TR~Grand Junction Slot Canyons

Shaylee wanted to spend her 9th birthday in Grand Junction. We went to places such as Bananas Fun Park (miniature golf, laser tag, etc.), birthday shopping, etc, but we also did some technical canyons so Shaylee would be able to name them on her birthday.

Several years ago (before Shaylee was even born), I had found some slot canyons around Grand Junction, but they were pretty short. There were a few hidden side canyons in the Rough Canyon Complex that looked promising and Shaylee, Kessler, Kimberly and I went to check them out.

The first canyon we completed was what Shaylee wanted to name Shaylee’s Birthday Canyon. It's well hidden an not obvious from anywhere in the main canyon. It was definitely technical and had a nice slot. It had some good downclimbing too. Shaylee named the first drop the lizard drop because there were lizards climbing the wall all over the place. We weren’t quite lizards, so we had to resort to rappelling to access the canyon.

The canyon soon slotted up and had a spring at the top, which made the slot slippery in places. We made our way downcanyon and through the slot, using a rope in some sections.

After Shaylee’s Birthday Canyon, we did another slot canyon and Shaylee named it Hippo Frog. There were some frogs in some of the pools and we enjoyed going through the canyon. It was a nice little slot, but QUITE short.

After completing the slots, we walked back up Rough Canyon and left for some birthday shopping!

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Looks like you found some pretty decent stuff even though short. Have spent some time in that area, but mostly on mtn bike. Would you care to share beta with a GJer? Always trying to find something local just to practice technique on or help others learn on. I do remember seeing one very short slot near the bottom before you start climbing up the old road south out of the canyon.
The photos look great & hope Shaylee enjoyed her birthday celebration.

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Originally Posted by peakbaggers

Looks like you found some pretty decent stuff even though short. Have spent some time in that area, but mostly on mtn bike. Would you care to share beta with a GJer? Always trying to find something local just to practice technique on or help others learn on. I do remember seeing one very short slot near the bottom before you start climbing up the old road south out of the canyon.
The photos look great & hope Shaylee enjoyed her birthday celebration.

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+1, looks like 2 fun little canyons, much closer to home than UT!

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Looks like you found some pretty decent stuff even though short.

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Yes, the slots are just short little diversions rather than destination canyons. I don't think any long slots exist in the Grand Junction area; just short examples.

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Would you care to share beta with a GJer? Always trying to find something local just to practice technique on or help others learn on. I do remember seeing one very short slot near the bottom before you start climbing up the old road south out of the canyon.

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Shaylee's birthday canyon is right in that area. In Rough Canyon, just above the small fall before you start climbing up that road is a rather inconspicuous side canyon coming in from the south (not the more obvious and bigger canyon just to the west). It doesn't look like much from the mouth (most people hiking Rough Canyon walk right by it since it is really hidden), but it slots up a bit higher up. This is "Shaylee's Birthday Canyon". You have to be careful getting to the head because of the crypto. A ~30 foot (didn't measure) rappel from a tree gets you into a bowl just above where the canyon slots up.

It's just a really short slot, but is local and would probably be fine for you to practice technique or to help others learn on. There are some fun downclimbs.

The canyon just to the west has a short V-groove slot, with running water, but it is non-technical. The tiny slot which you saw in Rough Canyon itself is where the photo of the moki steps is seen above and we ate lunch there.

There are other slots in the Grand Junction area, but all are very short. Devils Canyon has a nice V-Shaped semi-technical slot in the granite, which is interesting (and has some good rock climbing on the walls; my brother and I did some really great climbs there). I have heard lower Ute makes a good canyoneering route, though I haven't tried it.

There are also slots at the head of Main Canyon, but I haven't descended all the way through them. They are longer than the tiny short stuff in the photos above, but many are probably choked with vegetation because of the higher elevation.

Great TR Scott. Always love seeing new areas around GJ. Are those slots in the Entrada?

In addition to your list, Big Wash and its West Fork both have short narrows and are a fun loop. There is another canyon to the east that looks like it has a longer narrows in it but there are access issues. Shire Gulch and Kimbrell Mesa Canyon also look like they have short, possibly technical slots.

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Are those slots in the Entrada?

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Entrada and Kayenta. One reason why the slots are short around GJ is because the Navajo is missing. Around there it goes Entrada, Kayenta, then Wingate.

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Originally Posted by Scott P

Yes, the slots are just short little diversions rather than destination canyons. I don't think any long slots exist in the Grand Junction area; just short examples.




Shaylee's birthday canyon is right in that area. In Rough Canyon, just above the small fall before you start climbing up that road is a rather inconspicuous side canyon coming in from the south (not the more obvious and bigger canyon just to the west). It doesn't look like much from the mouth (most people hiking Rough Canyon walk right by it since it is really hidden), but it slots up a bit higher up. This is "Shaylee's Birthday Canyon". You have to be careful getting to the head because of the crypto. A ~30 foot (didn't measure) rappel from a tree gets you into a bowl just above where the canyon slots up.

It's just a really short slot, but is local and would probably be fine for you to practice technique or to help others learn on. There are some fun downclimbs.

The canyon just to the west has a short V-groove slot, with running water, but it is non-technical. The tiny slot which you saw in Rough Canyon itself is where the photo of the moki steps is seen above and we ate lunch there.

There are other slots in the Grand Junction area, but all are very short. Devils Canyon has a nice V-Shaped semi-technical slot in the granite, which is interesting (and has some good rock climbing on the walls; my brother and I did some really great climbs there). I have heard lower Ute makes a good canyoneering route, though I haven't tried it.

There are also slots at the head of Main Canyon, but I haven't descended all the way through them. They are longer than the tiny short stuff in the photos above, but many are probably choked with vegetation because of the higher elevation.

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Thanks, Scott for the descriptions. We'll have to do a little searching around next time we're not heading out of town to find a canyon.

FYI - Lower Ute canyon does provide an interesting descent. We did it a couple of years ago. Access it from taking either the Liberty Cap or Corkscrew trail up to the bench level at the top of the Precambrian then follow a trail south and a little west until you can head over to Ute just before it begins to drop. You can work down through the highly polished rock (with one tricky little downclimb on the left at one point) then onto a polished bench with a large, sloping drop that requires rappel. Probably about 160 ft, that we anchored off a large boulder. After that drop, you can walk down canyon some to a short drop around maybe 30 feet to another bench just before the final drop into the lower rock-strewn gully. THe final drop is around 100 ft. Once in the lower gully, you can contour left & up some to intersect the lower section of the Corkscrew trail & hike on back to your vehicle. Not a slot by any means, but a nice adventure, especially since we had no beta at all when we did it. You may possibly encounter water.

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Originally Posted by Scott P

Entrada and Kayenta. One reason why the slots are short around GJ is because the Navajo is missing. Around there it goes Entrada, Kayenta, then Wingate.

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Yep. Bummer too.....

We've been trying to figure out what layers our narrows in Big Wash were, we were thinking it was the Mt Garfield member of the Mesa Verde, but we're not too sure. It's definitely above the Mancos, but not sure where exactly.

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We've been trying to figure out what layers our narrows in Big Wash were, we were thinking it was the Mt Garfield member of the Mesa Verde, but we're not too sure.

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Could be. The Mesa Verde is a slot former; it's usually just not thick enough to make the long slots. There are several slots in the Mesa Verde, including the ones East of Price (Utah) and the ones in Main Canyon not far from Grand Junction. Hunter Canyon has one too in a side fork, but bushwhacking and loose rock make it too unpleasant to be worth a trip.