Exploring to Clover Canyon

Hiking through the fall colors in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Hiking through the fall colors in Clover Canyon

I first saw the GPS track for Clover Canyon over on gjhikes.com.  But GJ doesn’t yet have a writeup about it.  I figured it out eventually that he probably doesn’t have a post on Clover Canyon because it’s not really worth doing.  If you’re in the area, you’re better off hiking Lost Spring Canyon.  But since I did hike it, and the photos turned out much more amazing than the hike itself, I’ll share those photos with you so you don’t have to waste your time hiking Clover Canyon yourself.

Quick Stats

Round Trip Length: 8.7 miles Trail Type: Out & back with spurs Elevation Gain: 1,985ft. Pets: No Fees: None

Wildflowers near Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
Hoary Asters near Salt Wash

The first adventure is getting to the trailhead.  While Clover Canyon is in Arches National Park, you’ll come in through Yellowcat Flats (while you’re here, you might want to check out Covert Arch (the best of the destinations listed here), Winter Camp Arch, and/or La Boca Arch.)  The dirt roads are high-clearance, 2WD-friendly in dry weather – until you get to the Lost Spring Canyon Trailhead.  From there, 4×4 is useful.  I did make it to the end of the road, mostly because I didn’t realize the sandy parts were coming until it was too late to stop.  Thankfully, we made it all right all of the way to a small dirt parking area beside a fenced-in transformer station and evidence of the pipeline you’ll be following.

A rock in Salt Wash that looks like a submarine!  Arches National Park, Utah
A rock in Salt Wash that looks like a submarine!

The views from the end of the road are nice.  You can see into Arches National Park (including several of the famous arches) and also to the La Sal Mountains and even Castleton Tower.

The beginning of the road down into Salt Wash from the Clover Canyon Trailhead, Arches National Park, Utah
The beginning of the road down into Salt Wash from the Clover Canyon Trailhead

Walk down the road beyond the parking area.  While there’s nothing keeping you from driving to the border of Arches National Park, the road gets much rougher – it looks to me like ATVs are the only vehicles that drive this part of the road.

Views into Salt Wash and toward Cordova Canyon, as well as into Arches National Park, Utah
Views into Salt Wash and toward Cordova Canyon, as well as into Arches National Park (Landscape Arch is just left of center below the horizon)

The road is mostly a steep downhill with views into Salt Wash and Cordova Canyon (another sidecanyon upstream from Clover Canyon).  Across Salt Wash, you can see the top of the Balanced Rock, Landscape Arch, and the top of the Dark Angel, among other features.

The sign welcoming you to Arches National Park above Salt Wash, Utah
The sign welcoming you to Arches National Park

After 0.3 miles, you’ll come to a big green gate.  A sign informs you that you’re entering Arches National Park and gives a brief synopsis of the park rules.

The gate in the pipeline road marking the border of Arches National Park, Utah
The gate in the pipeline road marking the border of Arches National Park

A style allows hikers to bypass the gate/fence easily and continue down the steepest part of the road up to this point.  It’s seriously steep – coming back up is a good test of your lungs!

Looking back up one of the steeper sections of the pipeline road in Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
Looking back up one of the steeper sections of the pipeline road

The trail finally drops into the canyon around Salt Wash about mile 0.6.  Continue another tenth of a mile to where a major social trail crosses the pipeline road, just before you pass a sign that says, “170.”  The social trail is also marked by a flexible brown post that reminds drivers that this is a wilderness area and vehicles are not allowed.

At the pipeline road/social trail junction in Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
At the pipeline road/social trail junction

Turn left (downstream/south) on the social trail.  In this area, I found quite a few wildflowers in October.  So beautiful!

Orange globemallow flowers in Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
Orange globemallow flowers in Salt Wash

If you’d continued along the pipeline up the ramp on the other side of Salt Wash, you’d eventually get to the Broken Arch Trail in Arches National Park.  But that’s another adventure for another day.

The ramp leading up into the main part of Arches National Park from Salt Wash, Utah
The ramp leading up into the main part of Arches National Park

The views from the social trail are pretty good.  To the left are rock formations and straight ahead are the La Sal Mountains.  The colorful poplar trees made it even more beautiful.

The La Sal Mountains over Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
The La Sal Mountains over Salt Wash

Unfortunately, the social trail doesn’t last.  Or maybe it does, but we missed a turn.  At any rate, we found ourselves on the brink of the drop down into the true wash of Salt Creek.  We scrambled down to try and find another social trail, but it led us into a swampy area.

Looking down into the lower, swampier part of Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
Looking down into the lower, swampier part of Salt Wash

Somehow or other, you need to find a way to cross Salt Creek to the west side.  We ended up wandering for quite some time and missed the entrance to Clover Canyon.  Instead, we found ourselves in a brushy area at the outlet of Lost Spring Canyon.  If views from there mean anything, Lost Spring Canyon would be very nice.

A bear track near Lost Spring Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
A bear track near Lost Spring Canyon

But we wanted Clover Canyon, so we backtracked up through the thick brush (not as thick as Upper Salt Creek Canyon in Canyonlands National Park!) and then scrambled over some hills and into Clover Canyon.

Looking down Salt Wash from the mouth of Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Looking down Salt Wash from the mouth of Clover Canyon

That explanation was pretty fast.  In reality, it took us much longer to figure out where we’d gone wrong, get our bearings, and then bushwack our way back where we wanted to be.  At the canyon mouth (wide enough and brushy enough that it can be hard to see from Salt Creek) we ate lunch perched on a little hill.

Orange globemallow flowers in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Orange globemallow flowers in Clover Canyon

We were able to pick up an animal trail to travel up the southern side of Clover Canyon.  At the meeting of canyons, we opted to turn left up into the south fork of the canyon.  It wasn’t terribly scenic, though possibly more so than the rest of the canyon.  What was exciting was finding an alcove under the westerly of the two pouroffs in the south fork.

The alcove at the end of the South Fork of Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
The alcove at the end of the South Fork of Clover Canyon

A social trail (human-made, I’d say) travels up into the alcove.  The view was nice from up there.  I also found a spring and evidence of other visitors – both animals and people.

The spring in the alcove in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
The spring in the alcove

I trekked back down from the alcove (which is about 0.9 miles from the mouth of Clover Canyon), and we set out for the main fork of Clover Canyon.  We had to cross a small creek and then make our own path into the main fork.

Hiking back down the South Fork of Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Hiking back down the South Fork of Clover Canyon

Once in the main fork of Clover Canyon, we resolutely turned upcanyon.  There are social trails (probably animal trails) that lead up the southern side of the canyon.  But it’s not easy hiking.  The path takes you down into tiny gullies, then up and over to the next gully, and so on and so forth.  You’d better want an adventure for this part of the hike!

One of the gullies in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
One of the gullies in Clover Canyon

There’s not a whole lot to see as you scramble up and down.  There are scrub oak (orange in October) and poplar and other trees (also colorful in October).  Sometimes you can see the desert varnish or rocks on the sides of the canyon.  I also found some nice cacti.  However, I didn’t find any arches.  Some showed up on my map, but I guess they’re not visible from the canyon bottom.

Colorful trees below the cliffs of Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Colorful trees below the cliffs of Clover Canyon

We finally pulled up next to an overhang on the northern canyon wall.  The canyon wasn’t getting much more scenic and the day was moving on.  We decided to cut our losses and head back.

Underneath the alcove where we turned around in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Underneath the alcove where we turned around

Looking at maps later, we made it most of the way to the end of the canyon.  So I don’t think we missed much.

Cacti near where we turned around in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Cacti near where we turned around

Along the way, I found an old boundary marker for Arches National Park.  Apparently, this part of Salt Creek didn’t use to be in the park!

The old boundary of Arches National Park in Clover Canyon, Utah
The old boundary of Arches National Park in Clover Canyon

I also found a spring along the northern canyon wall.  It wasn’t very large, but I could see where water had stained the rocks on its route down into the creek that flows through Clover Canyon.  I heard a waterfall in the canyon, proper, but I couldn’t see it due to the topography around the stream.

The little watercourse out of the spring in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
The little watercourse out of the spring in Clover Canyon

About this point, the sun, which had been sulking behind clouds all day, decided to break free.  Wow!  What a difference a little sunshine makes!

Sunshine on a tree along the stream in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Sunshine on a tree along the stream in Clover Canyon

We came to the mouth of Clover Canyon and cast about for a few minutes to find a way across Salt Creek without getting our feet wet.

Reflections in Salt Creek outside of Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Reflections in Salt Creek

Then we tried to regain higher ground on the western side of the wash as quickly as possible.  It’s just too wet and marshy down by the creek!  So we scrambled up the bank and headed upcanyon, finally picking up the social trail again at what one report on my GPS said was mile 6.22 and another report said was mile 7.43.

Rock formations across Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
Rock formations across Salt Wash

Either way, the views of the rock formations on the east side of Salt Creek were great, and it was an easy trek back to the pipeline road, an arduous climb back up the road, and then we were back at the parking area!

The La Sal Mountains from the social trail in Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
The La Sal Mountains from the social trail

So that’s a lot of words to say that we dropped into a canyon, walked right past the canyon we were looking for, backtracked, went up the canyon and a sidecanyon, and took a lot of pictures!  Enjoy – because honestly, the photos turned out better than the views in real life.

Colorful trees in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Colorful trees in Clover Canyon

Round Trip Trail Length: My GPS disagrees with itself whether I trekked 7.3 miles or 8.7 miles

Elevation gain: 1,985ft. (4,747ft. to 4,362ft.)

Facilities: None

Fees: None.  Technically, you should have a pass to enter Arches National Park, but no one down in here is checking such things.

Wildflowers in Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
Wildflowers in Salt Wash

Trail Notes: Be prepared to bushwack, way-find, and generally self-rescue.  I didn’t see another soul all day, though it was obvious that other people do hike down in here at times.  I also didn’t see any animals, though I did find the prints of an elk, a dog, and a bear.  Remember that you’ll need a permit to camp in Arches National Park.

Colorful trees in Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Colorful trees in Clover Canyon

Trail ★

Road ★

Signs ★

Scenery ★

Would I go 100 miles out of my way for this? ★

Overall Rating: ★

Reflections in a pothole near the mouth of Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Reflections in a pothole near the mouth of Clover Canyon

GPS Coordinates for Clover Canyon

TH: 38.7962160°, -109.5301100° (38°47.77296′, -109°31.80660′ / 38°47’46.3776″, -109°31’48.3960″) (4,750ft.) (0.0)

Arches National Park Boundary: 38.7942540°, -109.5343190° (38°47.65524′, -109°32.05914′ / 38°47’39.3144″, -109°32’03.5484″) (4,637ft.) (0.28)

Left on social trail: 38.7913840°, -109.5395040° (38°47.48304′, -109°32.37024′ / 38°47’28.9824″, -109°32’22.2144″) (4,433ft.) (0.67)

Looking out of the alcove down into Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Looking out of the alcove down into Clover Canyon

From the mouth of Clover Canyon to the alcove is about 0.9 miles

From the alcove to the overhang is about 0.9 miles

Overhang: 38.7848140°, -109.5495020° (38°47.08884′, -109°32.97012′ / 38°47’05.3304″, -109°32’58.2072″) (4,525ft.) (5.57)

From the overhang to the mouth of Clover Canyon is about 1.2 miles

Where we came up out of Salt Wash: 38.7841800°, -109.5340540° (38°47.05080′, -109°32.04324′ / 38°47’03.0480″, -109°32’02.5944″) (4,407ft.) (7.32)

The print of what I'm guessing must have been an elk in Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
The print of what I’m guessing must have been an elk

Regain social trail: 38.7856530°, -109.5335030° (38°47.13918′, -109°32.01018′ / 38°47’08.3508″, -109°32’00.6108″) (4,417ft.) (7.43)

Regain pipeline: 38.7913660°, -109.5395330° (38°47.48196′, -109°32.37198′ / 38°47’28.9176″, -109°32’22.3188″) (4,433ft.) (7.99)

End: 38.7962710°, -109.5299440° (38°47.77626′, -109°31.79664′ / 38°47’46.5756″, -109°31’47.7984″) (4,756ft.) (8.68)

The gpx file for Clover Canyon can be downloaded – please note that this and the GPS Coordinates are for reference only and should not be used as a sole resource when hiking this trail.

Download GPX File size: 200.8 KB Downloaded 43 times

(Note: I do my best to ensure that all downloads, the webpage, etc. are virus-free and accurate; however, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that might result, including but not limited to loss of data, damages to hardware, harm to users, from use of files, information, etc. from this website.  Thanks!)

Dark skies over Clover Canyon, Arches National Park, Utah
Dark skies over Clover Canyon

Getting to Clover Canyon

From I-70, take Exit 193, signed for Yellowcat (no services).  Turn south on the dirt road (all of my mileages are from the westbound entrance/exit ramps.  (I hear there are two other ways of getting in – one from US-191 (I tried that and it was flooded and too sketchy for my van) and another from Owl Draw Road off of UT-128, but neither of these are recommended for 2WD vehicles).

Wildflowers in Salt Wash, Arches National Park, Utah
Wildflowers in Salt Wash

After 6.2 miles, a road will go off on the right (west) at approx. 38.8679514, -109.5499733.  Continue straight (south) to mile 7.8, where you want to go left at a Y in the road (approx. 38.8489544, -109.5358285).  A half a mile beyond this Y, you will see a couple of old ore hoppers on the left (north) about 38.8479059, -109.5283851.  This is the Yellowcat Mine.

Looking down Clover Canyon to the La Sal Mountains, Arches National Park, Utah
Looking down Clover Canyon to the La Sal Mountains

Keep driving to mile 9.3.  Take the road that goes right (south) about 38.8504449, -109.5107063.  At mile 12.0 (approx. 38.8242522, -109.4966222), turn right on a road on the right leads west and south to the trailhead for Lost Spring Canyon after about 4.8 miles from the main road.  2WD vehicles should park here.  Continue either on foot or by 4×4 vehicle another 0.8 miles to the parking area beside a fenced-in transformer station and other evidence of the pipeline.

Visual route map and elevation profile for my hike to and through Clover Canyon in Arches National Park, Utah
Visual route map and elevation profile for my hike to and through Clover Canyon

This Week’s Featured Product!

This book boasts 24 trails in Arches National Park – both well-known and slightly off the beaten path.  Buy your copy here!

One thought on “Exploring to Clover Canyon

  1. Pingback: Sneak Peek: A Trip to Utah’s Arches & Canyons! – Anne's Travels

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Get Hiking Guides & Other Outdoor Fun!

Subscribe to View Junkie Adventure Report and get exclusive outdoor and hiking-related content.

We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use