Spanish Bottom

Spanish Bottom is a good and steep hike down to the Colorado River in the Cataract Canyon Section. It has some interesting history and is the most common trail hiked in the Maze District of Canyonlands. Rafters take a break here and will hike up to the plateau to see the Dollhouse Granaries. This is the only place you are likely to run into people in the Maze. Warning: This area has been called one of the most dangerous and remote parts of the continental United States. Access this far into the Maze is only possible with a high clearance 4x4. You will be rock crawling and driving through soft sand. Bring extra water, extra gas, extra tires, and tools to fix whatever may break on your vehicle. This far in, no one will be coming to help you. Drive time is 8-12 hours. Cross the field from the little parking area and head into the Dollhouse. The trail will keep you in a shallow valley that slowly descends to the canyon ridge: around 1/2 mile. The trail is faint in places, but overall easy to follow. The rock formations are incredible and the view is great as you near the ridge. The trail abruptly drops 900ft down 2/3 mile or so of rocky switchbacks. We slipped and slided and stumbled our way down quickly to the bottom. The Bottoms have little to see. It is flat and treeless except for the handful of cottonwoods along the river. But it affords easy access to a cooling dip in the water! At this point you can turn around and go back up. It is a quick (though strenuous) 2.5 mile hike this way and can be accomplished in 1-2 hours. We chose to make the optional Surprise Valley loop, for a little more adventure. We hiked down the river for a little less than a mile. Right after crossing the large sandbar where the rafters like to set up camp, you will see a large rock slide crack in the cliffs. This rock slide is the first easy access you will see to get up the cliffs. Take it. It is of course very steep, and the rocks are quite loose in places. It pops you out handily in the middle of Surprise Valley. Surprise Valley is named because of its odd formation right on the edge of the ridge. It too was formed by the salt layer that created the Spanish Bottom. It is known as a Graben, a collapsed block of rock bordered by faults. Graben is German for Grave. But this valley is aptly named for another reason: it is crisscrossed by cuts in the rock that form a maze of tight, short, and fun slot canyons. We explored a few of them, but could have easily spent hours climbing around. Surprise Valley connects to the Spanish Bottom switchbacks about 2/3's of the way up from the valley. Scramble across the faint trail and then head back up the Spanish Bottom Trail to the parking lot.