Hiking Eagle Canyon Arch - Central Swell

Overview

Wed

57° | 37°

Thu

57° | 42°

Fri

58° | 40°

Sat

62° | 41°

Sun

66° | 45°

( Rated 4.7 / 3 Ratings )

17 Todo Lists / 1 Ticks

RATING: Roadside Attraction or Easy Hike Depending on Vehicle

LENGTH: 1+ hours (Cabin to Arch And Back 5.1 miles)

MAPS: COPPER GLOBE, UT; SAN RAFAEL KNOB, UT

SEASON: Fall, Winter if the roads are dry, Spring (hot in summer)

GEAR: Standard Hiking Gear

WATER: None, bring all you need.

NOTES: Driving to the arch requires a true high clearance mid-size or smaller four-wheel drive. If hiking from the low clearance trailhead at Swasey's Cabin, it is about a 5-mile hike roundtrip.

Wed

57° | 37°

Thu

57° | 42°

Fri

58° | 40°

Sat

62° | 41°

Sun

66° | 45°

View from the arch.

Eagle Canyon Arch is an impressive arch tucked into the bottom of Eagle Canyon, south of I-70. The arch, though only having a span of about 12 feet, has a height of about 50 feet and looks dramatic in the context of the deep walls of Eagle Canyon. Reaching the arch can be done either via four-wheel drive vehicle, ATV, or by foot.

If trying to drive to the arch, the easiest route is from Swasey Cabin. Driving from the cabin is fairly narrow, with a few rock ledges and obstacles to negotiate. You will need a true high clearance four-wheel drive vehicle. For my skill level, I was happy to have a mid-size vehicle (Ford Ranger) and am not sure that I could have successfully gotten a full-size pickup down the trail. The stock Ranger had no problem, though a few spots required careful negotiation to avoid scraping the body.

Mountain biking or walking the jeep road is a great option if you don't have a vehicle capable of negotiating the rough road. The trail is somewhat popular, but even so, you are unlikely to encounter too many motor vehicles if walking.

Note: You can also reach the arch via access roads that descend into Eagle Canyon just north of I-70. We returned via that route, exiting out the east side of Eagle Canyon on the four-wheel drive road that ascends to the highway maintenance shed. This road leaves Eagle Canyon just north of the I-70 bridges that you drive under. Though much shorter than coming from Swasey's Cabin, the climb out of Eagle here is a fair bit rougher and more challenging to negotiate. We made it without issue, but there is one particularly steep rock ledge section that I would not recommend for beginners that is about 1/2 between the bottom of Eagle Canyon and the Maintenance Shed. This is shown on the map for those wanting to try that route, but be warned it is more difficult than the Swasey's approach.

Spotting the downclimb from the arch.

Getting There

The first step is to reach Swasey's Cabin. The directions for reaching that are below.

Take exit 131 from I-70 (about 30 miles west of Green River). Go south off the freeway.

Reset your odometer at the cattleguard after getting off I-70. 12S 529653E 4303574N / 38°52'50"N 110°39'29"W

3.95 miles - Turn right. Signed Swasey Cabin. 12S 525563E 4299464N / 38°50'37"N 110°42'20"W

5.0 miles - T-Junction, go right. 12S 524103E 4298697N / 38°50'12"N 110°43'20"W

6.7 miles - Good side road on the left. STAY RIGHT. 12S 521720E 4299944N / 38°50'53"N 110°44'59"W

7.65 Miles - Junction - Stay right. 12S 520577E 4300717N / 38°51'18"N 110°45'46"W

8.5 miles - Junction - Stay left. Right goes to Dutchman Arch/Locomotive Point. 12S 519543E 4301501N / 38°51'44"N 110°46'29"W

10.0 miles - Side road on the right to Lone Warrior Pictograph. Stay left for Swasey Cabin. 12S 517721E 4300189N / 38°51'01"N 110°47'45"W

10.7 miles - Jct, go right. 12S 517774E 4298971N / 38°50'22"N 110°47'43"W

11.4 miles - Swasey Cabin - This is the parking area for low clearance vehicles and the start of the 5-mile round trip hike to the arch. For those with capable vehicles that are continuing the drive, reset your odometer here. Hikers will park here and walk the rest of the rough road. The road begins descending as it heads west and begins making its way to the bottom of Eagle Canyon. 12S 516761E 4298620N / 38°50'10"N 110°48'25"W

2.0 miles - Bottom of Eagle Canyon and junction. Go right, heading down canyon. The road in the bottom of Eagle Canyon is much better than the road down. 12S 514713E 4299297N / 38°50'33"N 110°49'50"W

2.5 miles - Eagle Canyon Arch parking on the right. 12S 514464E 4299874N / 38°50'51"N 110°49'60"W

4.4 miles - Lupacchiotta Side Canyon coming in from the west/left. 12S 512333E 4301116N / 38°51'32"N 110°51'28"W

4.8 miles - I-70 Bridges 12S 511728E 4301248N / 38°51'36"N 110°51'53"W

Lower Lupacchiotta

Route Description

From the big parking area, the arch is a stone's throw away. For the adventurous, you can scramble up to the base of the arch, then around to the left via easy scrambling to get behind the arch. There also appeared to be an easier route to the arch by continuing down Eagle Canyon a couple of hundred feet and climbing the dirt slope.

Side Trips: From Eagle Arch, if you continue down Eagle Canyon, a side canyon comes in on the left (from the west) at about 1.7 miles from the arch. This is Lupacchiotta Canyon, and an excellent side hike. You can hike up the bottom about 1/3 of a mile before being stopped by a dry fall. The lower section has good, solution pocketed narrows.

About 2 miles down from the arch, the road goes under the two arch bridges on I-70. They are very impressive to see from below and worth the side trip, especially if driving.