Kane County, Utah is bursting with so many treasures that tourists need a local to show them the ropes. The visitor center is a great place to start, but we were fortunate to stumble upon Kanab Tour Company, who offers UTV, hiking, and canyoneering tours. Their specialty is personalizing tours to the interests and abilities of their clients. We decided to do an 8 hour personalized UTV tour, which seemed pretty spendy at first, but it was a great gift for a deserving husband! After the tour though, we decided it was clearly well worth every penny. We started our tour at 8:15 a.m. with Dan, who has been a guide for three years. We received all the gear we needed for two adults and two children, and brought lunches, backpacks, sunscreen, and water. (The tour company provided a cooler full of water for cold refills.) Dan was great about checking in with us at the beginning to find out what interests we had and if there were any specific sites we had in mind. He tailored a tour that gave all our family members what they wanted. Our first destination was Hog Canyon, a UTVers paradise of technical rock climbs, steep inclines, deep sand, and narrow passages. I held on to the "oh shit bar" for dear life while Dusty expertly handled the trail like he operated the Polaris RZR Turbo-R every day. Next we headed out to the Mansard Petroglyph site. These petroglyphs are guessed to be 870-1,070 years old. The carved depictions on this sloped rock floor were pretty interesting, and archeologists aren't really sure what they mean. Can you figure them out? The Great Chamber is a huge sandstone alcove (and Instagram sensation.) Funny story on this: Locals call this site Cutler's Cove. A short while back the company started getting calls from potential customers asking for tours of the "Great Chamber." The tour company had no idea what they were talking about until they found out someone posted a photo on Instagram under the wrong name. The Great Chamber stuck, so now the Visitors Centers have started calling it by that name. Good ol' social media. Along the trails we rarely saw anyone else. The benefit of being escorted by a local meant he knew the back country like the back of his hand, and he knew the best sights to go to-- often ones the tourists haven't discovered. He prefers not fighting the crowds, just like we do! We stopped for lunch by some really neat hoodoos and the kids got to do some rock climbing before he hit the trails again and headed for Peek-a-boo Canyon. Having a guide also helped us understand the dangers of the area, which are often underestimated by people passing through. Slot canyons in this area have seen a huge influx of people in the last few years. Places like Antelope Canyon or The Wave have wowed the Instagram world with vibrant photos of curvy, narrow striped sandstone walls. Everyone wants to go to one (including us), but locals have had to do plenty of damage control with this influx of tourists. This country is straight up rock with no soil to absorb rain, so even with a short rain shower, water runs off the high plateaus into these slot canyons, creating treacherous flash floods without warning. Just a month and a half ago, four women were washed down stream at The Narrows in Zion and one lost her life...and this is a fairly common occurrence. When rain isn't in the forecast, it's important to remember that sun typically is, and there is a high chance for dehydration. Often, tourists think that since these canyons are popular destinations, there isn't much danger. Our guide, who volunteers with local search and rescue, said 35% of the squad's rescues come out of North Coyote Buttes where The Wave is found. Because of this, hiker restrictions have been put into place. Antelope now only offers entrance by tour reservation, and a limited permit system (with in-person safety brief) has been put in place at Coyote Buttes. If permit holders aren't comfortable doing Coyote Buttes on their own, they can hire tour guides from Kanab Tour Company. Peek-a-boo Canyon is a hot local tourist stop because, unlike Antelope Canyon and The Wave, you don't need a tour guide or a permit. However, you do need a four wheel drive vehicle. We personally met two people who have attempted to drive their personal vehicles back there and got stuck. We were thankful to have some high power UTVs and a guide who knew the best route. We finished our day zipping around on some sand dunes, then began our hour drive back to Kanab, stopping at some overlooks and going back through the Hog Canyon trails on the way. By the time we arrived back to the office, we had spent almost nine hours out and covered 71 miles.
We highly recommend Kanab Tour Company. They offer UTV rentals (without guides), but if you're not familiar with the area, a rental just sounds like a waste. There were many roads we drove the with guide that we NEVER would have attempted on our own! His expertise made for a great day, taking carefully managing chances in safe ways, and seeing wonders of history and nature that we wouldn't have known existed. When we come back to Kanab someday, we would love to do a guided canyoneering tour with Kanab Tour Company, and we highly recommend them to friends and family!
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