Owl Canyon Trail

Owl Canyon Trail is a 2.2-mile out-and-back from the Three-Island Overlook picnic area. It drops from the access road to the old lakebed, follows a sandy wash into sculpted narrows, passes beneath the roads in concrete culverts, then turns back where the canyon opens into a broad gravel wash. The slot is the reason to come; it feels close and textured in a way the open approach does not. This is a short hike, but not a stroll: the National Park Service rates it moderate and lists about 300 feet of elevation change. Allow roughly two hours so you can take the narrows slowly and still manage the steep return.

Start near the westernmost picnic table by the shelter. A short descent of loose sand and rock drops about 50 yards to the flats. Those first steps are the most fall-prone part of the trip, and you have to climb the same loose slope on your way out. If that pitch feels uncomfortable, turn around before dropping into the wash. The trail is not maintained.

From the dry lakebed, informal tracks cross saltcedar and a low ridge toward the canyon mouth. At the fork, take the left, south branch into Owl Canyon. The tracks can be faint and hikers report getting turned around, so save an offline map before you lose cell service; don't follow a neighboring drainage just because it looks more traveled. There is little shade on the flats and no drinking water at the trailhead. In warm weather, go in the cooler part of the day. Avoid the canyon during monsoon storms: flash floods can rush through narrow washes.

The first tight section runs for about a quarter mile. Sinuous, layered conglomerate walls close in over sand and loose stones; the highest walls reach about 100 feet. A culvert under Lakeshore Road breaks the first narrows. The canyon continues in a deeper but less confined stretch, then passes under River Mountains Loop Trail through one of two culvert openings. Shortly beyond, the walls fall away and the wash widens. That broad gravel wash is the turn-around point, about 1.1 miles from the start. Turn back there for the NPS-listed route. Some hikers describe a longer loop using another canyon and a bike-path connector, but its full alignment is unclear, so it is not part of this route.

The canyon was once under Lake Mead. As the lake level fell, the wash was exposed; flowing water had cut the narrows into conglomerate made from old alluvial-fan deposits, a rock type called fanglomerate. Look at how the walls bend and narrow around the wash. Sun and shadow bring out different colors in the sculpted rock, and a person in the frame makes the walls' scale easier to read.

The name comes from white owls reported in the canyon. Owls are part of the canyon name, but sightings are not guaranteed. Whitewash high on the walls and small pellets on the ground can be signs of roosting birds. Look without approaching ledges or disturbing wildlife. A quiet early-spring visit elsewhere avoids flushing nesting birds.

Park at the Three-Island Overlook lot at the end of the access road from 33 Hole Canyon Road. There is a picnic shelter and an accessible pit toilet, but no drinking water or food service was found. Park admission is required; no reservation is needed. Dogs are allowed on a leash no longer than six feet.