Parking
Follow the signs for Cave Spring and Salt Creek to the Lower Salt Creek Trailhead. Park before the locked gate; only a few cars fit, so leave the gate clear.
Overview
About Horse Canyon Road Walk to Paul Bunyan’s Potty
Why go
- Paul Bunyan’s Potty gives the road walk a clear, distinctive destination.
Heads up
- Deep sand makes a simple-looking road walk slow.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Canyonlands map
Full mapElevation4,928–5,072 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Canyonlands alerts
- ClosureRain-damaged Needles backcountry roads impassableRecent rains have made several Needles backcountry roads impassable; do not drive these routes.Official details
- CautionMaze access roads require high-clearance 4WDOnly use high-clearance 4WD to reach Hans Flat or Horseshoe Canyon in The Maze; low-clearance vehicles are not recommended on these damaged, rutted, muddy routes.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Canyonlands Tour Guide
Your drive to Horse Canyon Road Walk to Paul Bunyan’s Potty, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Canyonlands National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Canyonlands audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Lower Salt Creek Gate and Angel Arch0:00 / 0:31
“You're approaching Lower Salt Creek gate, a starting point for a planned backpacking trip to Angel Arch. The arch cuts through a tall sandstone fin, with tooth-shaped Molar Rock in front of it.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Canyonlands Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Cave Spring and Cowboy Camp
- A Lizard on Two Legs
- Stone Storehouse
- The Needles Visitor Center
- 43 audio storiesacross Canyonlands’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Coyote, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 63 trails, 65 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Horse Canyon Road Walk to Paul Bunyan’s Potty
The walk to the archHorse Canyon is an out-and-back from the Lower Salt Creek gate to Paul Bunyan’s Potty, a…
Horse Canyon is an out-and-back from the Lower Salt Creek gate to Paul Bunyan’s Potty, a pothole arch in the sandstone. The mapped road route is about 3.4 miles each way, or 6.8 miles round trip; allow about four hours. The first 2.3 miles follow Lower Salt Creek Road to a signed junction, then the Horse Canyon road continues to the arch access. You’re walking a sandy 4WD road and wash, not a built hiking path. The grade is mostly gradual, but soft sand slows the walk.
Find the right turnAt the junction, follow the branch into Horse Canyon.
At the junction, follow the branch into Horse Canyon. A short side road leads to the arch viewpoint. Skull Arch, also called Mrs. Bunyan’s Potty, sits high on the left cliffs and is easy to miss; a small granary alcove nearby is a clue that you’re close. You can see Paul Bunyan’s Potty from its established viewpoint. Don’t scramble up the steep, slippery watercourse beneath it or enter the alcove, which contains archaeological remains.
A much older canyonThe wider Salt Creek district preserves evidence of human occupation going back at least 7,600…
The wider Salt Creek district preserves evidence of human occupation going back at least 7,600 years. Its reliable water and soils supported farming, and the area’s granaries outnumber its dwellings, suggesting some use was seasonal. Horse Canyon’s arches and cultural sites sit in the same canyon landscape. Look from established access and don’t enter, alter, or damage archaeological sites.
Before you goWater is unreliable, and deep sand, deep water, and quicksand occur in the canyon bottom.
Water is unreliable, and deep sand, deep water, and quicksand occur in the canyon bottom. Carry all the water you need and stay out of a canyon that’s flooding. Pets aren’t allowed. Day-use permits apply to vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles on these roads; you can walk in from the gate without one.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Canyonlands
48 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
47 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
30 sightingsWestern RattlesnakeMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
18 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
18 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Canyonlands. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
