rcwild
06-23-2008, 07:21 PM
San Rafael Swell
The San Rafael Swell is a large kidney-bean shaped uplift. Its most salient feature is the Reef, a large hogback system that circles the Swell. Most of the Navajo Sandstone slot canyons are in the Reef. Once past the Reef, you find older layers of rock, including several amazing Coconino Sandstone canyons - the Chute of Muddy Creek and the ever-popular Upper and Lower Black Boxes, among others.
The San Rafael Swell is a very remote area. Be sure to top off your gas tank in Green River or Hanksville before venturing into the interior, and bring a full emergency road kit and extra water and supplies. The roads are all dirt, and even the main roads can get rough. Rain storms and mud will often hamper travel, though the roads have been graded more often in recent years.
Access: I-70 bisects the San Rafael Swell, and Highway 24 connects the town of Hanksville in the south with I-70. The nearest towns are Green River, on I-70 just east of the Swell, and Hanksville in the south. You can access the Hidden Splendor and eastern Reef areas - where most of the interesting canyons are - via roads off of Highway 24, most notably the Temple Mountain Road, which gives access to the interior. The Northern Swell, including the Black Box area, can be reached via exit 129 on I-70 (head north) or, if you are arriving from the north, via roads from the hamlets of Cleveland and Elmo (head south). The remote canyons of the Moroni Slopes can be reached via exit 97 on I-70 (head south), or via the Factory Butte road, which heads north from the highway roughly 10 miles west of Hanksville. A good road map is highly recommended.
Nearby Attractions: Goblin Valley is worth a side trip for a few hours of exploration.
Posted by mdd on 13 May 2004:
In the last year or so, the BLM has closed all roads from Hidden Splendor Airstrip down to Muddy Creek, including the road to the cabins at the Hidden Splendor Mine that many canyoneers have used for a car shuttle. Be warned, you will have to walk the extra mile or so back to the airstrip from now on.
The San Rafael Swell is a large kidney-bean shaped uplift. Its most salient feature is the Reef, a large hogback system that circles the Swell. Most of the Navajo Sandstone slot canyons are in the Reef. Once past the Reef, you find older layers of rock, including several amazing Coconino Sandstone canyons - the Chute of Muddy Creek and the ever-popular Upper and Lower Black Boxes, among others.
The San Rafael Swell is a very remote area. Be sure to top off your gas tank in Green River or Hanksville before venturing into the interior, and bring a full emergency road kit and extra water and supplies. The roads are all dirt, and even the main roads can get rough. Rain storms and mud will often hamper travel, though the roads have been graded more often in recent years.
Access: I-70 bisects the San Rafael Swell, and Highway 24 connects the town of Hanksville in the south with I-70. The nearest towns are Green River, on I-70 just east of the Swell, and Hanksville in the south. You can access the Hidden Splendor and eastern Reef areas - where most of the interesting canyons are - via roads off of Highway 24, most notably the Temple Mountain Road, which gives access to the interior. The Northern Swell, including the Black Box area, can be reached via exit 129 on I-70 (head north) or, if you are arriving from the north, via roads from the hamlets of Cleveland and Elmo (head south). The remote canyons of the Moroni Slopes can be reached via exit 97 on I-70 (head south), or via the Factory Butte road, which heads north from the highway roughly 10 miles west of Hanksville. A good road map is highly recommended.
Nearby Attractions: Goblin Valley is worth a side trip for a few hours of exploration.
Posted by mdd on 13 May 2004:
In the last year or so, the BLM has closed all roads from Hidden Splendor Airstrip down to Muddy Creek, including the road to the cabins at the Hidden Splendor Mine that many canyoneers have used for a car shuttle. Be warned, you will have to walk the extra mile or so back to the airstrip from now on.