San
Rafael River Gorge Distance:
16.6 miles (plus 18.3 miles by car)
Walking
time:
day 1:
4 hours
day 2:
5 hours
Elevations:
160 ft. loss
• Fuller Bottom (start):
5,250 ft.
• San Rafael Campground:
5,090 ft.
Trail:
There is a good horse trail most of the way along the
river. The trail crosses the river fifteen times, so be
sure to wear wettable shoes.
Season:
Summer, fall. The most important factor to consider in
planning this hike is the amount of water in the San Rafael
River. The water level is highest in the spring, between
early May and mid-June, and fording the river with a backpack
may be difficult or impossible at that time. Before driving
to the trailhead I strongly suggest that you call the
San Rafael Resource Area, Bureau of Land Management, in
Price at (801) 636-3600, and ask them about the river’s
flow rate. If it is higher that 120 cfs (cubic feet per
second) you may have difficulty. When the flow rate reaches
180 cfs the deepest ford will be about 3 feet. If the
rate is greater than 150 cfs you might want to consider
floating down the river in a small rubber raft or canoe.
Floating the San Rafael can be a delightful experience.
Vicinity:
Near Price
This
hike provides an opportunity to follow a small desert
river along a meandering course that cuts directly through
one of Utah’s most interesting geologic formations:
the San Rafael Swell. The San Rafael Swell is a huge elliptical-shaped
bubble in the Colorado Plateau that formed some 65 million
years ago during a time of great mountain building activity
in the American West (known to geologists as the Laramide
Orogeny event). The uplift, or anticline, is some 70 miles
long and 35 miles wide, with the San Rafael River flowing
through its northern half. About half way between Fuller
Bottom and Buckhorn Wash the river flows through a particularly
scenic section of the gorge known as the Little Grand
Canyon. Here the canyon walls rise abruptly over a thousand
feet above the river as it meanders around a finlike obstacle
below the Wedge Plateau.
In addition to the hike
through the San Rafael River Gorge there are several other
points of interest in this area that you may want to see
before or after your hike. The Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur
Quarry is located at the end of a gravel road about ten
miles east of Cleveland. This is one of the world’s
most prolific dinosaur fossil sources, having yielded
more than 30 complete dinosaur skeletons since excavations
first began in 1929. Also one of the best prehistoric
Indian pictograph panels in Utah is located beside the
road in Buckhorn Wash 4 miles above the San Rafael Campground.
Finally, if time permits you should drive to the Wedge
Overlook, 6.2 miles off the road to Fuller Bottom. The
Wedge Overlook offers a fine view of the San Rafael Gorge
from a vantage point directly above the Little Grand Canyon.
San Rafael River
Day
1
The best way to begin this
hike is to cross the river at Fuller Bottom and follow
a jeep road downstream along the south shore for the first
20 minutes. But before you start find yourself a strong
stick at least 7 or 8 feet long to help with the river
crossings. As you walk place the stick on the river bottom,
tilted at a 45 degree angle on the downstream side, and
use it like a third leg. The extra support is a tremendous
help, especially if the current is strong.
After 0.8 mile the road
will come back to the water again before veering away
to the south, and here you must abandon it and try to
follow the cow trails. The wide valley floor is covered
with tamarisk trees for a short distance and getting through
them can be a problem with a big backpack. But don’t
be discouraged. As the canyon narrows they become less
abundant, and within another half mile the multitude of
cow trails converge into a single good trail.
About 2.0 miles from the
Fuller Bottom Trailhead the trail crosses again to the
north side of the river. This is the second of 15 fords
that will be necessary between Fuller Bottom and Cane
Wash, so don’t discard your stick yet. About ten
minutes after the river crossing the trail passes below
a small petroglyph panel at the base of the cliffs on
the left. Watch carefully as it is easy to miss. Then,
after another ten minutes, another river crossing.
The next item of interest
is easy to spot: the Sorrel Mule Mine. It is situated
about 60 feet above the west side of the river, at the
top of a large pile of yellowish tailings just 200 yards
below the third river ford. A close look at the area will
reveal the rotting timbers of an old log cabin near the
mine as well as dozens of rusted tin cans. Copper was
briefly extracted from the Sorrel Mule Mine in 1898. Amazingly,
the small shaft penetrates some 2000 feet into the mountain.
A mile below the Sorrel
Mule Mine you will cross Salt Wash, a wide, sandy bottomed
dry wash that enters the San Rafael River Gorge from the
south, and 3.1 miles farther you will come to Virgin Spring
Canyon. Virgin Spring Canyon is easily the prettiest side
canyon in the gorge. It is one of the few canyons that
isn’t heavily grazed by cattle, and there is a reliable
spring not too far from its entrance. It is an excellent
place to make camp for the night and, if time permits
do a little exploring. Unfortunately the trail is on the
wrong side of the gorge as it passes the mouth of Virgin
Spring Canyon, but the river is an easy ford at this point.
Day
2
Before leaving Virgin Spring
Canyon take some time to check out the pictographs. The
Virgin Spring pictograph panel is located about a quarter
of a mile from the mouth of the canyon on its west side.
It is high on the canyon wall, about 15 feet from the
ground. The spring is located about 150 yards further
up-canyon from the pictographs at the head of the Virgin
Spring Box.
From the mouth of Virgin
Spring Canyon the trail continues down the San Rafael
River for a mile or so before coming to the next point
of interest, the Little Grand Canyon. This is the deepest
part of the gorge, a three-mile stretch of river that
lies just below the Wedge Overlook. There is also another
interesting panel of pictographs near the end of the Little
Grand Canyon that you may want to see before continuing.
About 3.0 miles from the
mouth of Virgin Spring Canyon the river swings north in
order to get around a large finlike protrusion in the
streambed. The pictographs lie on the west side of this
fin, just below the highest point on the obstacle and
above the point where the river meanders closest to the
western side of its base. Look for a clearly visible window
in the sandstone fin high above the trail. The pictograph
panel is to the right of the window at the base of the
Wingate Sandstone cliffs.
Beyond the pictographs the
trail continues north for 0.5 mile and then swings south
toward the mouth of Cane Wash, where there are still more
pictographs to be seen. The Cane Wash Pictographs are
just above the sandy canyon floor in a small alcove, about
100 yards from the river on the east side of Cane Wash.
From Cane Wash to the campground
the trail is well used by day hikers. The trail stays
on the south side of the river for the remainder of the
hike; hence no more crossings are necessary. After about
3 more miles the valley widens and the vegetation is again
dominated by tamarisk trees. 1.5 miles from the end you
will encounter another jeep road which you can take if
you prefer, although the trail along the river is more
interesting. The jeep road joins Buckhorn Wash Road 0.4
mile south of the San Rafael Campground.
Content
provided by David
Day of utahtrails.com. Click here to order his book
Utah's
Favorite Hiking Trails.
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