Garden Balcony Canyon is a short, easy canyon that offers a rappel, a neat vegetated slot, and then some fun narrows ending in an overlook. The biggest attraction is the setting: the views of the Dirty Devil River and the approach are spectacular. It could be combined with Tumbleweed Balcony Canyon to the north to make a fuller day.
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The Hype
Getting There
From Hanksville drive south on the Hwy 95 to Mile 10 and then turn west on the road to Angel Point. At the first major junction (a Y intersection) keep right. Follow this road to the end which will be a parking area at a drill pipe. The Lat/Long of the parking area is
38.225657, -110.499505
From the drill pipe, follow a rough spur road NW about 1/2 mile to the end of a narrowing peninsula of land. The views of the Dirty Devil are spectacular. Garden Balcony is in the bottom of the drainage to your left, but the walls are a bit steep to downclimb. From the end of the peninsula find your way down a series of easy downclimbs (may be tricky for beginners) onto the sandstone benches below. This is easier than it looks. Walk back (SE) along easy sandstone to the head of the canyon.The Canyon - Rating: 3A I PG Longest Rap: 75 feet # of Raps: 1
The first (and only) rappel is at the head of the canyon (to drop in). You will need to climb back up your rope later, but the angle is low enough that most people could hand-over hand this. Beginners may want a safety or belay. It may be wise to have ascending gear in the group.
The easiest spot to rig the drop is out of a pothole just slightly to the east of the canyon head. The drop is about 60 feet. There should be some rocks here to make a deadman. If not you can carry some down from the benches above.
Lat, Long= 38.232332,-110.495924
Once in the bottom of the canyon, leave your rope in place and hike easily in a wide, shallow slot with a garden bottom until the canyon narrows into a nice slot. There are a few easy climbs beyond this point, but nothing terribly difficult. After a little while the canyon ends in a gigantic drop into the Dirty Devil drainage below. While it would be possible to continue with a long rope, there are no exits for many miles in either direction, so most parties will choose to exit by climbing the route in reverse.The Exit
Exit the canyon by climbing up the descent route. Take your webbing with you. To make a nice loop of the exit, continue around the head of the canyon, past a sand-slide, to the slopes on the West side. While it is possible to exit at the top of the sand slide there is a lot of cryptobiotic soil here, and it's a bit of a trudge. Instead, continue a few hundred feet to where a small ridge comes down into the canyon.
Lat, Long=
38.233288, -110.497657
It looks hard from a distance, but as you get closer you'll see that you can easily climb the ridge and exit up a drainage to its left (West). Walk back along the top of the canyon to your car.Red Tape
No permit required. This canyon is on BLM land. Group size limits are usually 12 people on BLM land.
Access and other information for this area can be attained from the Coalition of American Canyoneers website at:
http://www.americancanyoneers.org/what-we-do/access/
http://www.americancanyoneers.org/access-north-wash-ticaboo/From Hanksville drive south on the Hwy 95 to Mile 10 and then turn west on the road to Angel Point. At the first major junction (a Y intersection) keep right. Follow this road to the end which will be a parking area at a drill pipe. The Lat/Long of the parking area is
38.225657, -110.499505
From the drill pipe, follow a rough spur road NW about 1/2 mile to the end of a narrowing peninsula of land. The views of the Dirty Devil are spectacular. Garden Balcony is in the bottom of the drainage to your left, but the walls are a bit steep to downclimb. From the end of the peninsula find your way down a series of easy downclimbs (may be tricky for beginners) onto the sandstone benches below. This is easier than it looks. Walk back (SE) along easy sandstone to the head of the canyon.The first (and only) rappel is at the head of the canyon (to drop in). You will need to climb back up your rope later, but the angle is low enough that most people could hand-over hand this. Beginners may want a safety or belay. It may be wise to have ascending gear in the group.
The easiest spot to rig the drop is out of a pothole just slightly to the east of the canyon head. The drop is about 60 feet. There should be some rocks here to make a deadman. If not you can carry some down from the benches above.
Lat, Long= 38.232332,-110.495924
Once in the bottom of the canyon, leave your rope in place and hike easily in a wide, shallow slot with a garden bottom until the canyon narrows into a nice slot. There are a few easy climbs beyond this point, but nothing terribly difficult. After a little while the canyon ends in a gigantic drop into the Dirty Devil drainage below. While it would be possible to continue with a long rope, there are no exits for many miles in either direction, so most parties will choose to exit by climbing the route in reverse.Exit the canyon by climbing up the descent route. Take your webbing with you. To make a nice loop of the exit, continue around the head of the canyon, past a sand-slide, to the slopes on the West side. While it is possible to exit at the top of the sand slide there is a lot of cryptobiotic soil here, and it's a bit of a trudge. Instead, continue a few hundred feet to where a small ridge comes down into the canyon.
Lat, Long=
38.233288, -110.497657
It looks hard from a distance, but as you get closer you'll see that you can easily climb the ridge and exit up a drainage to its left (West). Walk back along the top of the canyon to your car.No permit required. This canyon is on BLM land. Group size limits are usually 12 people on BLM land.
Access and other information for this area can be attained from the Coalition of American Canyoneers website at:
http://www.americancanyoneers.org/what-we-do/access/
http://www.americancanyoneers.org/access-north-wash-ticaboo/Previous Next
Condition Reports for Garden Balcony
The information provided here is intended for entertainment purposes only. The creator of this information and/or Canyon Collective are not liable for any harm or damage caused by this information. Conditions in the backcountry are constantly changing, only you are responsible for your safety and well being.
