Lower Red Lake Canyon Trail

Lower Red Lake Canyon is an out-and-back from Elephant Hill Trailhead through the Grabens to the Colorado River. Plan for 18.8 miles round trip. The mapped line to the river is about 8.6 miles one way, while other route estimates run roughly 17 to 19 miles round trip; use the longer planning figure and check the current park map. The steep descent has to be climbed again. Strong hikers may attempt it in a long day, but the park recommends a multi-day hike; overnight backpacking requires an at-large permit.

The trailhead is reached by a three-mile unpaved road from Salt (Squaw) Flat Campground. The first roughly 3.5 miles of the hike follow Elephant Hill's 4WD road on foot before the route leaves it. The backcountry is remote and trails may be faint or poorly marked; cairns help at junctions, but carry a topographic map. There is no water before the Colorado River, and water in this backcountry is scarce and unreliable, so carry enough for the full trip rather than counting on a source at the end.

The opening road section passes through Devils Pocket and Devils Lane, where broad, sandy and grassy floors run between long, straight red-rock ridges. Views open toward the Needles and, from parts of Elephant Hill, the La Sal Mountains. At the junction for Red Lake Canyon, the route leaves the road and crosses the faulted landscape of the Grabens.

The route avoids dry falls by leaving the canyon floor, then descends a steep, switchbacking slope into Cyclone Canyon. In upper Red Lake Canyon, it follows a broad sandy wash, crosses to the west side, and climbs briefly but steeply to a pass above the deeper lower canyon. That higher traverse is shorter than staying down in the drainage.

A bench above pour-offs leads toward the lower canyon, with views down the narrowing ravine. The steepest section drops about 500 feet to a sandy, rocky creek bed, roughly 1.5 miles from the Colorado. The final ravine bends through orange-brown exposures of the Paradox Salt Formation; the river stays screened until close to the end. This overlook above the canyon is the route's strongest photo stop.

The official route finishes in overgrowth beside the Colorado River, rather than at a broad open overlook or an obvious river-access point. Across the water are Spanish Bottom and the Maze's Sentinel spires, at the upper end of Cataract Canyon. Plan the turnaround and water carried for the return without assuming the riverbank will be easy to reach.