Spring Canyon offers solitude

IRON COUNTY — Spring Canyon is a quiet and secluded red rock hike for anyone with a couple of extra hours in southern Utah.

Located southeast of Kanarraville (or about 12 miles south of Cedar City and east of I-15), Spring Canyon is a moderate trek that doesn't seem to attract a lot of visitors.

One reason for the seclusion may be that the Bureau of Land Management doesn't maintain the trail up the canyon. Also, the dirt leading to the mouth of the canyon on the south side of Kanarraville is not graded regularly either. If it's a dry day and you have a truck, it is no problem, but otherwise some deep ruts in the road — unless they are fixed — will mean an extra mile round-trip walk to and from the trailhead for anybody going there in cars.

Rocky and sandy, Spring Canyon features a creek in early spring and requires four or more crossings. If you can't leap across four- or five-foot gaps and/or balance on rocks in the creek — you will get wet in the spring.

Also, erosion has taken its toll on the first part of the canyon, and probably all the runoff in early 2005 carved some nice chasms along the trail.

There's plenty of shade in the early going, but 1.5 miles out from the mouth of the canyon, it narrows into a slot canyon. This is where the more rugged hiking conditions exist, and how far hikers go here depends on the weather and their climbing skills. Eventually, technical climbing is required to reach the upper levels of the canyon as it heads toward the edges of Zion National Park.

Hikers with children may find the first mile or so of the canyon adequate to walk away from civilization, find some solitude and play in the water, at least in the spring.

"This is a pleasant and often spectacular hike along the creek bottom of Spring Creek Canyon," the Cedar City BLM site says. "Canyon is located 0.5-mile south and east of Kanarraville. Foot traffic only, as this tract is designated as a Wilderness Study Area. You must climb to reach the next level."

Distance: Variable — two miles or more, one-way, depending on climbing skills.

Elevation gain: About 500 feet.

Difficulty: Easy for the fist mile, though a few eroded sections require some dirt scrambling. Moderate for the next mile. Two miles out, only experienced climbing groups should continue.

Season of use: April to November.