To avoid disappointment, you may want to stop by or call the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center - Bureau of Land Management before the hike to find out the conditions of the canyon (435) 826-5499. If you are claustrophobic, this may not be the place for you. Depending on the time of year and amount of recent rainfall, you may have to wade through knee to chest deep water and might have to carry your equipment over your head. The main difficulty of this trail lies in the confusion of the last half mile, the narrowness of the canyon (a foot or so wide in some places) and the propensity to have water in the canyon. The trail is well traveled and easily identified (for the first 2 miles) until you get to the Harris wash, then you have to search for the right trail for much of the rest of the way. The trail to Zebra canyon is a modest 2.6 mile hike each way with a nominal 300ft elevation gain through the desert near Escalante, UT. Also there is no sign on Hole in the Rock Road, just know it is 8 miles south of Hwy 12 and you park on the right immediately after crossing a cattle guard.I would rate the difficulty of this trail as a 3 on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being most difficult). I suggest packing a good amount of patience. It was busy but people were good about taking turns to let people enter and exit the narrow sections. No cairns at all in the last section where we got lost between Harris Wash and the wash that leads to Zebra. And there are many paths that break off from the intended route. The overcast skies certainly made it hard to get a sense of direction.

I am good with route finding and we did get slightly lost, as did a large number of other people out there that day. Its a long slow slog through deep loose beach sand much of the way. I turned around at a pour over that I could not climb though others said it was worth it. I got up the slot ok but realized there was not a good place to do the same to go back and it took me a while.

The first part was nice but the footing is tricky where it is too narrow for to keep walking and you have to prop your feet up on one wall and your body on the other. The slot is as pretty in pics, though I was there on an overcast day and the colors really didn't shine. The best time for this hike are during the spring and fall, when temperatures are mild.

When to go: You can hike Willis Creek all year. Great slot but not for the claustrophobic or for big people. Distance: 3+ miles (out and back) Elevation Gain: Minimal.

How much water in zebra slot canyon