Kingsnake (Dinosaur)

Kingsnake is located west of Snake Drop and gets its name from a small Kingsnake, which was rescued from a pothole about 2/3 of the way through the canyon. While we weren’t expecting much from this canyon, it surprised us with long sandstone narrows and interesting downclimbs. The sandstone narrows aren’t deep, but did extend for 0.5+ mile. There are a couple of rappels and enough downclimbs mixed in with narrows to keep it interesting. While fun, I probably wouldn’t repeat the canyon. May 2025 update:

Same as Snake Drop. From the Canyon Visitor Center at Hwy 40 and Harpers Corner Road, drive north for approximately 6 miles on Harpers Corner Road. Turn east onto a dirt road at 40.3034, -108.9443. Follow this dirt road east for approximately 2.7 mile and park at 40.3065, -108.9009.

Hike around the private land to the north by the parking area and seek an old road which runs South down the ridge between Bearwater and Kingsnake. Hike this path south to reach the start of the sandstone at approximately 40.29037, -108.88557. The fun starts right from the beginning with a 25' rappel or 15' downclimb. There are multiple small down climbs where a handline is useful. The last person can downclimb with spotting or partner assist. Caution: Poison ivy chokes the canyon in multiple locations, and starts after this rappel. It can be avoided by carefully scrambling above the canyon floor. Note: We fiddled all of the rappels with no problem retrieving gear. No webbing was used. Canyon was dry. For the next 0.75 miles or so the canyon widens and narrows multiple times, until narrowing for a final time with small potholes and multiple small downclimbs. Seek an exit drainage to the Northeast at (40.27663, -108.88660). The canyon starts to widen and become brush choked at approximately (40.2760, -108.8862).