Conditions:Choprock Canyon (South Fork)-20260526172604
Latest: |
23 May 2026 (6 days ago) |
|---|
| Reported by: | Sstaverman (30 reports) | |
|---|---|---|
| Location: | Choprock Canyon (South Fork) | |
| Quality: | Amazing |
|
| Waterflow: | ||
| Wetsuit: | Thin wetsuit |
|
| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | Normal |
|
| Time: |  11 hours
|
|
Team: 5 people
Trip report URL:
Comments: Choprock is absolutely stunning, possibly my new favorite. Water levels were very low and it made the day as easy as could be in this canyon. Still a long day with many challenges. As a bigger guy, there were some tight squeezes, but always a way through. Several swims even with low water.
Towards the beginning of the grim section I had a gear loop break. I didn't notice it immediately, and it resulted in the loss of a Sqwrl and a Petzl Oxan carabiner. If you find those and care to get them back to me I'd appreciate it!
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazing | | Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 11 hours
| 5 people | Sstaverman (30 reports) | |
Comment: Choprock is absolutely stunning, possibly my new favorite. Water levels were very low and it made the day as easy as could be in this canyon. Still a long day with many challenges. As a bigger guy, there were some tight squeezes, but always a way through. Several swims even with low water.
Towards the beginning of the grim section I had a gear loop break. I didn't notice it immediately, and it resulted in the loss of a Sqwrl and a Petzl Oxan carabiner. If you find those and care to get them back to me I'd appreciate it!
| |||||||
| Amazing | | Thin wetsuit
| | 10 hours
| 5 people Advanced | RFontaine (371 reports) | |
Comment: An incredible epic canyon!!
We descended Chop Rock as a part of a multi-day backpacking trip down to the Escalante. We took the B-line approach in from the trailhead and set up camp across the river from Neon's drainage. It took us 1.5hr to hike down to our campsite. After descending hiking in and descending Neon/Ringtail day 1. We set our sights on Chop Rock day 2. We decided to approach via Neon, hiking up almost to Neon’s drop in before turning off here: (37.62173, -111.15960) and scrambling up an easy nose to the Chop Rock Bench. From there it was an easy hike overland to join the original approach. From the Neon camp, we feel this was a much easier way to go rather than hiking up river to the standard approach. Approach from camp took us 2.5hrs. The Riparian Section of Chop Rock had a ton of poison ivy, challenging to avoid, I think we all got away unscathed though. We donned our wetsuits in the last open area of the “Happy Section”. 4/3 suit was perfect and comfortable for me. Definitely needed, there is a TON of water exposure and long swims in Chop Rock, despite the “low water” there is still a “Heaps level” of water exposure to be sure. AND Heaps level beauty!! Holy cow!! I was definitely floored! What an incredible canyon! The “Grim Section” is anything but Grim! A total blast! So much fun!! Some dark areas headlamps were nice. Definitely gets pretty squeezy. Lots of big downclimbs, serious tight sections and of course much more water!! Multiple hallways of swimming. Super glad we all had 22-28L packs. Anything larger would have been a chore to drag through. Chop Rock was amazing, now one of my top favorites! The slot is long and goes on and on! By the time we reached the final rappel we were already at 8 hours moving at a decent pace! Exit took us 1.5hrs to camp, trails are nearly non existent along the Escalante until Fence Canyon. We mostly stayed in the river to avoid bushwhacking. Once at Fence, the trails were easy to follow. Chop Rock took us about 10hrs total camp to camp!
| |||||||
| Amazing | | | | 12 hours
| 7 people | Cheveran (110 reports),AdamOtter (92 reports) | |
Comment: Ultra easy mode! Low water. A little stemming, some swimming, much pondering the difficulty of navigating the log jams 3-5'above us. Most of us wore too much neoprene (5 mm plus). For me, 4/3 would have been perfect. Time was 12.5h fence camp to fence camp, with a motivated but not especially fast approach (3.5h). Thr ripatian section had a lot of poison ivy, most but not all avoidable. Really stunning canyon, hope to enjoy again.
| |||||||
| Amazing | Very Low 
| Full wetsuit 
| Normal | 11 hours
| 2 people Advanced | Teamsnuggle (17 reports) | |
Comment: Water level is currently about 3-4 feet lower consistently than previous run last year after flashflood. No significant obstacles or difficulties encountered.
| |||||||
| Amazing | Deep pools
| Full wetsuit
| Special challenges | 10 hours
| 2 people Advanced | Teamsnuggle (17 reports) | |
Comment: Appears to have recently flashed. Extensive long swimming in the grim section. Had to dunk underwater very briefly to get past a log jam. One spot where it was so narrow at head level that helmets needed to be removed and bottom half of face submerged to fit your head through.
| |||||||
| Amazing | Very Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 9 hours
| 2 people Advanced | JGM (23 reports) | |
Comment: We camped at the river on the hike-in between Choprock and Neon. Ran the canyon with no issues or complications as it pools were mid-filled on all of the difficult areas. The riparian section was stunning, with cool pools and lush vegetation. The Happy section is photogenic but not the most memorable section.
Ahh the Grimm, when you get there you know it. If this section were full of water you can expect a difficult time. High log jambs and tight squeezes to compound on your exhaustion. For us we were able to bypass all of the difficulty and stayed low in the bells of the canyon. However "Easy" we had it we were still tired after the canyon. Expect to be worked if it is in a more difficult mode. I believe most times are car to car, ours was camp to camp.
| |||||||
| Amazing | Very Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 12 hours
| 3 people Intermediate to Advanced | Emadjim (1 reports) | |
Comment: We camped in the mouth of Choprock, near the Escalante river. It took us longer than expected to drop down to the start of Choprock (route finding). Once in there was some flowing water through the Happy section but in the Grim section no flow and water levels were low. Its hard not to slow down and absorb the grandeur of this canyon. I thought we moved pretty well but it still took us 10+ hrs to get through. I think we might have been the first through this year (no footprints in the Canyon). The water is cold, we wore 3/4 westuit + shorties to backup our wetsuit, 3mm socks and neoprene gloves. We are all very glad for the extra insulation but very frustrated with the bulk. The anchors are solid, there were no blockages that couldnt be climbed.
| |||||||
| Great | Deep pools
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 11 hours
| 5 people Intermediate to Expert | Reeves (37 reports) | |
Comment: Choprock is in easy mode - we were able to swim or walk under the logjams. Time is round trip from the mough of Neon. Recommend starting the approach before dawn to avoid hot temperatures and direct sun when up on the plateau. Lots of poison ivy in the riparian section, but we were able to avoid touching it too much. Stems and downclimbs galore!
| |||||||
| Amazing | Deep pools
| Thin wetsuit
| Special challenges | 13 hours
| 5 people Intermediate to Expert | Erek (206 reports),Willie92708 (1019 reports) | |
Comment: Erek -> A few cold swims in Grim section. Comfortable in 3mm wetsuit. Lots of stemming, downclimbing, partner assists, but nothing particularly difficult. No keeper potholes. Lots of poison ivy in riparian section. Happy section is amazing. Water filter used a lot, very hot long approach. Willie -> Grim section water level is low, thus in "easy mode" with only a few places to climb over log jams. We used the full approach from the river just upstream of Fence Canyon and all the way over to the Choprock tributary at 37.65124, -111.12885. This upper section had a few shallow pools with many frogs before the 1st rappel into a large shallow pool. About 300 feet down canyon from the 1st rappel is the riparian section with some flowing water and massive poison oak on the banks. One member got quite dehydrated on the approach and exhausted to boot (special challenges); don't underestimate the approach on a hot day! Thus leading to a 13 hour trip from base camp to base camp at Fence Canyon and the Escalante river.
| |||||||
| Amazing | | | | | CanditionBot (2103 reports) | ||
| Amazing | | | | | CanditionBot (2103 reports) | ||
| Amazing | | | | | CanditionBot (2103 reports) | ||
| | | | | Candition.com (287 reports) | |||
Comment: Most recent conditions reported at Candition.com
| |||||||
| Amazing | | | | | CanditionBot (2103 reports) | ||
| Amazing | | | | | CanditionBot (2103 reports) | ||
