Zebra Slot Canyon and Tunnel Canyon are two classic and easily accessed canyons of the vast canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante. In spite of their notoriety, the canyons are still difficult to hike and require careful planning.

After visiting the 'top of Grand Staircase', I briefly visited Bryce Canyon, then made my way to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I've peaked into this place before but this trip was an all out bash. Staying in Escalante area for 2 days, I made the arduous trek down Hole-in-the-Rock Road and started canyoning.

Zebra and Tunnel Slots are reached via a 7.8 mile drive down Hole-in-the-Rock Road from highway 12. At 7.8 miles, you will come to a cattle guard crossing over the road. There is no signage, but just pull off into the parking lot on the side of the road. From here you will cross the road and follow the trail on the other side. Zebra Canyon and Tunnel Slot are awesome slot canyons easily accessible to most hikers and photographers. The route is suitable for beginning hikers. Fall and spring are the preferred seasons to do this route. This route is rated 1A II using the Canyon Rating System. The reason this is called Tunnel Slot is because the canyon narrows to a narrow oval shape that you need to walk through. The problem is that this is usually filled up with water that can be at least up to the top of your legs. Zebra Canyon and Tunnel Slot is a great hiking trail in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument near the towns of Escalante and Boulder, Utah. Zebra Canyon and Tunnel Slot Distance: 5.3 - 7.2 miles (round trip) Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, near Escalante in South Central Utah. But if you’re still feeling un-slot-isfied after Zebra Slot Canyon, you can head back to Harris Wash and continue on your merry way to nearby Tunnel Slot Canyon. Willis Creek Slot Canyon. Location: Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, near Cannonville; Distance: About 3 miles out and back; Best for: Everyone.

Zebra and Tunnel Slot Canyon Overviews

Zebra Slot Canyon is likely the most famous in this area. Its striated walls create marvelous photography opportunities. Plus, its only an 8.0 mile drive South on a relatively good section of Hole-in-the-Rock Road from where it leaves UT-12 near Escalante. From there, its about a 2.5 mile (one way) hike across the desert along a herd path to the canyon. Adding Tunnel Slot Canyon from Zebra makes it a 7.1 mile (total distance) hike which most do in about three quarters of a day.

Here's an area map:

Hike to Zebra Slot Canyon

From Utah Route 12 near Escalante, drive to the well marked turnoff for Hole-in-the-Rock Road and set your odometer to Zero. For 8.0 miles, the road is in relatively good quality as of June 2019. There's definitely some tedious washboard sections but nothing that would prevent a normal-clearance car from making it to the trailhead. Whenever it gets wet or muddy, avoid the road in any vehicle. The trailhead is just after a cattle guard and on the right. It is unmarked but most days you'll find at least a few cars at the trailhead. Park on the right if coming from Escalante.

Cross the road to the Northeast side of Hole in the Rock Road and look for a fairly well-trod path. I didn't see any specific signs for the canyon but the trail was easily followed.

I brought a GPS for extra comfort which came in handy. The trail remains unmarked and there's several side trails that are a bit confusing. I redirected a few lost tourists! Nevertheless, I followed the path of least resistance over the desert for 2.0 miles to the large and dry Harris Wash (its obvious). As of June 2019, there was a cairn which marked the junction to Zebra Slot and Tunnel Slot. I took a left at this cairn, followed the herd path into Harris Wash and up the wash for about 1/4th of a mile until I saw the obvious entrance to Zebra Canyon. If you find yourself walking more than 20 minutes up the wash and haven't found the entrance to Zebra Canyon, you've probably gone to far

During this very dry day, I found innumerable footprints leading to the canyon's entrance. Once it slotted up, I dropped my pack as the canyon gets very, very narrow from here.

Into Zebra

Zebra Canyon is the quintessential slot canyon. Its gets so narrow that even a skinny guy like me was just barely getting by. A wide day certainly wouldn't fit. Like many slot canyons, it was waist deep in water even though no major storms had passed the area in several days. The ranger station at Escalante kept me updated on water levels in the canyon.

The canyon lived up to its name with incredibly artistic furrows throughout my slither. Some sections required some scrambling; not difficult by rock-climbing standards but they were enough to make a less inclined person nervous.

Deep in the back of the canyon I encountered a few dead birds which is also normal for slot canyons. Nevertheless, the steep and deep walls continued to amaze.

It took about an hour to get to the entrance and I took another hour exploring Zebra before coming to an impassable section and I turned around. Zebra was a bit busy even on a weekday which made passing other groups tedious. I wished I went earlier.

Entrance of Zebra canyon to entrance of Tunnel Canyon

Tunnel Slot Canyon isn't nearly as photogenic as Zebra Canyon but since its only 1.3 miles away, I made the side trip. Back out on Harris Wash, I followed it down roughly 0.8 miles to a herd path with cairns to Tunnel Slot. This was a hot and exposed section and I'm glad I brought abundant water.

After finding the side trail, Tunnel canyon quickly came into view and I was at the entrance in less than 1 hour after departing from Zebra Canyon.

Tunnel Canyon is shorter, not as narrow but much darker than Zebra. Even in the midday sun, I felt a flashlight was necessary. I walked through the thigh deep water and meandered through this alluring slot. There's some really neat opportunities for low light photography.

Unlike Zebra Canyon's abrupt terminous, Tunnel Canyon is 2-way so I hiked all the way to the exit. I expected there was more when I departed from the exit. There's a four way intersection of other narrow canyons but nothing like a slot so I returned the same way I came.

Return to Trailhead

There's not a lot to say about the return trip other than it was very hot and very hard to follow. Zebra and Tunnel Canyons are easy by hiking and canyoneering standards but make no mistake, its easy to get lost out here even with experience. I found my GPS absolutely essential on the return trip.

An athletic romp through Zebra slot canyon is the highlight of this 6.6-mile hiking loop through the desert of southern Utah.

Zebra & Tunnel Slots – Quick Facts

MAP:Trails Illustrated shows the area but does not label Zebra Canyon (see map below)
PERMITS: none
DESIGNATION: Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
BEST SEASONS: year-round, but summer is hot and beware of flash floods in July and August!
DISTANCE: 6.6 mile lollipop loop includes Tunnel Slot – a round trip only to Zebra is 5 miles.
ELEVATION: trailhead 5,350ft – low point 5,150ft
ACCESS: dirt roads to the trailhead – high clearance is recommended, but passenger cars are often okay in dry conditions.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS: Hike begins at the Zebra Tunnel Trailhead, 13 miles from the town of Escalante, UT. From Escalante, drive east on Route 12 for 5 miles. Turn right on the Hole In The Rock Road (BLM 200). Follow the bumpy dirt road for 7.8 miles. Trailhead parking is on the right (west) side of the road, immediately beyond the 3rd cattle guard.
ROUTE: Open desert terrain culminating in a narrow, wet, claustrophobic canyon. Expect to see several other hikers, especially in spring and fall. See full route description under item #1 below.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE: Allow at least 3 or 4 hours for this hike. This may seem like a lot of time for fast hikers, but it allows for handling one-way traffic and photos in the extremely narrow Zebra slot canyon. We took about 4.5 hours at a fun, casual pace.

Overview

Zebra slot canyon is one of many hikes to be found along southern Utah’s Hole-in-the-Rock Road, where many sandstone canyons feed the west side of the Escalante River.

As always when exploring slot canyons, it’s important to be mindful of local rainfall. Grand Staircase-Escalante’s summer heat is no joke, either.

There are 2 common ways to do this hike. The first is by simply doing an out-and-back trip to Zebra Canyon, which is 5 miles round trip. The second is to add the short Tunnel Slot via a lollipop loop, which brings the round trip up to 6.6 miles.

7 Tips to Review Before Your Hike

Here’s the checklist of things to know before you go.

1) Access is via a dirt road.

You’ll only have to drive on the dirt for about 8 miles, so this is one of the better hikes along Hole-in-the-rock for those in a passenger car. Regardless, it’s important to note that the road becomes impassable when wet, even with 4-wheel drive.

Otherwise, passenger cars can do okay in good, dry conditions, as long as you take it easy. High-clearance or 4×4 is obviously preferred.

Tunnel Slot Canyon Escalante

After you turn off the pavement from Route 12, the trailhead is 7.8 miles down the road, immediately beyond the 3rd cattle guard. Park on the right (west) side of the road, and the trail begins across the road to the east.

2) Summer calls for extra caution.

The majority of this hike is sandy and dry with no shade. You’re going to want some form of sun protection, like sunscreen and/or big hats and long sleeves.

It gets very hot out here in the summer, so be sure that everyone in your party brings plenty of water and stays hydrated. One gallon per person is a good rule of thumb. Salty snacks taste great in these conditions, and they keep your body chemically balanced, too.

Finally, it’s extremely dangerous to venture into slot canyons when there’s heavy rain, for fear of flash floods. Heavy rain in this part of Utah most often occurs in July and August!

3) You’re going to get wet.

There’s always pools of standing, gross water at the beginning of the Zebra Canyon, and often some at Tunnel Slot too. Sometimes the water is so deep that it requires some swimming!

On other days you may only have to wade up to your knees, though depths will vary depending on recent rainfall. Weather patterns are growing more unpredictable nowadays, but I think you’re most likely to find dry conditions in mid to late June, and in early October. Sometimes you can luck out on a quiet day in winter, but be prepared for the cold!

It’s worth emphasizing that the pools are at the very beginning of the Zebra slot canyon, so the hike is not going to be worth it if the pools are too deep. A place to check on current conditions is at the Grand Staircase-Escalante visitor center in Cannonville. You can also find recent insight on platforms with frequent reviews, like TripAdvisor and AllTrails.

You might see other hikers removing their socks and shoes before entering the water – this is a terrible idea. Going barefoot severely increases your risk of injury. It’s also going to make the next section of the canyon very difficult, which leads me to the next point.

4) Getting to the end requires athleticism.

After wading through the gross stagnant water, the fun has only just begun! The rest of the way up Zebra Canyon gets extremely narrow. It’s so narrow, in fact, that it’s often impossible to place even a single foot squarely on the bottom.

This is solved by using friction to stabilize your body within the canyon walls. As you can see in the photo above, some people are more comfortable climbing high, while others will do better staying low. It all depends on the dynamics of your body height and how you like to adjust. Regardless, it definitely requires a level of athleticism!

Some sources on the internet mention boulders and other obstacles, but in September of 2020 we found that it was simply a matter of chimney-ing your way along the walls, without any vertical climbing.

A good pro tip is to hide your backpacks somewhere along the trail before entering the narrows. The slot canyon is only about 100 yard long, and leaving your pack behind, no matter how small it is, is going to make things much easier for you.

Claustrophobia

Hopefully you’re there at time when the canyon isn’t too crowded. If it is, there will be traffic going both ways in an environment where it’s not easy to “step off the trail” to let others pass.

Waiting around in the confines of the canyon can trigger a level of claustrophobia, and catching your breath after exerting yourself through the initial narrows can have the same effect. Just pause and calm yourself if necessary before continuing, or turn back and wait for your group at the mouth of the canyon.

5) Be sure to study the route before you go.

You will not get a phone data signal out here.

There’s a good, cairned trail leading to the mouth of Zebra Canyon, but the terrain out here can get confusing. You won’t find any signs marking the way, and it’s possible to lose the trail when crossing the washes.

From the trailhead, follow the well-defined path that runs along the north side of Halfway Hollow, the large wash to your right. Soon the trail drops into the floor of the wash, but it’s best to stay on the left side of the canyon as the use trails stay high and cut a few corners.

After about 2 miles you’ll come to the place where Halfway Hollow empties into the wide, expansive mouth of Harris Wash. This is where some folks may get confused, but what you want to do is continue following the trail that bears slightly to the left as it crosses the sandy flat. The path will lead directly to the narrow, slickrock mouth of Zebra Canyon, which is only a small tributary of Harris Wash.

You’ll go up Zebra Canyon (as described above) until you come to a 10-foot pourover that looks climb-able, but is more difficult than anything you’ve encountered thus far. This is the turnaround point, and the most scenic and photographed narrows of Zebra Canyon lie directly below you.

It’s possible to climb up the pourover at the end, but the canyon soon becomes impassable.

After you turn around and exit the slot, there’s 3 good options for continuing the hike:

1. Retrace your steps to your vehicle (a 5 mile round trip)
2. Find the low access to the mouth of Tunnel Slot (adds ~1.5 miles)
3. Follow a loop approaching tunnel slot from the top (recommended, adds ~1.5 miles)

Finding Tunnel Slot

To approach Tunnel Slot from the bottom, you’ll stay at the same general elevation as the floor of the canyons. With your back to the mouth of Zebra slot, go straight toward the wide open area where the canyons converge, but bear left and head up the next main canyon on your left. Go up this wash about a half mile, and Tunnel Slot will be on your left (see map above).

To approach Tunnel Slot from the top, re-orient yourself at the beginning of Zebra Canyon, with your back to its entrance. Immediately to your left you’ll see the mouth of a small draw – a break in the landscape that barely qualifies as a canyon. Follow the use path on the right side of this draw up to the open slickrock landscape above.

Continue up the slope, aiming straight ahead in an east/southeast direction. A couple of barbed wire fences are crossed with some care, and it’s little more than a half-mile before a deep canyon opens before you. Access the head of a draw that leads parallel to your direction to begin a descent.

Descend the rocky ravine to its junction with a larger canyon. Turn right down this canyon, and in a few minutes you’ll come to the Tunnel Slot, which is only about 50 yards long. You’ll often find a pool of standing water in Tunnel Slot, which should be no problem after your fun in Zebra Canyon.

After you exit Tunnel Slot, turn right into Harris Wash and then bear left to begin retracing your original steps up Halfway Hollow to your vehicle.

The loop to visit Tunnel Slot from above was not well marked in 2020. At the very least, I advise taking a couple screenshots of this description and downloading the map above. Additionally, we found the GPS track posted on the AllTrails App to be useful.

6) It’s wise to camp near Zebra Canyon.

You can generally find good camping along the entirety of the Hole-in-the-Rock Road. There’s good, open camping on the west side of the dirt road immediately after turning off the pavement from Route 12. There’s an expansive area here that can accommodate numerous groups, including RVs.

It’s a good idea to camp nearby, so you can be the “early bird” in these canyons. This especially applies to the Zebra Slot, where you can get 2-way traffic in such a confined area. Hit the canyons early in the morning, before other travelers arrive from the lodges near Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks.

This advice also applies to Peekaboo Canyon and Spooky Gulch, but I’d be more concerned with running into traffic in Zebra.

Camping Permits

Most land along the Hole-in-the-Rock Road is managed by the BLM, where permits are not required. Other parts of Utah’s backcountry here are managed as part of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, where camping permits are required. The permits are available from the visitor center in Cannonville.

Tunnel Slot Escalante

Political Background

For several years (since 1996) the entirety of this land was managed as part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It wasn’t until recently (December 2017) when the borders of the National Monument were redefined, and the Hole-in-the-Rock road reverted to BLM management.

The future boundaries of the Monument seem to be in flux, dependent upon the political climate. It’s no secret that the state of Utah wishes to reclaim the corridor as its own, in which case the road would likely be paved as part of a Utah State Park.

Boundaries

Anyway, the map below shows where you can camp without a permit. A permit is required for the green areas (the National Monument), and you don’t need a permit for the tan areas (BLM). Note that the gray/purple area to the right is part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which also requires a permit for camping.

I cropped the map just to show the Hole-in-the-Rock Road. You can see the original full size map of Grand Staircase-Escalante at its source on Wikipedia.

7) Dogs are allowed, but this is not a dog-friendly slot canyon.

Yes, dogs are allowed on the entirety of this hike (just please pick up the poop).

Tunnel Slot Canyon Escalante

However, I strongly recommend against taking your dog within the confines of Zebra Canyon itself. In the text (and photos) above, you’ll see that it’s best not even to bring a backpack in there.

Tunnel Slot Canyon Escalante

In that case, how do you think a dog will fare?

Zebra Slot Video

Here’s a quick video I shot in Zebra Canyon. Haley’s behavior is genuine, as she thought I was just taking pictures. 🙂

My Trip Note & Photos

I hiked the loop with Tunnel Slot as described on September 14, 2020. Companions were Haley, Taryn, and Kim.

We camped the previous night a short distance off of Route 12 as described in the camping section, above. We didn’t pull in until late at night, and had no trouble finding a place to camp here.

The pools in Zebra Canyon were up to my knees (I’m 6’0ft tall), and the weather was perfect. Road conditions were good and dry – doable in a passenger car.

We took about 4.5 hours at a fun, casual pace.