Fish and Owl Canyons Loop

Bears Ears National Monument, Cedar Mesa, BLM Monticello Field Office (off Utah Highway 261)

Fish and Owl Canyons are two Cedar Mesa canyons that meet, making a loop from a single trailhead. Grand Canyon Trust describes an arch, pools, cottonwood-shaded creek banks, and Ancestral Puebloan sites along the way, and Visit Utah notes 500-foot walls and hanging gardens on the slickrock ledges of Fish Creek.

There’s no maintained trail. Visit Utah calls it “wash bottom,” and one 2017 hiker called the return up Owl “the toughest hiking I have ever done.”

The hike

Grand Canyon Trust lists the loop at 15.6 miles, dropping from 6,250 feet at the trailhead to 4,820 feet. Visit Utah gives 17 miles. To reach the trailhead, Grand Canyon Trust says to drive south on Highway 261 past the Kane Gulch Ranger Station, turn left about a mile later onto the Fish and Owl dirt road, and go about 5 miles.

Visit Utah says most hikers start down Owl Canyon. BLM cairns lead about a quarter mile into the canyon, and two pour-offs are bypassed on cairned paths to the left. Visit Utah reports fresh water at the first canyon split, about 1.5 miles below the rim, and a good first-night camp with a spring below the second pour-off. Nevills Arch juts from the north side of the canyon about 5 miles in. Visit Utah says Owl Creek is usually dry from the arch to the middle of Fish Creek.

At the Owl and Fish confluence, turn up Fish Creek, where Visit Utah describes walls about 500 feet high with pools and hanging gardens. Grand Canyon Trust mentions an optional side trip about 1.5 miles down canyon from the confluence into McCloyd Canyon, with archaeological sites. Visit Utah says that about 7 miles up Fish Creek, take the left (west) fork for half a mile to a spring and campsite, then climb out on the south wall.

Grand Canyon Trust, describing the loop in the other direction, warns of a 15-foot downclimb through a crack at the head of the Fish Canyon tributary and suggests bringing a rope to lower packs. It also describes pour-offs, thick brush, and flood debris in Owl Canyon. A 2017 Backcountry Post hiker who went that way found the Owl Canyon return overgrown, with deep pools and steep slab climbing.

Visit Utah recommends spring and fall and warns to avoid narrow canyons in bad weather.

For a longer Cedar Mesa trip, see Grand Gulch from Kane Gulch to Bullet Canyon.

Tips

Get your permit on Recreation.gov or at the Kane Gulch Ranger Station in season.
Bring a short rope to lower packs at the Fish Canyon downclimb.
Carry extra water for the dry middle stretch.
Allow three days if you want time for ruins; the 2017 hiker suggested it.
Stay off ruins and leave artifacts where they lie.
Check the forecast before entering the canyons.

Camping

Overnight permits are required year-round in Cedar Mesa canyons, including Fish and Owl, and are sold on Recreation.gov. Groups are limited to 12. Visit Utah says to camp only in well-used sites and not in a wash bottom. Fires are banned in Cedar Mesa canyons; stoves are allowed. Bury human waste in a 6-inch cathole at least 200 feet from water, trails, and camps, and carry out toilet paper.

Inside Intel: Visit Utah singles out the camp at the bottom of Owl Canyon’s second pour-off, with a spring, as a good first night. Grand Canyon Trust points to a rock bench shaded by cottonwoods just down canyon from the Owl confluence and to flat creek banks beyond the arch.

Trail facts

Distance: 15.6 miles (Grand Canyon Trust); 17 miles (Visit Utah)
Route type: Loop
Difficulty: Strenuous
Campsites: Existing dispersed sites
Water: Intermittent springs and pools; Owl Creek often dry from Nevills Arch into Fish Creek
Permits: Cedar Mesa overnight permit
Fires: Prohibited; stoves allowed
Trailhead: Fish and Owl trailhead, about 5 miles down a dirt road off Highway 261
Last verified: October 12, 2026

The Lowdown

Pitching on a cottonwood bench at the confluence:

Fish and Owl campers use flat creek banks and rock benches in a canyon with no trail and plenty of flood debris, so a tent that pitches on uneven ground helps. See the tents testers rate highest.

See what testers chose →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.