Hiking Furniture Draw - Northern Swell

Overview

Thu

62° | 39°

Fri

64° | 39°

Sat

69° | 39°

Sun

72° | 45°

Mon

72° | 48°

( Rated 3.3 / 3 Ratings )

20 Todo Lists / 7 Ticks

RATING: Easy

LENGTH: 1-2 hours (2.5 miles)

MAPS: BOB HILL KNOLL, UT

SEASON: Any, hot in the summer

GEAR: Standard Hiking Gear

WATER: None, bring all you need.

FLASHFLOOD: Low/Moderate

Thu

62° | 39°

Fri

64° | 39°

Sat

69° | 39°

Sun

72° | 45°

Mon

72° | 48°

Furniture Draw from the trailhead.

Near the top of Buckhorn Wash sits Furniture Draw. This looks like an unassuming side canyon from the bottom, and has never much piqued my interest until the spring of 2023. We were looking for a short family hike to do before lunch with some friends. Wow! How had I overlooked this short gem of a canyon for so many years?

The canyon, wide at its mouth, becomes quite narrow a mere mile or so up from the trailhead. Though the narrows are short, all in my group found them incredibly fun, and the vibrant colors and rock shapes during the rest of the hike made this a winner. A few minor obstacles in the narrows are surmountable by most. The two youngsters in our group found them hard enough to be challenging, but still surmountable with a spot or little help.

One way to keep your feet dry! The piggy-back stem over.

Getting There

Acess to Buckhorn Wash starts near Castle Dale.

Just before the town of Castle Dale, at milepost 39.4, go east on the signed San Rafael Swell Access road. Reset your odometer as you turn off the highway onto the dirt road. 12S 500218E 4341289N / 39°13'15"N 110°59'51"W

Continue on this road, passing a cattle guard after 12 miles, and reaching a 4 way junction at 12.7 miles. 12S 518059E 4336281N / 39°10'32"N 110°47'27"W

Continue east at this 4 way junction for 2.4 miles to the signed Buckhorn Wash road. Turn right (south) and head into Buckhorn Wash. 12S 521483E 4335782N / 39°10'16"N 110°45'05"W

1.4 miles down Buckhorn Wash, Furniture Draw trailhead is signed on the left. Follow the dirt road a short distance to a parking area at the bottom of the canyon. 12S 523326E 4334884N / 39°09'46"N 110°43'48"W

Furniture Draw Trailhead 12S 523389E 4335019N / 39°09'51"N 110°43'45"W

Open country above the canyon.

Route Description

From the trailhead, head up the wash. There is a well-used social trail on the left side looking up canyon, or stay in the wash bottom. The canyon meanders around a couple of bends and it begins to narrow.

Surprisingly, about a 3/4 of a mile or so up from the trailhead, the canyon narrows quite dramatically and soon turns into a slot. On our visit, the slot was guarded with several shallow wades to about knee-deep. With a little determination, these could be passed with creative stemming to keep feet dry.

Above the first short slot, the canyon opens again with a nice slick rock floor before entering a final narrow-ish section that ends at a big sloping boulder. The boulder is easy to surmount. Just above the boulder, the canyon opens, and large power lines are visible. You can continue up the wide, shallow canyon bottom to the Green River Cutoff road, but turning around just above the boulder is recommended.