Overview

Hype:

Yankee Doodle Canyon is a short but fun technical canyoneering route in Leeds Canyon. The canyon has one mandatory rappel and a few other drops that can be rappelled or downclimbed. The canyon is often dry but can also hold water in a few places. Because it is short and permits are not required, Yankee Doodle is very popular, especially with beginners.

Canyon Rating: 3A/B

Time: 2-3 hours round trip

Length: 0.5 mile canyon, 0.5 mile exit

Longest Rappel: 1-4 rappels to 70 ft

Gear: Standard canyoneering gear. Wetsuit generally not required.

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

Getting There

Navigate to 37.235990, -113.454003.

Park in the unofficial parking area west of the canyon top.

Route

Approach

Walk a few feet from your vehicle to the canyon top.

Canyon

Enter the canyon at the top of the north fork. Soon after reaching the canyon floor, you'll come to the first and only rappel. The drop is a 70-foot rappel from a bolted anchor down a chute.

The next major obstacle is a 15-foot drop over a chockstone. Bolts are available, but this drop is easily downclimbed.

Shortly down canyon is a 10-foot drop over a chockstone. A bolt is available but not required.

Next up is a walking section that goes quickly. Near the bottom of Yankee Doodle is the final obstacle, a slickrock slide around a big boulder. A bolted anchor is available high on the left. This drop can be downclimbed.

Exit

Around the next bend is the canyon exit. As soon as you see a spot you could walk up the slick rock on your left, take the exit and climb the hill up to the road. If you continue down canyon too far, you'll reach the confluence with Big Hollow and need to turn around. Once at the road, head southwest back to your car.

Maps

Closest City or Region: Leeds, Utah

Coordinates: 37.236574, -113.453044

Interactive Guide Map

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June 25, 2022 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Anthony Dye, Shaylin Dye, Matt Laurendeau, Connor Fairholm,

Logistics

Start: 5:30

Canyon Bottom: 6:05

Canyon Top: 7:15

Story

Our original plan was to do Heaps Canyon, but with a 30% chance of rain on the forecast, we decided to head south and avoid the storm. We did Water Canyon instead. We finished early enough that we decided to go do Yankee Doodle canyon too. It was the first time any of us had done Yankee Doodle. We had a strong team, so we thought it would be fun to try to descend the canyon then reverse up canyon. We left our rope at the only mandatory rappel then downclimbed the rest of the canyon, finishing in about 35 minutes. Then we reversed the canyon. Anthony ascended up the rope, then we did a 2-to-1 haul for the others. It was short and easy but fun.

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Pictures