Box-Death Hollow Wilderness

What to See at Box-Death Hollow Wilderness

The wilderness protects two of the most dramatic canyon corridors in the Grand Staircase region: The Box and Death Hollow, both carved through Navajo sandstone into deep, sheer-walled passages with orange-gray walls rising overhead. Infrastructure is essentially absent throughout; the wilderness delivers raw canyon backcountry with very little company.

Visitor Tips

• Stream crossings on The Box Trail are frequent even in dry conditions — waterproof footwear or a dry pair of camp shoes to swap at crossings will significantly improve the experience.
• The 22-mile Death Hollow Loop is a serious multi-day undertaking; carry a paper or downloaded map, as cell service is unreliable in the canyon corridors.
• Water sources exist in the canyon bottoms, but treat all water before drinking — shared drainage from a wide backcountry watershed means contamination risk is real.
• Three maintained trails serve the wilderness (Roundy, Coleman, and The Box); beyond these, routefinding on slickrock and in canyon washes requires navigational experience and conservative turnaround discipline.

Planning Your Visit

Access to the main trailheads runs via dirt roads from Escalante or the Highway 12 corridor. A high-clearance vehicle is advisable for most of these access routes, and road conditions can shift considerably by season or after recent rain. Before heading out, the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center in town is a reliable source for current road and water conditions. Flash flooding is a serious hazard throughout — the narrow slot sections can fill rapidly from storms well upstream, even under clear skies at the trailhead. Check weather forecasts carefully before entering any canyon bottom and build flexibility into multi-day trip plans.