Hiking the Little Wild Horse Canyon & Bell Canyon Loop | San Rafael Swell, Utah
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Located in the San Rafael Swell, Little Wild Horse Canyon is an excellent slot canyon that is accessible for many and perfect for beginners. With limited experience in canyoneering, we visited and experienced one of the best hikes we've had.
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Little Wild Horse Canyon and Bell Canyon are located in the San Rafael Swell in south central Utah. It is a short drive west of Goblin Valley State Park and north of Hanksville. The slot canyons are popular with families and have stretches of hiking trails for all ages, even the more adventurous!
From the parking lot trailhead it is an easy 0.5 mile hike to where the split occurs. To the left is Bell Canyon and to the right is Little Wild Horse Canyon.
Many find Little Wild Horse Canyon to be the more impressive of the two canyons and simply hike as far as they like and head back. There's nothing wrong with this at all! During our hike we definitely found the most varied texture and color as well as the narrowest areas of the slot canyon to be in Little Wild Horse Canyon.
For the most part the trail is relatively flat, however, one might have to do a bit of scrambling over rock boulders and areas of "walls" which rise a couple feet. Adults shouldn't have much problem in average physical condition as there are plenty of places to get stable footing. Children can easily be boosted up.
From the junction, the Little Wild Horse Canyon Trail goes back 3.6 miles through plenty of gorgeous twisting and turning narrows to an open and exposed portion that loops around the back. This 1.6 mile section leads to a 4x4 road that can be followed straight into Bell Canyon. A number of signs are posted to show where you are located on the trail and help guide your way should you choose to complete the 8 mile loop.
From the north entrance into Bell Canyon back to the previous split is a 1.8 mile hike. This canyon has far less twists and turns, is a bit wider with only one section of narrows. Due to this, there is less shade, however, this canyon would be ideal for someone who may have issues with narrow spaces as Little Wild Horse Canyon certainly has some shoulder width areas to get through.
Regardless of which direction you go, how far you go, or which canyon you choose, this area is one not to be missed and a great place to stretch your legs, get in some exercise or just marvel at nature.
VIDEO FILMED: 08/06/2020
▬▬ R E L A T E D V I D E O S ▬▬
⚪ A Completionist's Guide to Hiking the Narrows Bottom Up | Zion National Park - • A Completionist's Guid...
⚪ White Domes Loop Trail | Valley of Fire State Park | Exploring a Slot Canyon and Colorful Rocks - • WHITE DOMES LOOP Trail...
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⚪ Little Wild Horse Canyon - utah.com/littl...
⚪ Directions to Little Wild Horse Canyon - goo.gl/maps/nr...
▬▬ T I M E S T A M P S ▬▬
00:00 Intro
00:57 Hike to the Canyon Junction
05:34 Little Wild Horse Canyon
18:53 Road Between the Canyons
20:35 Bell Canyon
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Welcome to the Cactus Atlas! We are Glenn and Amy and invite you to join us as we visit all sorts of locations across the American West. We tour both natural and man-made attractions.
Our base of operations is in the Phoenix, AZ area. We do a lot of hiking and day trips as well as campground reviews, and hope that we will be a great resource if you are planning a trip to the American West. We also hope to delight you with our exciting adventures!
I would like to go on this hike there! 😍 I love UTAH. Thanks for these videos that give me energy! this dry climate in UTAH I miss it already
Our pleasure! It's a fun hike. 👍
Hiked the loop in June of 2022. Absolutely loved it! The hardest part was the backside between the two canyons. Very exposed and the walking was hard because of the gravel. Luckily for us some clouds rolled in to give us shade. My advice to anyone doing the whole loop is bring lots of water, electrolytes and sunscreen.
For sure. Great advice! A lot more than one might think it's exposed to the sun. 👍
I was once in Antelope Slots Canyon, in the upper and lower levels, so it was a total blast, but there were too many people and too much money, so they cashed in and you weren't allowed to film!
We haven't done that. For those reasons you mentioned. It's odd filming around people so we tend to stick to places with a bit more quiet and solitude. 😅
This is an amazing hike. Thank you for the inspiration to add to our vacation trip. A highlight.
Glad we could help inspire your trip! 🙂
Amen. The West is best. Don't live there but love to visit. Something just draws us in that direction.
It's really so varied out here!
I like both the main views and the little things. Sometimes, the tiniest thing can change your whole perception of a place. Whatever interests you, film it. If you have an interest and passion for it, your audience will be captivated.
This is the most comprehensive tour of the loop i've found on YT, so thank you!
Wow, thanks! Really happy to hear that and so glad we could be of help. Thanks for visiting! 😄
Awesome! Would love to hike this. Thanks!
I hope you can some day. One of the best hikes in recent memory!
The magnificent rise of canyon walls is difficult to convey even if you have been through them before. Every couple of feet presents a new view almost to the point of overload. Thanks once more for a unique new place to put on our lists.
You're most welcome! And very true about the difficulty to convey certain areas. Canyon walls can often seem much shorter or wider than they really are on film and video. It just can't capture the experience of being there.
Just did little wild horse yesterday; I found that sometimes the best shots come with getting some distance thenzooming in to compress and isolate the walls as our eyes see around 50mm. This preserves the sense of scale albeit sometimes at the expense of peripheral view. Thus is why actually being further away from your subject and magnifying an area attempts to capture it all. I found there’s only a few sections where it’s easier to execute in this manner. Going back again today to try the entire loop!!!
I use All Trails and it has worked for me. It is especially useful when there is no obvious trail to follow and at night.
It's been super helpful for us too. 👍
Thanks for all the vid work and edits. We will be there in 2 weeks. Kudos to all the work you put into this.
Thanks a lot! Appreciate hearing that! It was a magical place!
They are Cottonwood Trees!! This is my favorite hike in Utah! I've had the privilege of doing it 3 times now 💕🌱
Awesome! I hope to make it back there soon myself! Thanks for confirming the trees! 🌳
I would probably hike the whole thing 👍
Both canyons are absolutely worthy of exploration. 😄
One of my favorite hike in this area. Absolutely amazing! I've done it three times all loop. There is one more canyon very close by if you just drive left side of the parking lot . It named Ding and Dang canyon and it is less touristic, more adventures. You will probably need a rope to climb here.
Ding and Dang was actually the hike that led us to Little Wild Horse. Seems like it would be a REALLY cool hike, but the lack of equipment & skills needed had us looking for something a bit more accessible.
I love the variety of both the narrow slot canyons and the somewhat wider sections of your hike. Great video and very interesting content. Keep up the good work and hike safely!!!
Agree with you. The variety of the two canyons made for a fun hike. 😄 Thanks for watching!
Just. Breathtaking. Otherworldly rockscapes. You could have toy Star Wars starfighter chases and make it look cinematic in there!
😂 I could totally see that! Great idea!
Sure is beautiful! Thanks for sharing this with us
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching!
@@CactusAtlas no problem! We really enjoy making outdoor content also
I'm expecting to hike the entire loop next April.
I just went back there a couple weeks ago. I did not do the entire loop this time. We should be releasing that content sometime in the next couple months.
Utah+Cactus Atlas continue to deliver! Another epic hike. And although the amateur geologist in me loved the whole thing with such varied rock formations, I would likely only do the LWH section. Glenn, you deserve a high ten for doing the whole thing and bringing us along 🙌
We really are itching to get back to that area now that we have the truck. Loads more little areas like this to explore. And I agree - LWH has the more iconic narrow classic slot canyon feel of the two. Definitely not to be skipped. 😄👍
@@CactusAtlas Slim opens up so many possibilities!
What a great hike. Love the canyon area. Great loop!
It really is! Glad you enjoyed it! 😊
Great job, like your video and will be going that ways on May I will be traveling all around Hanksville beautiful out there. Thank you for the great video. 😀
Thank you! It's such a beautiful area. Hope you have fun on your visit! 😄
really cool place, thanks for the hike!
Our pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it!
When the hike was described to us we were told about the turn around point. But when we got there it felt like leaving things unfinished so we hiked the entire route ... Little Wild Horse and Bell. It was a big first hike but loved every inch of it!
Love that! Hiking the full loop gives so many different experiences and little challenges to overcome here and there. Such a fun hike! 👍
Great video indeed. Good work and thank you so much. RK
You are so very welcome! 😊
@@CactusAtlas Hello CactusAtlas,
I very much appreciate your thoughts during the Wild Horse Canyon & Bell Canyon Loop.
Your comments regarding the rock patterns are the same thoughts I have when I hike.
Also, you mentioned the power of Mother Nature and how much you appreciated it and recognized the power she can produce.
At 22:16 you talked about the man-made rock wall and whether that was a disturbance to MotherNature. When I see that sort of stuff, I always think to myself no human artistic form can improve Mother Nature. Hanging the Mona Lisa on the side of the Grand Canyon would not enhance the natural beauty of the canyon.
Finally, I appreciated your recognition at the size of the boulders that have come down off the canyon walls and are impossible to translate into a photo.
In short, you mentioned a lot of comments that I related to.
To some degree we are kindred spirits in the way we think during our hikes.
Happy trials and best regards. Rick Kamel
We found that hiking Bell first worked great . Regardless, the last half of any hike is mostly downhill. But 8 miles (loop) is a distance.
It kinda is a distance, yeah. But I suppose going in that direction leaves the best for last. 👍
I've not hiked through a slot canyon yet, but I look forward to doing it someday. Thanks for the videos so I can live vicariously through your hikes.
Sure thing! I live vicariously through your beach videos so I think we even out there. 😂
i like both.....that looks awesome!!! im going next year!
It's a fun hike. Enjoy your time there and thank you so much for watching our video. 😄
I just watched this video up until you finish Little Horse. I'm hoping to hike Little Wild Horse Canyon this October. I try to not have any expectations for how far I'm going to go. As a photographer I just want to BE in the moment. I'm willing to bet I am twice your age and will be hiking solo, so I need to accept what I can and can not do. I subscribed!
Oh absolutely! There should never be any rules for how far one hikes or not as it should be about the experience. Hopefully yours will be amazing! Thanks for watching and welcome to our channel. 😀
Nothing wrong with " natural art", I love random rock stacking, fun, cool to look at and NOT permanent, some people are just uptight, awesome video!!!
Well said! We agree! Better to create it than destroy for sure.
And since stacked rocks are used as trail markers in the desert it's a great way to get people lost and possibly kill them.
Good video👍, I wish you the best.👍
Thank you! You too!
Looks like a great hike! I'd love to do the loop but would be sure to pack lots of water!
Always a good idea. Can't tell you how many people per summer that have to be rescued from hiking mountains here in Phoenix because they didn't have enough water.
Pretty hike! 8 miles is a bit long for me and my husband so Im not sure we could do the whole loop!! It’s funny you are a ‘completionist’ .. my husband often tells me I never finish anything! There’s definitely some truth to that!
Glenn's definitely a completionist. Me...? Not so much. I'm like you. 😅
@@CactusAtlas 😂😂😂 👍
Thank you, Glenn and thank you, Slim for sharing your adventures. Since you hike in mountain lion country alone, what do you do to protect yourself from getting eaten?
When I feel the need, I have bear spray I occasionally bring along.
Im a photographer and could hang out in the narrow parts all day. On a cloudy day. The rocks look the best then.
It's hard to want to move through the narrow parts honestly. Such beauty and play with the light.
Beautiful place, but I would never do this alone. One twisted ankle and you're in trouble. (Hiked it last week.)
Kind of true for any hike really. Or just stepping off a curb in a grocery store parking lot. Not that I know anything about that. (Glenn on the other hand probably has a # of things to say about it 😂)
Thanks. Which of the 2 did you like better?
I would say Little Wild Horse Canyon as it has more narrow sections. Definitely more immersive. 👍
@@CactusAtlas thanks for the quick reply 😇
I would like to do the whole thing. I went last year but didn't finish Little Wild Horse Canyon.
It's a really cool one! Hopefully you'll get to go back and complete it one day. 😄
@@CactusAtlas With gas prices being the way they are I haven’t been to Utah once this year. I might just bite the bullet and go soon.
So now that you have used the AllTrails app, was it worth the subscription?
I’ve found it comes in handy and works well for my needs. I recommend it, but honestly have not tried other apps so I’ve nothing to compare it to. That said, It’s been great every time I’ve used it and no complaints!
Thanks so much for the great video! We’re heading back there in May and this was already on the list. Can you give me a rough idea how long it took you to get to the end of LWC? I’ve had open heart surgery and Bell looks a bit intimidating at this point so we’ll likely just do LWC up and back.
Thanks for watching our video! I cannot remember what Glenn said in terms of how long the hike took, however, reviewing the time stamps on footage it looks like it was 3.5 hrs between the parking lot and where the Little Wild Horse Canyon trail meets the road. Keep in mind that hiking while filming takes us longer as there is a lot of setting up shots and walking back to get the camera, changing batteries, and so on. Have a great trip and happy hiking!
Thanks man! Enjoyed the San Rafael Swell out to the Wedge video too, which is also on the list.
As a photographer, I would tend to consider myself a bit of a “completionist”, but it sometimes depends on mitigating factors…mainly time!
Time is ALWAYS a factor. There's never enough! 😂
Did you hear about the guy who got stuck in a slot canyon when a rock fell down, pinning his arm? He was there for 2-3 days. Eventually, he cut his arm off with a pocket knife and hiked out!
It's a pretty gruesome tale and not one I'm sure many could replicate. Then again... I guess it takes an incident like that to really figure out how strong one's will to live it. Definitely a good case for letting people know where you're going and how long you expect to be.
Do you think hiking Little Wild Horse Canyon in early September is safe from flash floods?
I don’t know if anytime is completely safe, but yes, by September, a lot of the summer storms have subsided: so I’d think early September is a good time to do that one.
@@CactusAtlas Thanks Brother. Watching your video now.
Oh yeah. Did you have to climb over that big Boulder that would have ended you?
Yes, there were a couple of boulders you’ll have to climb over, but nothing technical. Trust me, if I could do it, just about anyone can!
@@CactusAtlas Thanks again brother.
They look like Cottonwood trees
That's what we were thinking after some time spent in the area. Thanks for the input! 👍
We are planning a June trip to Utah and the North Rim and your videos have been so helpful and informative. Thank you! Little Wild Horse is on our list of possible stops. We would not be doing the whole loop, but just the Little Wild Horse section. What would you suggest is a good turn around point?
Our pleasure. Glad they were helpful! As for your question, it's somewhat hard to answer as a good point to turn around can vary from person to person. There's several sections of narrows on the Little Wild Horse section and it just depends on how much you want to see. I think a lot of people hike through and turn around once the trail opens up after about two miles.
😎👍
What else has happened in this canyon? Anyone?🙄
It's very peaceful, except for that music (?) that you have added into the video, which means, I'm out.
why is it that these socalled nature lovers always put music in the background, spoils it for me.
I think your comment about using music in videos is fair. Your comment of ‘so-called’ nature lover is not. Your comment would be more effective if you leave out the insulting bit.