Hunter Canyon Hike - Moab, Utah

Hunter Canyon is another fantastic, scenic hike in the Moab, Utah area. The trail runs along a stream and there are red rock walls, formations, and the beautiful songs of Canyon Wrens beckoning you onward.

Hunter Canyon Trail - Moab, Utah

Today we decided to try Hunter Canyon - a four-mile round-trip in the Moab, Utah area.

The trailhead is on Kane Creek Canyon Road about 7.5 miles from its intersection with U.S. 191.  The drive is pretty scenic in itself.

There is a parking area at the trailhead that is shared with campers.  There are a few tent sites along the first part of the trail.

We started the trail somewhere around 12:30.

 

 

The trail meanders along a stream between high red rock walls.

 

 

It was a warm day and here are some folks cooling off in the stream.

 

 

A deep pool fed by a "seep spring".

 

 

It was great to see the cottonwoods fully leaved out ...

 

 

and so many wildflowers in bloom.

 

 

This even looked like a landscaped rock garden.

 

 

About a half mile in is this large rock next to the stream that has a large hole we could walk through.

 

 

Just beyond that rock, high on the right is a large arch.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a good angle for a photo unless we did some serious climbing.  That wasn't happening today.

Here, Linda is crossing the creek among the large rocks in the canyon.

 

 

There are a couple of small waterfalls along the way.

 

 

Well, I'm not even sure they can be called waterfalls, but the sounds were soothing nonetheless.

In addition to the stream and high red rock cliffs, there are quite a few formations along this hike as well.

 

 

Some of the pools contained bright green algae which made for an interesting contrast.

 

 

Lots of hikers had their dogs along.  I don't know about the hikers, but the dogs were having a ball swimming in the pools.

 

 

 

We continued on up the canyon admiring the beautiful scenery and listening to the unmistakable songs of Canyon Wrens.

Eventually, we got to a point where there was a side canyon on our left.

 

 

We were not really sure if we were supposed to go that way.  But the naked woman posing on a rock deterred us for the time being.  Sorry guys, she wasn't posing for me.  No pics of that.

Rather than turning, we continued straight a few feet where it looked like the trail ended.  It seemed like a good spot to take a rest and have something to eat while we took in the down-canyon view.

 

 

Then we saw others making the left-hand turn we skipped.  So we followed.  It was a narrower trail with lots or Prickly Pear Cactus along the way.  We had to be careful to not puncture our legs.

 

 

The trail went away from the creek for a little while.  Along the way, there was also a concentration of the sweet-smelling Fremont's Barberry.

 

 

It's an evergreen with holly-like leaves and yellow blooms.

 

 

The wonderful aroma was present throughout our entire hike.  Aaaahhh.

We marched on until the trail came back to the stream.  For some reason, we got very tired on this relatively short, easy hike.  Maybe it was because we were coming off of illnesses.

At any rate, we stopped for another rest at this point.

 

 

I'm not sure how much farther we could've gone, but we decided we were finished.  We started back.

The sun was at a different angle, so I got some shots that were shaded on our way in.

 

 

Linda is in the lower left of this next photo for perspective as we worked our way back through the canyon.

 

 

With about a mile left to go, we took another rest beside the small waterfall.

 

 

Lying on the warm rocks listening to the water and the Canyon Wrens, and taking in the aroma of the Fremont Barberries, Linda (lower left above) closed her eyes and imagined she was in a spa.

In my opinion, this was much better.  Not to mention a whole lot cheaper.

I took one last photo that was just about the same as the one I took starting in.  However, the later afternoon sun angle made for a much better shot.

 

 

Once we reached the Jeep, we took off our backpacks and sort of collapsed into our seats.  Whew.  We were done.

But it was a great hike.  I'll give Linda credit for the suggestion as it didn't really jump out at me when I read the description. That's four Moab-area hikes that are not in parks that we would highly recommend - Hunter Canyon, Grandstaff Trail (fka Negro Bill Canyon), Fisher Towers, and Corona Arch (which is our favorite of the four - we've hiked it twice).

That's it for another great day in Moab.