canyon. All interior roads except for portions of the Burr Trail and Johnson Canyon Road are unpaved and may be impassible if wet.

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Skutumpah Road
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