Joe's Valley Recreation

Last weekend, a couple roommates and I decided spur of the moment to go down to Joe's Valley to do some bouldering. We'd heard a little about the world class bouldering there and we figured we should go check it out. Our ten minutes of preparation included gathering sleeping gear, food, water, and our climbing gear. We figured out how to get there with our phones on the way down but we didn't actually look up any of the bouldering areas. So it was your typical weekend trip with three college guys. Our good attitude and sense of adventure made it one of the funnest, stress-free weekends of my life despite our lack of preparation. We got there after dark so we just found a place to sleep and went to bed. 

Slacklining with muffin in hand.

After driving around looking for boulders for a while, we ended up hiking to this waterfall. I had to try out the natural tub on the edge of this 150 foot cliff (you can see it better in the video below, and I may or may not have been naked). We finally found some new boulders to climb and got five first ascents. 

Then we hit up this reservoir which was a beautiful turquoise color and was actually pretty warm. There was even a 25 foot cliff we jumped off. Check out the back flip off the cliff in the video below. 

 A sweet cave we found on our hike to the second waterfall.

 The river was breathtaking. Literally. It couldn't have been more than 50 degrees. 

On our way out of the valley, we found all the boulders. We'd driven past them in the dark the night before. No regrets though, it was one of the funnest trips I've been on and now we can still go back and climb some of the developed boulders. 

One of the best parts about Joe's Valley is how close it is to Provo. It took us two hours to drive there, and we spent $30 total on gas. To get there you take Hwy 6 south to Price, then take exit 241 which is Hwy 10 south toward Castle Dale. After 27 miles, take Hwy 29 west toward Orangeville. When you come to a "T" there's a sign that says Joe's Valley to the right. Follow that and you can't miss it...unless it's dark. Right before you enter the deep canyon, there's a turn off to the right which is the north fork of Joe's Valley. If you continue straight through the canyon following the river, this is the west fork. All of the bouldering is before you get to the reservoir, and there is good primitive camping all over. 

Joe's Valley turned out to be one of Utah's best kept secrets in my opinion. It was absolutely beautiful, there is boating, climbing, hiking, four wheeling, and hardly anyone there. If for some reason I settle down in Utah, I will buy a cabin there.