Salt Creek Canyon Trail

Salt Creek Canyon Trail is a 22.5-mile, one-way backpack from Cathedral Butte Trailhead to Peekaboo, following the upper Salt Creek drainage through The Needles. It starts on a high, pinon- and juniper-covered mesa, drops to the canyon and continues along a sandy wash between sandstone walls. Treat it as a multi-night backcountry route, not a long day hike: most backpackers spend two to three nights, and the park advises against attempting it in two days or less. The payoff is the changing canyon floor, its arches and a remarkably rich archaeological landscape.

Cathedral Butte Trailhead is outside the park, about 18 miles down Beef Basin Road, also called Bridger Jack Road or County Road 107. The dirt approach may be impassable in winter or require high-clearance four-wheel drive when flooded. Arrange a vehicle shuttle for the point-to-point route. At the north end, parking near Peekaboo or along the Salt Creek-Horse Canyon road is discouraged because of flash-flood danger; plan to park at Cave Springs/Salt Creek Gate and walk the road to Peekaboo. From Cathedral Butte, a steep, loose descent leads to the canyon floor.

The drainage alternates between cottonwood groves, reeds and willows, open sagebrush flats and wet stretches. Dense growth can cover the tread, especially between the southern park boundary and Kirk Spring, so route-finding can be slow. A spring about three miles in may fill potholes, but its flow is seasonal; it may be the only reliable water for roughly the next 17 miles. Carry all the water you need and treat any water collected along the way rather than counting on a source being available.

Near the spring are the remains of Lee Kirk's wooden homestead cabin, built in the 1890s. Salt Creek is part of an archaeological district that preserves evidence of people living and traveling here for more than 10,000 years. Some sites are open to visitors and are marked; leave all others alone. Do not enter, touch, alter or remove anything from archaeological places. If you need to leave the route, keep to slickrock or sandy washes and stay off biological soil crust and vegetation.

The canyon begins broad, then narrows below campsite 3, around seven miles from the start. The route passes through a break in a sandstone fin and weaves between creekbed and benches toward campsite 4, about 11.5 miles in. About half a mile farther is a spur to Angel Arch; the round-trip detour adds about 3.4 miles and is not included in the 22.5-mile trail distance. Beyond it, the canyon tightens around a series of meanders. A sculpted slickrock section may hold water, but it is unreliable. The route reaches Peekaboo Spring and climbs through a hole in a rock fin to the other side of the canyon.

A backcountry permit and reservation are required for every overnight. Stay only in your assigned campsite or the designated Salt and Horse at-large zone; camping elsewhere in the canyon is not allowed. Human-waste bags are required at designated campsites and strongly recommended in the at-large zone. From March 15 through November 30, food and scented items at Salt Creek and Peekaboo campsites and in the Salt and Horse zone must be stored in a park-approved hard-sided animal-resistant container. Bears have been seen in nearby canyons, and pets are not allowed on park hiking trails. No food service, toilets or potable-water facilities were found along this route.