Lower Cottonwood Wash

This page is for the lower section of Cottonwood Wash that the National Park lists as a hike. This hike is a class 2B, bottom-up canyoneering route that is family friendly. For the class 3 technical canyoneering route see: https://ropewiki.com/Cottonwood_Wash Cottonwood Wash is located 9.1 miles (14.6 km) south of Highway 24 on the Notom-Bullfrog Road.

Hike up canyon through a series of narrows and open areas. About one miles (1.6 km) up the wash (west) from the trailhead, a side canyon enters from the right (north) and could be mistaken for the main drainage; stay left. There are several chances to play around stemming and chimneying as you go. The class 2 section will end in an alcove with an impassable dryfall. This dryfall is the final rappel of the Cottonwood Wash top-down, class 3 technical route.

A few hundred yards (meters) further, the main canyon narrows and a 1/4 mile (0.4 km) stretch begins that is chocked with large boulders and requires scrambling to negotiate; a bypass route over and around the boulder jams follows the left (south) side of the canyon. After another 1/3 mile (0.5 km), the narrows begin. Then, another side drainage enters from the left (south); stay right. Shortly beyond this point, the canyon abruptly narrows to a thin slot. A deep pool of water is often found here, and deep wading or swimming may be required to continue up canyon; hikers often choose to turn around at this point. For the next mile (1.6 km), the canyon alternates between tight narrows and more open areas with a number of chockstones that must be negotiated and possibly more pools of water. An impassable 35-foot (11 m) pour-off blocks the canyon at the end of this stretch of narrows (just over 3 miles [4.8 km] in from the road) and marks the end of the route. To return to the trailhead, retrace the route back down the canyon.