• Zebra And Tunnel Slot Canyon

This colorful slot canyon is one of a handful of small ravines cut by tributaries of Utah's Harris Wash. Compared to the vast canyons of the Grand Staircase, these small slot canyons seem insignificant. But small discoveries like these can be quite enjoyable. Crawling through the striped sandstone of Zebra Canyon offers a pleasant break from hiking the unshaded Harris Wash.
From Escalante's Hole-in-the-Rock Road, a trail along Halfway Hollow leads to Harris Wash. This popular route straightens out most of the riverbed meanders. Head upstream at Harris Wash (northwest) for a quarter mile, there you'll find the streambed that created this natural work of art, Zebra Canyon.
Nearly 75 years ago, a young Californian, Everett Ruess (ROO-ess) headed down this same Hole-in-the -Rock Road. The sandy-haired kid spent four years wandering the Southwest prior to his arrival at Escalante. Ruess was enthralled with the area and wrote, 'I have seen more beauty that I can bare.' After his departure from Escalante, Ruess was never seen again. All that remained were theories and Everett's graffiti spread over Davis Gulch.
Recently, a Navajo legend surfaced, relating a story of a young man being chased by three Utes Natives at Comb Ridge over 75 years ago. A young Aneth Nez witnessed the murder of a young man fitting the description of Ruess. Later in life, a medicine man treating Nez drew out the story, the source of Nez's ailments. Treatment required a lock of hair from body of this young wanderer. Upon hearing the story, Bellson, a grandson of Aneth Nez, began his own investigated into this remarkable Navajo legend and eventually located the remains of the young man killed 75 years ago nearby Comb Ridge and Chinle Wash.
Area Map

Zebra Slot Canyon is located off of Hole in the Rock Road, near Escalante, UT.The hike is only 2 miles in, and the best section of the striped walls only lasts for about 100 ft. Getting to the slot is quite easy, as it meanders through Juniper & Sage brush, cuts through a beautiful red rock canyon, then open up as you walk through the sandy dry wash, and eventually leads to the iconic striped. Zebra Slot Canyon. Trail Type: Out and Back trafficked Trail Details: 7.8 miles, 551 feet of elevation gain. Exposure: full exposure until the slot canyon, and then (depending on the time of year) there is standing water. Amenities: Bathrooms and parking are available. Zebra Slot Canyon is a short narrow slot that has horizontal strips of light and dark colors. It is typically visited at the same time as Tunnel Slot Canyon as the access trail is the same. You’ll find the trailhead on the Hole In The Rock Road which goes SE from Highway 2 starting about 5 miles east of the small town of Escalante, UT. Zebra Slot Canyon Trail Intermediate. Map Key Favorites Check-Ins. 2.6 Miles 4.2 KM 98% Runnable 5,337' 1,627 m High 5,153' 1,571 m. Map Key Favorites Check-Ins. 2.6 mi 4.2 km #4 Zebra Slot Canyon Trail. Escalante, UT Intermediate. Escalante, UT 12.

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Zebra And Tunnel Slot Canyon

I once cryptically named these slot canyons as “Beautiful and Mysterious Slot Canyons”, but now the mystery is sadly gone as they have described in guidebooks and on websites that have put Zebra and Tunnel Slot Canyon on the radar. The parking area by the main trailhead that didn’t used to exist now commonly has a half dozen cars and I often encounter confused people trying to find their way using only GPS waypoints. By inviting those who don’t read maps or know how to navigate in the wilderness, more folks get lost here than probably any other place in the Escalante Canyons. I digress… Zebra and Tunnel are still among the most beautiful slot canyons in southern Utah, so are still worth visiting. Both slots can be wet and cold, especially after flash floods, so you need river shoes. Zebra is particularly beautiful when the sunlight bounces off its red and white striped walls, looking like glowing curtains of rock. Traversing across fields of moqui marbles as we head toward Tunnel makes an interesting diversion. Tunnel is really strange because this slot doesn’t open to the sky – hence that name. When I first discovered Tunnel one winter (beckoned by unusual topo lines), Lisa decided to go around while I went through. With echoes of splashing ice water, I emerged out of a dark vertical crevasse. Lisa said it looked like the Earth was giving birth to me – so one might truly say I have been reborn in the slickrock! On our hike, we will explore a candyland of slickrock domes and valleys. If you prefer solitude, I have several routes less traveled that lead to Zebra and Tunnel along washes having lots of waterpocket and flanked by coral pink sanddunes.