Fire Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park)

Fire Canyon is an exceptionally beautiful canyon that is infrequently visited. It has a fairly short technical section but requires a relatively long hike at both the front end, 1.5 miles from the Cassidy Arch trailhead, and then 2.5 miles back. The technical section features 5-7 rappels up to 125 feet. The hiking along Frying Pan Trail affords stunning scenery in both directions. Fire Canyon can be combined with one or more of the Wives, if you hike from the Cohab Canyon trailhead, or with Cassidy Arch Canyon if you hike from the Cassidy Arch trailhead. Fire + Cassidy makes for a great outing that will take most of a day.

Start hiking from either the Cassidy Arch trailhead or the Cohab Canyon trailhead. Leave the Frying Pan trail at the point mentioned on the track. From there, route-find towards the canyon through uneven terrain until you drop into the canyon, which at this point will be a sandy wash. Some minor downclimbs may be required. If you walk a few minutes up canyon, you will find several interesting slide slots to explore before continuing your descent.

From the drop-in point, continue down canyon until you encounter a large bowl-shaped drop. This is R1. The last obstacle in the canyon is a 5ft downclimb into a pool, possibly waist deep.