Canyoneering | Death Canyon
Hype:
Death Canyon is a great little canyon. The approach is quick, the canyon is narrow and scenic with some easy stemming, and there are a couple of short rappels. This canyon is great for beginning canyoneers or groups with kids.
Canyon Rating: 3A 
Time: 2 hours
Longest Rappel: 50 ft
Gear: Standard canyoneering gear.
Fees: None
Recommended Ages:
 | 0-3 |
 | 4-11 |
 | 12-19 |
 | 20-49 |
 | 50-69 |
 | 70+ |
Recommended Months to Visit:
| Jan |
| Feb |
| Mar |
| Apr |
| May |
| Jun |
| Jul |
| Aug |
| Sep |
| Oct |
| Nov |
| Dec |
Navigate to 38.048327, -110.583424.
Death Canyon is located along SR-95, 25 miles south of Hanksville, Utah.
Closest City or Region: North Wash, Utah
Coordinates: 38.057952, -110.573656
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Miller Dye, Matt Laurendeau, Amanda Laurendeau, Alex Laurendeau, Caleb Laurendeau, Rose Laurendeau, Lila Laurendeau, Trey Laurendeau, Trent Carlisle, Ben, Gene,
Friday, March 13 - When the kids got home from school, we loaded into the truck and drove down to North Wash for the Sand Patrick’s Canyoneering Rendezvous. Trent Carlisle and I were the hosts, but really it was mostly Trent. We set up the trailer, then I met up with Chris, Marci, Kelly, and Matt, and we did Bushwax Canyon. It ended up being a lot of fun. There were a couple of stemming spots that were pretty tricky for Marci and Kelly, but Chris helped them through it and they were just fine. Tara and the kids hung out at camp and went to bed. When I got back to camp, I hung out around the campfire for a little bit, then went to bed around 11:00.
Saturday, March 14 - We were aiming to leave at 9:00, but it took a little bit to get everyone ready, so we left camp around 9:30. We drove up to the Hog Canyons, and I took us on a really bad dirt road that was not a good idea. We had to turn around and go back to the highway, which was kind of tricky in the deep sand. When we got to the trailhead, we hiked across to the top of Hog 2. We had a group of 10. We descended Hog 2 at a medium-slow pace. There was quite a bit of downclimbing and a few rappels and lots of skinny narrows. We climbed the Nose back up to the plateau top. That climb was kind of tricky, and Tara had to give me a foot support so I could make it up. Then I lowered a rope so everyone else could climb up. At the top of the canyon, we split up into two groups. Five people went back to camp, and the other five of us descended Hog 1 Canyon. We started off going a little bit faster but had to slow down because one of the group members was struggling a bit and getting quite tired. That canyon had several optional rappels, which we mostly downclimbed. I used the rope twice as a hand line but never put on my harness. Once at the bottom of Hog 1, we scrambled up the gully exit and went back to the car. We made it back to camp around 7:00. At 6:00, there was a potluck at camp. We hung out around the fire and had a fun time munching and swapping stories. Tara and the kids were pretty tired and went to bed around 9:30. I stayed up until a little after 11:00.
Sunday, March 15 - We got up and made breakfast, then all gathered together. The original plan was to do Morocco Canyon or Merry Piglet Canyon, but we heard that both canyons had a lot of water, so we opted to do Death Canyon instead. We had a group of 15 people, which was a lot. The approach was a little slow with little legs, but we made it in good spirits and descended the canyon pretty quickly. At the two rappels, it took quite a while to sequence everyone through. There was a little puddle at the bottom of the second drop, so we clipped a tether to people and pulled them out from the water so they could stay dry. When Lila was being lowered down, she got her feet above her and slid down headfirst on her back. She didn’t appreciate that very much, so I waded in the water to catch her at the bottom. Everyone else stayed dry. We hiked back to the cars, then went back to camp where we loaded up all our gear, then left a little before 2:00. We stopped at Stan’s on the way home and got a couple of hamburgers and some ice cream and filled up with gas. Then we drove the rest of the way home, arriving around 6:00 p.m.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Anthony Dye, Arianne Dye, Miller Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Killian Wagner, Ryan Baker, Baker kids,
Start: 10:10.
Top of Canyon: 11:05.
End: 1:20.
We did Death Canyon on our last day before heading home. We had 5 adults and 7 kids. We hiked up the wash then climbed up to the rim before dropping down at the top of the canyon. Everything went smoothly. Killian was Mr. Grumpy at first but calmed down after a bit. At the last rappel, we set up a guided rappel for the kids so they didn't have to get wet at the bottom. Miller got lowered the first time and had a fit that he didn't get to go down the zipline. So we pulled him back up, but then once at the top, he didn't want to get lowered or do the zip line. Sometimes kids are too tired to know what they want.
Camp Sites: Butler Canyon Primitive Camping
Canyoneering: Maidenwater Canyon, Middle Fork
Fun Places: 
Hiking: 
Rappels
Stemming
Fixed Anchors
Wetsuit Generally Not Required
No Drinking Water
Wayfinding
Road Access is Paved
Access Road is 2WD Accessible