Exploring Utah - Tom's Canyon Trail, Kanab, Utah

08/18/2016

Exploring Utah - Tom's Canyon Trail, Kanab, Utah

In our 9 day trip to Utah last fall, no hike surprised us more for its scenery than the Tom's Canyon hike. It was our first day in Utah, and we were in our hotel in Kanab, UT with about a 1/2 day to kill. We hadn't really planned on hiking that day after a long day of travel the day before and a late afternoon event scheduled, but it was a beautiful day and the mountains were calling, so we decided to get out and stretch our legs. Besides, a short hike to get accustomed to the altitude would probably serve us well.

After doing a bit of research, we decided to hike the Tom's Canyon Trail. The trail delivered a fantastic hike through a box canyon filled with great views and wildflowers -- we were shocked that such a great hike existed right in the community of Kanab.

Getting to the Trail Head:

Take Main Street from the intersection of Center and Main (literally in the heart of Kanab) and then turn RIGHT onto 300 North. Go 4 blocks and enter the La Estancia Subdivision. Turn right at the waterwheel and then park along Ladera Street. There is a trail head kiosk on the south side of the street at the curve. This is less than 1 mile from the center of town.

The trail starts off up the hill a bit and heads toward "K-Hill". In many mountain towns, it's common to put the first letter of the town name high up on a mountain overlooking the city, and in this case, "K-Hill" is the hill that that has Kanab's "K".

After just 100 yards or so, the trail splits. The trail to the right is the K-Hill Trail, which is a nice trail in its own right. It's smooth, well traveled, and offers great views of the community of Kanab. Tom's Canyon Trail forks to the LEFT.

The trail turns around the back of the subdivision and relatively close to the rooftops of the houses. However, quickly the trail reaches the back of the subdivision and heads into the canyon beyond. After a short ways, the trail crests over a ridge and the view into Tom's Canyon with little sign of civilization.

The trail drops down the hill and continues through this valley -- with hills on all sides blocking the views of the community of Kanab. So while at this point the trail is less than 1/2 mile from the city, it feels like it's much further away.

This was our first time to the area, and we were really surprised by the beauty of the wildflowers in the desert. Yellow, purple, white and orange wildflowers covered the landscape making for just a peaceful scene.

While the trail itself seems well-traveled, we were the only ones on the trail on this Saturday afternoon in September.

The trail continues deeper into the canyon as the canyon narrows.

There wasn't a lot of wildlife on the trail, but we did manage to find this new friend.

After a good distance, the trail crosses a dry creek bed. This, no doubt becomes quite the gully during major rain storms. As with anywhere in southern Utah, be aware of the weather conditions, because these valleys are prone to flash-flooding and they can rise IN A HURRY. So cognizant of weather conditions.

Shortly after crossing the creek bed, there is another trail head. The trail to the left (that quickly heads UP the hill) is the Cliffs Trail. It runs up on the cliffs (get it?!) and high above the valley and connects with the Squaw Trail. The three can be hiked in tandem and form a nice loop trail -- we will definitely hike these three trails together next time.

We stayed to the right and went into the final stretch of Tom's Canyon. Here, the Canyon narrows considerably.

The trail passes a little picnic area and then goes a bit further into the canyon before the trail kind of runs out of steam at a "weeping rock" that has a bit of water seeping from it (and a fair number of wildflowers) during the wet season. It was at this point that we decided to turn back, although I suppose the more adventurous might do some bolder hopping up into the canyon. As we were short on time, we opted to simply turn back here.

The trail then heads back the way we came in -- through the canyon and the various wildflowers.

The entire hike is approximately 3 miles round trip. There is a bit of climbing on the trail, but the starting elevation and ending elevation are only about 20 feet difference, so the climbing is minimal. This makes this a pretty moderate hike. The distance, lack of elevation change, proximity to town, and great scenery make this a must-hike if you are spending any length of time in Kanab as a part of your vacation.