Not being a Harry Potter fan, I was a little hesitant to do this canyon, but after looking at some pictures I decided to get over my non-conformist attitude. Hogwarts Canyon is a short but sweet slot canyon 33 miles south of Hanksville in the North Wash Area. Make sure to check out the video below.
A short but tight squeeze.
The trailhead is located at Hog Spring Rest Area 33 miles south of Hanksville. This quaint little picnic area has bathrooms, covered picnic tables, and a cool little suspension bridge crossing the stream. This same trailhead accesses Hog Spring Waterfall, and some petroglyphs. The approach hike is pretty straightforward with some very mild scrambling in a couple places. Seventy-five yards after crossing the suspension bridge there will be a drainage on the left (southeast). Follow the ravine to the left of the drainage and keep heading southeast. You will need to route find your way up a second ravine up to the southeastern horizon. Once on top you will be able to see Hogwarts Canyon. Route find your way to the bottom and follow Hogwarts all the way to the highway. Once at the highway it is only 1/4 mile back to the trailhead. Take a look at the map below and you should be able to figure it out pretty easily.
There are four mandatory rappels in the canyon with a possible 5th if you really want to. The longest rappel is 85 feet so you'll want to bring a 60 meter rope along. The technical section of the canyon consists of two quick rappels (the second is through the cool arch feature), a stem/wade depending on ability, a short pack-off squeeze, another stem/wade, and two more rappels to finish it off. It's short but it has a lot of cool features and is a lot of fun. Trying to stay dry makes for a fun challenge.
There are several good primitive campsites in the area just right off the highway.
The Sandthrax campground is the most popular (38.016249, -110.531732).
Trying to keep the rope dry on the second rappel.
Jumping over a small pool after the second rappel.
A short section of stemming.
Coming down the last rappel.
The short walk back up the highway to the trailhead.
Video courtesy of Jason Williams. Subscribe!
For a full detailed route description including GPS waypoints, join the circle of friends at climb-utah.com.
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