Bogley

chabidiah · Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 108 Location: The U.C.

I am planning a trip to San Rafel Swell and I would some advise or where to camp and what hikes to go on. Keep in mind that I have two children that I am going to be bringing with me. Thanks

Mtnman1830 · Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 1433

Goblin Valley is a great place to take kids.

I hear (haven't yet) that Little Wild Horse Canyon is a good one as well.

Summit42 · Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 2043 Location: 127.0.0.1

Goblin Valley is one of best places in the world to take kids they just love it. If they have never been there before... this is where you should go.

What type of camping are you looking to do? The only campground in the swell that has running water is the goblin valley campground. But there are thousands of privative campsites in the swell.

If you going down on a weekend in the spring expect Little Wild Horse to be packed. You can always do Crack Canyon or Wild Horse Creek, they are all within a few miles of goblin valley.

I guess we really need to know how old are your kids, What would you like to see/do, and how far can they hike in a day?

Jaxx · Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 1850

Im going down with him. We are planning on Memorial Day so we expect crowds. We want to do primitive camping, we'll bring our water/toilets etc. both our families have kids under a year old, 7 months and 9 months(i think), so we will be carrying them on our backs. we also have 4 kids in the group that are 6 to 2 years old. We will probably hit goblin, we have already done little wild horse. I wouln't mind doing that again though.
I found some info on muddy creek gorge, hurst bridge, and wild horse window on climb-utah.com and that looked like some we might do.
We were trying to camp close to the hikes that we plan but its not a must. I was thinking of camping somewhere in the south end, but Im up for doing north side if that is where the cool spots are. I hope chabadiah agrees lol.

Jaxx · Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 1850

I forgot to add we want to car camp, I may bring down a tent trailer.

Iceaxe · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 7806 Location: Local Bordello

Jaxx wrote: I found some info on muddy creek gorge, hurst bridge, and wild horse window on climb-utah.com

Your kids will love Wild Horse Window. Hurst Bridge might be a bit much for the youngin's. It's a pretty good haul with a nice elevation gain.

My kids really like Crack Canyon, I'm not exactly sure why. It's a nice canyon but not one of my personal favorites.

Crack Canyon
http://climb-utah.com/SRS/crack.htm

:popcorn:

missoulachick · Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Posts: 7

Muddy Creek Gorge may be a better idea Crack, LWH and anything else in that area will be packed that time of year. I have done the Grand Gorge once it was very fun.

rockgremlin · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 4071 Location: Hotel California

I guess it all depends on how much you mind (or don't mind) the crowds. On Memorial Day, Little Wild Horse is an absolute zoo. It's like the Disneyland of slot canyons. Goblin valley is the same way.

Any other suggestion won't be nearly as crowded. Up and back down Ding canyon is another good possible option. It might be busy, but not nearly as much as LWH.

chabidiah · Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 108 Location: The U.C.

Well I am not one for the crowds but i know we are going down on one of the busiest weekends of the year but when thats the only time off you gotta take it. Me and Jaxx will both be carrying our youngest in packs and the other are piggy back if they can handle all the hiking. We did LWH a few years ago on the same weekend and it was crowded but at least there were no lines to get on the ride...We are game for most but it would be nice to stay away from the crowds. We wish we could do so harder stuff but the ol wife and kids..lol. But seriously in anyone here wants a free trip to the Swell then let us know because we could use someone to watch the kids, and maybe the wife. Just watch the wife and kids during the day and take the kids at night again for oh about 15 min for me and 3.5 min (i think that the record isnt it?) for jaxx. So free trip and front row seats... lmao!

Jaxx · Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 1850

Iceaxe wrote: My kids really like Crack Canyon, I'm not exactly sure why. It's a nice canyon but not one of my personal favorites.

Crack Canyon
http://climb-utah.com/SRS/crack.htm

I saw crack on climb-utah but wasn't sure we can get through with kids on our backs, and a dog.

Also the will we be able to make it through ding with the circus? We may try to avoid LWH and goblin, but those are the wife's favorite.

Jaxx · Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 1850

Thanks for all the info everyone.

YEAH!!! im an explorer now! :2thumbs:

rockgremlin · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 4071 Location: Hotel California

chabidiah wrote: Well I am not one for the crowds but i know we are going down on one of the busiest weekends of the year but when thats the only time off you gotta take it. Me and Jaxx will both be carrying our youngest in packs and the other are piggy back if they can handle all the hiking. We did LWH a few years ago on the same weekend and it was crowded but at least there were no lines to get on the ride...We are game for most but it would be nice to stay away from the crowds. We wish we could do so harder stuff but the ol wife and kids..lol. But seriously in anyone here wants a free trip to the Swell then let us know because we could use someone to watch the kids, and maybe the wife. Just watch the wife and kids during the day and take the kids at night again for oh about 15 min for me and 3.5 min (i think that the record isnt it?) for jaxx. So free trip and front row seats... lmao!

:roflol: That's funny! Hey children's Nyquil works for that too.

Ding canyon wouldn't be too bad. Nothing like the LWH circus. There are a few sections that require mild scrambling, but with two adults, there should be no problem.

Summit42 · Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 2043 Location: 127.0.0.1

I did ding last fall with my two year old but not dang. To many drops to deal with in that one.
This is the one bypass that would worry me ...

You can always go to a different area of the swell.

Crawford Draw Is right off I-70 i would be shocked to hear you saw any other people in there.

Black Dragon Cayon is always a good place to hang out and have some lunch.

Udink · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 865 Location: Price, Utah

Summit42 wrote: Black Dragon Cayon is always a good place to hang out and have some lunch.
That's definitely a great place to go. Just go early because there are a limited number of places to camp, and they'll fill up quick. For some reason, there are always a lot of out-of-state vehicles in that area.

The road is still probably in bad shape, unless the BLM has graded it recently. We camped near there in October, and we were the first full-sized vehicles on that road after the raging flood that washed through. We had to do a lot of road work just to get 4x4 trucks through there pulling camp trailers, but I think now any SUV could make it through.

gonzo · Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 788

I was down in Black Dragon Canyon three weeks ago, and the road to get to the mouth of the canyon was decent enough to get a little Mazda Protege up there. Once you got into the canyon you would definitely need a high clearance vehicle. It's only about a quarter mile walk from the mouth to the petroglyphs, so it should be passable with kids and dog.