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Salt Creek permit

Salt Creek Gear Checklist

Salt Creek is a long wash of springs, reeds and rock art with four designated campsites, SC1 to SC4. The park requires a hard-sided food container here from March 15 to November 30, and people write about water treatment, trekking poles and wet feet far more than about sand. Plan for a canister, the park's suggested 4 liters of water per person per day, and a way to cope with brush that swallows the trail.

What shapes your gear on Salt Creek

Permit and fees
Overnight trips need a permit. Seasonal reservations open four months ahead on Recreation.gov for a $36 reservation fee plus $5 per person per night. A Needles backpacking permit covers up to 7 people.

From National Park Service: Overnight Backcountry Permits, Canyonlands National Park

Campsites and the open zone
Reservable spots are Salt Creek 1 to 4, Peekaboo 1 and 2, and the Salt and Horse Zone, a stretch that starts a mile south of Peekaboo and ends at the Angel Arch junction. You must sleep where the permit says each night, and dispersed camping elsewhere in the canyon is not allowed. Most people spend 2 to 3 nights. The park advises against a two-day thru-hike because of deep sand and dense plants.

From National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park

Food container season
From March 15 to November 30 all food, drinks, garbage and scented items must sit in a park-approved hard-sided container at least 100 feet from camp. Soft containers such as Ursacks do not count. The Backcountry Permit Office and the Needles Visitor Center lend containers, first come first served, and you cannot reserve one ahead.

From National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park

Trailhead and the way in
Cathedral Butte Trailhead sits outside the park about 18 miles down Beef Basin Road. From there the trail drops 1,500 feet on loose, steep ground to reach the canyon, and the park lists the trail to Peekaboo at 22.5 miles. One couple logged 24.73 miles over three days between 7,103 and 5,650 feet.

From National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park and Backcountry Post: Upper Salt Creek

Plants over the path
The park says to expect to bushwhack, especially from the southern boundary to Kirk Spring. A 2011 hiker said the trail vanishes in a thick meadow about a mile before Kirk's Cabin and that his guidebook sent him toward the right side. A 2013 couple also kept to the right and used GPS to get back on track two or three times.

From National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, Backcountry Post: Salt Creek, Canyonlands and Backcountry Post: Upper Salt Creek

Temperature swings
The 2013 couple saw 31 degrees on a clear night and 82 in the afternoon during the first week of April, with snow and hail on their first day. A winter hiker in late December and early January woke to 10 degrees near the Salt Flat trailhead.

From Backcountry Post: Upper Salt Creek and Nascent Labyrinths

What the agency requires on Salt Creek

What hikers carry on Salt Creek

  • A big water capacity and a plan for the first day

    The park recommends 4 liters per person per day and says no source is guaranteed. A 2009 forum poster said to carry at least a gallon. One 2011 hiker packed light for the 4.5 mile downhill first day and ran out of water at least a mile before the first spring.

    From National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, Backpacking Light and Backcountry Post: Salt Creek, Canyonlands

  • Filter plus a second treatment

    A 2013 camper at SC1 worried about the marsh upstream of the spring and the animal droppings along the trail. He added bleach after filtering and noted a swimming pool taste. The 2011 group pumped even at the pretty spring by Kirk's Cabin, since it begins somewhere in the thick plants.

    From Backcountry Post: Upper Salt Creek and Backcountry Post: Salt Creek, Canyonlands

  • Trekking poles

    The 2013 couple used theirs throughout, starting with the steep, washed-out descent from the trailhead, though one of them resisted at first. The winter hiker used his on icy slickrock where nothing else gave grip.

    From Backcountry Post: Upper Salt Creek and Nascent Labyrinths

  • Small binoculars

    The trail switches from one side of the canyon to the other, and ruins and rock art are tucked all along the cliffs. The 2013 hiker found a small pair very helpful for picking them out from a distance.

    From Backcountry Post: Upper Salt Creek

  • A GPS track and a guidebook

    Sand and game trails confuse the route, and the real path differs from the one on the topo map in places. The 2013 couple checked a phone GPS at several junctions. The 2011 group read their guidebook to know where the trail meets the meadow.

    From Backcountry Post: Upper Salt Creek and Backcountry Post: Salt Creek, Canyonlands

  • Camp clothes that stay dry

    After rain and snow the stream crossings near the start could not be crossed dry, and the couple spent the next morning drying clothes, sleeping bags and the tent. They left camp near 12:30. The winter hiker's pants and feet were wet from reeds by afternoon.

    From Backcountry Post: Upper Salt Creek and Nascent Labyrinths

  • Extra stove fuel in winter

    The winter hiker found no running water near his camp. Melting snow takes about 10 liters of snow for every liter of water, so he leaned on a stove for four days and was glad of the extra gas.

    Applies to winter trips only.

    From Nascent Labyrinths

7 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.

Plan a trip here

What hikers regret or leave behind on Salt Creek

  • Counting on a camp bear box

    In 2011 the park provided two large metal boxes at the campsites. The hiker who described them later added that they were gone by 2017 and that you must bring your own approved container.

    From Backcountry Post: Salt Creek, Canyonlands and National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park

  • Shoes with no grip on icy rock

    The winter hiker could not get purchase on an iced 5 foot slope with basic trail runners. He hauled his pack up on a cord after climbing, and called his shoes woefully inadequate on a snow-covered bank the last day.

    From Nascent Labyrinths

  • A 20 degree bag in a desert winter

    He woke shivering at 11 pm in a bag meant for early summer in the Sierra. An emergency blanket he had forgotten in the pack fixed the night, and he now carries one on every trip.

    From Nascent Labyrinths

  • Packing too little water for day one

    A hiker who skipped extra liters for the downhill first leg ran out at least a mile before the first spring appeared.

    From Backcountry Post: Salt Creek, Canyonlands

Gear questions for Salt Creek

Do I need a bear canister for Salt Creek?

Yes from March 15 through November 30. The park requires an approved hard-sided container at Salt Creek campsites, Peekaboo and the Salt and Horse Zone, kept 100 feet from camp. Ursacks do not qualify, and loaners are first come first served with no advance reservation.

From National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park

How much water should I carry on Salt Creek?

The park recommends 4 liters per person per day and warns that no source is guaranteed. Hikers describe springs near Kirk's Cabin and Four Faces, but a forum answer from 2009 still told a planner to carry at least a gallon.

From National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, Backpacking Light and Backcountry Post: Salt Creek, Canyonlands

Do I need a wag bag for Salt Creek?

Yes at the designated Salt Creek campsites, and the park strongly recommends them in the open zone. Landfill-safe commercial bags are sold in Moab, Monticello and at the Needles Visitor Center bookstore.

From National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park

Is the Salt Creek trail hard to follow?

Parts are. The park says plants and floods can hide it and that you should expect to bushwhack, mostly before Kirk Spring. Hikers kept to the right as they went and used GPS or a guidebook when the path faded.

From National Park Service: Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, Backcountry Post: Upper Salt Creek and Backcountry Post: Salt Creek, Canyonlands

Sources

  1. Overnight Backcountry Permits, Canyonlands National Park · National Park Service · Agency
  2. Backcountry Regulations, Canyonlands National Park · National Park Service · Agency
  3. Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park · National Park Service · Agency
  4. Upper Salt Creek · Backcountry Post, pstm13 · Trip report
  5. Salt Creek, Canyonlands · Backcountry Post, Nick · Trip report
  6. Trip Report: Winter Backpacking in Canyonlands National Park · Nascent Labyrinths, John Allard · Trip report
  7. Salt Creek Trail, Canyonlands NP · Backpacking Light, les lloyd and others · Forum thread