Little Wild Horse is a classic slot canyon located in south-central Utah, in the San Rafael Swell, near Goblin Valley. A slot canyon is a narrow canyon, formed by the wear of water rushing through the sandstone. A majority of the 3-mile long Little Wild Horse Canyon measures about 3 ft across with walls over 100 ft from the top to the floor of the canyon. The striations and grooves on the canyon walls are evidence of the flow of water, which during flash floods is strong enough to sweep huge boulders through the canyon. Flash floods pose a risk to people hiking narrow canyons. Never enter a slot canyon if there is a significant chance of rain anywhere in the canyon's drainage area.

There are two popular approaches to hiking here. Some people simply go into Little Wild Horse, hike as far as they feel comfortable and then return the way they came in. More adventurous people make a loop by hiking up Little Wild Horse and then crossing over and descending Bell Canyon. The loop hike totals about 8 miles. This is not a technical route - there is some scrambling involved but it is basically a hike.

In 2010, while on a solo photography roadtirip through Utah, I had hiked just a mile into Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon. (I was recovering from a stress fracture at the time, and did not want to push myself into doing the full loop.) I had always remembered the beauty and uniqueness, and made a note to return and do the full loop through both Little Wild Horse and Bell Cayons.

In May 2025, when I was on a climbing road trip in the area and had a free day between climbing days, I decided to take the opportunity to hike both canyons. I slept in my car nearby the trailhead, which was quite pleasant. I left the trailhead early (at 7:20am), so I beat the crowds (and the heat) and had the canyons to myself. I hiked counterclockwise, hiking up Little Wild Horse Canyon and down Bell Canyon. The entire hike at a relaxed pace took me about 3 hours and 20 minutes. The following page gives photos and a couple of videos of this spectacular hike.

After my morning hike through Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyons, I stopped at the nearby Goblin Valley State Park (where I had also stopped on my 2010 roadtrip) on the way out and hiked to Goblin's Lair. Once a secret gem is known only to a few, a marked trail now guides visitors to the hiker's entrance of the lair - a massive cavernous formation known as 'The Goblins Lair' is hidden away in the state parks eastern boundary. Not truly a cavern, the lair is actually a beautiful slot canyon! Its entrance has been sealed by rock fall. For an even more unique adventure, you can rappel into Goblin's Lair, but this requires a permit. I had already spent $20 just to get into the state park, so I opted out of the rappel entry to the lair. Photos and video from this bonus hike are also on this page.

After my morning hike through Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyons, I stopped at the nearby Goblin Valley State Park (where I had also stopped on my 2010 roadtrip) on the way out and hiked to Goblin's Lair. Once a secret gem is known only to a few, a marked trail now guides visitors to the hiker's entrance of the lair - a massive cavernous formation known as 'The Goblins Lair' is hidden away in the state parks eastern boundary. Not truly a cavern, the lair is actually a beautiful slot canyon! Its entrance has been sealed by rock fall. For an even more unique adventure, you can rappel into Goblin's Lair, but this requires a permit. I had already spent $20 just to get into the state park, so I opted out of the rappel entry to the lair. Photos and video are below.

I had had so much fun doing the Little Wild Horse to Bell Canyon loop the previous week, that the following week when I was driving from Moab to California, I decided to squeeze in a half day doing the Ding and Dang slot canyons loop. Ding and Dang are neighbors to Little Wild Horse canyon but are a bit less travelled and a bit more difficult. Ding is pretty easy but may involve stemming across pools of water, while Dang has a few fixed hand lines to get through some steep chockstone areas (but even then I wouldn't call it technical). You can do the loop either direction depending on whether you want to take the fixed hand lines in Dang up or down.

The entire 6-mile loop took me 2 hours and 41 minutes. I went up Ding and down Dang. I really enjoyed these canyons, and the challenge of keeping my feet dry by stemming/chimneying over pools. The canyons were beautiful and lizards abounded, sunning themselves in the 91 degree heat.

Below are some photos and videos.