Eagle Canyon

Trail Run on May 23, 2015
Report and photos by Monica I., Trail Leader

Monica I.

Red 2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Matt K.

White 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

Walt S.

Gold 2004 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

We had a muddy adventure for our first day on the San Rafael Swell, and we were hoping to find some different challenges during Day 2. We had heard about the fun found in Eagle Canyon, and we got a nice, early start. Finding the trailhead definitely wasn't easy, but luckily we had GPS coordinates. We were still going very slowly on the highway, and we were lucky not to miss it the first time. We aired down on the paved road as the trucks cruised by on I-70.

We really hoped the road wasn't paved for too long, and we got our wish. We turned onto the dirt track, and it was a good time from the start. The trail twisted around as it went up and down rocky hills, and we had a blast. When we got to a kiosk, we parked to take pictures of the Eagle Canyon bridges on I-70. We had driven over them the night before, and we were really excited to be going under them.

The part of the trail north of the highway was the best part, we thought. The last hill before getting down into the canyon was a really good one, and pretty narrow in spots. It started raining, but luckily it didn't make the trail slick at all. We turned into the canyon, saving the trail across the canyon and the Copper Globe area for a future trip.

When we got to our first view of the bridges, we stopped to take some pictures. It was raining, but we didn't care. The bridges were amazing! They were attached to walls of rock, and they were so high up that we couldn't hear the traffic. We were driving pretty slowly as we went under them, marveling at how they managed to build these bridges. It was really cool.

The canyon itself was really gorgeous. It started pretty wide, but then got narrow the farther we got. We were looking for the Eagle Canyon Arch, and then we noticed a wide spot in the trail. This turned out to be the viewing area, because we looked back and saw the huge arch very easily. It was raining, so we didn't get out. We snapped our pictures from the Jeeps.

The rest of the canyon was really enjoyable. We didn't see anyone in it. We stopped at the Icebox to do a little exploring, but we had a lot of miles to cover so we didn't hang out for long.

Swasey's Cabin was next, and we did park there for a bit. We saw the first people of the day there. The cabin was pretty cool, and it was nice as a break from the wind and rain. We'd made good time, and it was way too early for lunch. It would have made a really nice spot for it, though.

We popped out of the trail at the Head of Sinbad, really happy with how our day was starting out. Time for more exploring and awesome scenery!