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North Lake Powell > White Canyon
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White Canyon starts in the foothills of the Abajo Mountains and joins the north end of Lake Powell near Hite after about 45 miles, passing through Natural Bridges National Monument en route. The upper stretches are quite shallow but the gorge soon becomes wide and deep, with crumbling red and white cliffs at either side - a scenic backdrop to UT 95, the Utah Centennial Highway, which winds through the canyon. A narrow ravine cuts into the middle of the main valley floor - several hundred feet deep in places and although mostly quite open, some parts are more slot-like, especially the Black Hole, a permanently flooded section of 150 meters where the smooth white Cedar Mesa sandstone walls are just a few feet apart. A trip through here is one of the premier canyoning experiences in Utah. |
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Location: All of the canyon is easily accessible from UT 95 - the inner gorge is never more than one mile from the highway. There are many possible entrance routes, and all of the 30 miles below the national monument are worth exploring; the most exciting section though, which includes the Black Hole, is close to Lake Powell - alongside the road between mileposts 55 and 57. Near each post is a small parking area and a well used trail heading east; both paths reach the floor of the gorge after just half a mile, entering via a short side canyon. Major tributary canyons also have narrows and are not often visited; these are (with the nearest milepost) Fortknocker (60), Long (63), Gravel (65), Fry (72), Cheesebox (75) and Hideout (77) - all are on the east side except Fry.
Photographs: 9 views of White Canyon.
Map: TopoZone topological map of White Canyon.
Description: The 3 mile section with the best narrows is usually explored in
the downstream direction, starting from mile 57 of UT 95. The short approach path descends via a steep boulder-covered slope into the canyon, which at this point is 600 feet deep but relatively wide; the walls close in after about 20 minutes walking. The canyon then has flat areas interspersed with smooth channels, occasional sheer drops of up to 10 feet and many intricate water-carved features; it gradually becomes deeper with vertical walls that have some places to climb above the streambed but no escape routes to the plateau above. The rocks are whitish grey, often stained black, and the passageways are enclosed and rather gloomy - this is not a particularly photogenic canyon. The pebbles and boulders on the streambed are more colorful and there are many specimens of petrified wood including some complete cross-sections over 6 inches in diameter.
White Canyon is usually dry except for a few sections with deep potholes but during the flash flood seasons of spring and late summer the streambed has numerous muddy pools, and flowing water persists for several days after heavy rain. Such was the case when I visited - the narrows had many pools 2-3 feet deep, some of which required wading. The falls become closer together and the channels narrower before the 150 metre flooded section known as the Black Hole; even in midsummer this is quite an obstacle with deep water that remains very cold despite the heat above, and was impassable on this occasion. A journey all the way through, exiting up a side canyon back to UT 24 at milepost 55 typically takes 5-7 hours, or at least it did prior to 2003, when a flash flood deposited a massive amount of logs and other debris in the Black Hole, creating an obstruction that remains a significant obstacle, and may well take several more years to fully clear.
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