Hiking Frog Canyon - Burr Trail

Overview

Thu

65° | 36°

Fri

70° | 37°

Sat

68° | 43°

Sun

61° | 40°

Mon

65° | 37°

( Rated 3.8 / 4 Ratings )

28 Todo Lists / 2 Ticks

RATING: Easy/Moderate Hike

LENGTH: 1+ hours (0.8 mile)

MAPS: PIONEER MESA, UT

SEASON: Spring, Summer, Fall (Hot in summer)

GEAR: Standard Hiking Gear

WATER: Generally little or none except. after recent rains where there may be shallow wading.

FLASHFLOOD: Low/Moderate

NOTES: The trailhead is generally reachable by all vehicles, but can be a little rough in spots at times. High clearance recommended, though probably not required. Recent rains/floods can make the road much more difficult.

Thu

65° | 36°

Fri

70° | 37°

Sat

68° | 43°

Sun

61° | 40°

Mon

65° | 37°

Sculpted Frog Canyon

Minor obstacle in Frog Canyon

Driving the Wolverine Loop Road, it is hard to miss the large rock slope that the road skirts and climbs around. The narrow crack that parallels the road looked too inviting on my drive, so I had to stop and check it out! The crack, Frog Canyon, turns out to be shallow, usually only 10-20 ft deep, but incredibly sinuous and sculpted. This is not a canyon I would make the long trek out to visit on its own, but coupled with something else in the area, it is an absolute treat!

The canyon can be ascended or descended, but for my money, ascending it is more fun. There are numerous small obstacles to climb and several tight squeezes to surmount. Quite a few exists make it easy to exit when you have had enough. Frog Canyon turned out to be a fun outing.

Note: The canyon does not show up on topo maps, and I could not find a reference to a name. I called it Frog Canyon, because on my visit it was teaming with frogs and tadpoles. The canyon is not one I would have guessed would be good frog habitat, but every pool of water was hopping with them! Pun intended.

One of the more open areas in Frog Canyon

Lodged logs in Frog Canyon

Getting There

From Boulder Utah, take the Burr trail east. The road is paved and starts on the south side of town.

Reset your odometer as you turn off highway 12 on to the Burr Trail. Stay on the main Burr Trail road, passing many side roads as you pass through Boulder. 12S 462640E 4194941N / 37°54'04"N 111°25'30"W

6.2 miles - Deer Creek Trailhead and Campground 12S 468739E 4189767N / 37°51'17"N 111°21'19"W

10.0 miles - The Lower Gulch Trailhead on the right 12S 472327E 4189249N / 37°51'01"N 111°18'52"W

10.7 miles - The Upper Gulch Pullout/Trailhead on the left. 12S 472775E 4189975N / 37°51'25"N 111°18'34"W

11.5 miles - Signing canyon with a pullout on the left. An excellent short side hike visits this impressive canyon from the bottom. 12S 473569E 4190861N / 37°51'53"N 111°18'02"W

18.4 miles - Signed dirt road on the right indicates Little Death Hollow. (This is the Wolverine Loop Road.) Reset your odometer as you turn onto this usually good dirt road. 12S 480604E 4197435N / 37°55'27"N 111°13'14"W

5.5 miles - A side road goes off on the right, this goes down Horse Canyon. Stay left on the Wolverine Road 12S 480329E 4189257N / 37°51'02"N 111°13'25"W

9.9 miles - Wolverine Petrified Wood / Canyon Trailhead on the right. 12S 481830E 4184096N / 37°48'15"N 111°12'23"W

10.45 miles - Small side road to a parking area on the right. This is the Frog Canyon trailhead. 12S 482485E 4183928N / 37°48'09"N 111°11'56"W

Frog Canyon - Burr Trail

Interesting log and light in Frog Canyon

Route Description

From the trailhead, walk down the road a minute to where a side wash leaves on the right. Go down this wash as it begins cutting into the Shinarump Member of the Chinle Formation. A couple of minor downclimbs in here are an excellent warmup. You reach the main canyon shortly.

You can go down the main canyon for a couple of minutes to a drop where the Shinarump layer gives way. This short drop is a bit wide, and makes a hard down climb or short rappel. The canyon opens immediately after it, so I would recommend not continuing down canyon, but rather start heading up the main canyon.

Heading up canyon, there is a rhythm of short, deeper, sculpted narrows interspersed with more open sections. A major junction in reached. Go left here (looking up canyon). This left fork is the longer of the two and has more sculpted narrows and open sections. At its head is a very tight curving up climb that is tricky.If the climb proves too hard, go back down canyon a couple of minutes, and look for an easy climb out on the right (looking down canyon). Once above the canyon, circle around the head of the fork and head south to the main road. Follow the main road back down hill to the trailhead. Or, for more fun, turn around and descend the canyon.