Hunter Canyon is located in Kane Creek, in the area called Behind the Rocks in Moab. Hunter Canyon is home to Hunter Arch and a few petroglyphs (if you can find them), and is a great hike for the whole family – dogs and kids, included. This winding canyon is beautiful – tall sandstone cliff walls, pools of water, a flowing stream in spring (it dries out in Summer), shade here and there to cool off, and red rock towers. Hunter Canyon stretches for miles on end, but most people turn around at the 2 mile mark, where the canyon intersects with a fork with another canyon.
Directions
From Moab, use this driving map. The trail starts on the south side of Kane Creek Road, right at the “Dip” road sign. You will see a parking area on both sides of the road. Passenger cars can safely make it.
Trail Info
Distance: 4 miles RT
Elevation gain: 405 ft
Time: 2-3 hours
Dog friendly? Yes, off leash
Kid friendly? Yes
Fees/Permits? None
Park on either side of Kane Creek Rd – the trail starts on the south side of the road.
There is a portapotty at the TH, and you’ll also see a sign about fees. You do not need to pay to hike – this is if you want to camp. There are 7 campsites on this BLM land. These do fill up quickly because they are nice campsites with shade next to the stream. Campsites are $15/night. If these campsites are full, keep driving down Kane Creek until you reach The Ledges Campgrounds (there are 5 of them named A B C D & E) which are also $15/night. Here is a map of Moab’s dog friendly (& cheap!) campgrounds.
Follow the sandy trail south.
We found several pools of water for the dogs to swim in. Some of them did look kind of nasty with algae, so just keep an eye out for gross water. Most of the water was fine. In early Spring, the creek is still flowing. By mid-May, it was starting to dry up.
Plenty of shade to take a quick break if you need one.
About 1/2 mile into Hunter Canyon, you should be able to see Hunter Arch up to your right. You can follow a faint trail to the arch.
Hunter Arch!
Standing underneath Hunter Arch. Look at that deep blue sky!
Back down on the main trail the dogs were dying to get back into the water, and it was only 70F!
Hiking buddies!
I absolutely love this view! Charlie blends right in.
Fallen towers along the trail in Hidden Canyon.
Ahh some more shade. The fork is just around the corner. You can keep going another 1/2 mile, but most people turn around there because there is a pour off that is hard to bypass.
Trail Map
My track via Gaia GPS – the best tracking app! Get your app here for a discount.
Recommended Gear
Nearby Hike
Funnel Arch
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