Latest:	30 Aug 2019 (6 yrs, 9 mos ago)

Reported by:	Erek (206 reports), Willie92708 (1019 reports)
Location:	Neon Canyon
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Deep pools
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Advanced
Time:	4 hours

Team: 4 people with experience level Intermediate to Expert

Trip report URL:

Comments: Erek -> Backpacker into confluence of Fence Canyon and Escalante River, time is based on starting from here. Did mid and lower section. Mid section had one keeper pothole accomplished by stemming above it and dropping in on other side. Bolt also exists on LDC to use to drop in on other side of pothole. Lower section pothole was swim over. No wetsuits used, but there were a few short cold swims. Willie -> I used 3mm neoprene shorts and 1mm full sleeve top and that was plenty for the cold water, but not getting too hot in between. We entered from the "full" route, not the sneak or extended drop-in points. 4 hours was camp to camp time for 3 of our party, the other half continued to Ringtail. The approach has 3 different shelves to head up canyon and they all get you there; our party split onto different shelves at different times.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
30 May 2026	Good	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	12 hours	2 people Intermediate	Chossgoblin (4 reports)
Comment: Time is car to car for Neon and Ringtail. Wetsuit was nice but not needed. I left my harness with about $300 of gear (mostly ascenders) hanging from a tree near the turn off for the Neon approach/exit. If anyone has found this please let me know. I'll make it worth your while.
22 May 2026	Great		None		4 hours	5 people Advanced	RFontaine (373 reports)
Comment: A really enjoyable classic! We descended Neon as a part of a multiday 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 we hiked in day 1 we descended Ring Tail and after a midday break at camp we descended Neon. Approach from camp to drop in took us 45mins and was on a very easy to follow trail. There were a few shallow pools mostly knee to waist deep and 2 or 3 brief swims. With plenty of sunlight the day was warm and wetsuits were not needed. The 1st keeper is definitely in play with very shallow water. Easy potshot tosses from above keeper and a nice crevice for them to catch in on the other side. (We pretended the traverse and bolt for avoiding the keeper didnt exist) 2nd keeper is an easy beach whale out. There is no established anchor here and it seems most people jump this. It is a bit high for me and my crew so we toggled off the natural arch that exists there. The copious amount of webbing strung down canyon for the last rappel to be "naturally anchored" on a rock pinch 20ft back should be a crime, as should the multitude of chopped bolts that exist in what would have been an ideal low impact location... facepalm ...Anyway, great canyon!! Very pretty, mostly lived up to the hype. 4 hours camp to camp.
14 May 2026					6 hours	8 people Advanced	Cheveran (111 reports),AdamOtter (92 reports)
Comment: Neon is so fun. 3rd time through. First pothole has knee deep agua. Second is full and was a fun jump! (Check depth). Time is fence camp to fence camp, in absolutely no hurry.
9 Apr 2026	Great	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Normal		3 people Intermediate to Expert	Dhoechst (24 reports)
Comment: Hiked in and did Neon in the morning than headed over to Ringatail in the afternoon. Camped near the mouth of Neon and hiked out the next morning. The first keeper was a swimmer and about 7 feet below the lip. The second keeper was full and we were able to jump in and swim out the other side.
2 Oct 2025	Amazing	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	11 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Felixrulz (80 reports)
Comment: Quite a number of swims. Could swim over all potholes. Easy.
26 Apr 2025	Good	Low	None	Normal	8 hours	7 people	Mchlprk11100 (16 reports)
Comment: It was a great day with great temperatures for hiking to and from the canyon. The water levels were up to waist-deep, so no wetsuit was required. Due to the low water levels, keeper potholes were in easy mode.
4 Oct 2024	Great	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	4 people	Mikeatran (95 reports)
Comment: Took fence hike to full route/tree anchor rappel to get access to the narrow slotty section that links up to the main drainage. Tree anchor webbing looked sunfaded; used cem and added meat backup for group around tree to facilitate pull. Beta shows 3 rappels but can be 5 for some of the spice adverse. Bypassed 1 and set up another before realizing it was a slidable downclimb down the crack. Water level was high enough the to make pothole problems nonexistent. Final rappel is gorgeous; note the webbing is setup to facilitate a courtesy anchor which was helpful for the team to set length. Hike out on loose sand was difficult, so factor that in energy conservation for the trip.
22 May 2021	Great	Dry	None	Normal	8 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Doctors out (26 reports)
Comment: Time is roundtrip from Egypt parking lot with decently strong hikers. Fun run through the full neon canyon. First pothole can be bypassed with a heady ~30' stem or other methods already mentioned. Everyone managed to stay completely dry. As a day trip, the best access is via the direct (southern) route and exit via the fence canyon (northern) route. While the steep sandy portions of the southern route is a soft delicious downhill, it would make for an awful uphill exit.
1 May 2021	Good	Dry	None	Easy	4 hours	6 people Beginner to Advanced	Cesar (21 reports)
Comment: Water level was maybe knee high. The first keeper pothole was very easy to climb over and the second is full of sand. The last rappel was the best part of the canyon. The biggest warning is that the hike in and out are long and on sand and it can be difficult for some in the heat. Also play close attention to navigation since people tend to get lost. you need to follow cairns since there is no trail.
19 Nov 2020	Great	Very Low	None	Normal	11 hours	3 people Beginner to Advanced	Zendegi (1 reports)
Comment: There were a few knee-deep pools, and the keeper potholes were dry. We escaped the first keeper pothole by using potshots and partner assist. The second keeper had enough sand to easily climb out. The water in the final knee deep where you touch down from rappel. Webbing was present at all anchors and in descent condition.
7 Aug 2020	Poor	Very Low	None	Normal	5 hours	5 people	Pfrankenberger (1 reports)
Comment: First keeper pothole use bolt LDC to avoid. Second Keeper Pothole has large sand mound for easy exit even with low water. Did Chop Rock start. Both canyons dry. Minor water in Neon. Golden Cathedral water was clean and nice refresh on a hot day. Good big sandy camping with shade at end of short cut route before river crossing into Neon and in Neon. Follow Short trail north of Neon confluence to rock art.
26 Jul 2020	Great	Very Low	None	Special challenges	10 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Danelle (17 reports)
Comment: Beautiful Canyon. We ran it with very very low water levels. It would have been completely different if the water was at the waterline that could be seen. Most of it was dry, a couple knee/waist deeps spots, with one quick chest deep wade. A 10f climb out of one keeper (a pot shot did the trick). Learning to and ascending for the first time for one member of our group :). We took our time to take in its beauty and took a nice long break after the cathedral rap before heading for the exit.
12 Sep 2019	Great	Deep pools	Rain jacket	Normal	9 hours	6 people Advanced to Brand new	Greatshaitan (46 reports)
Comment: A great trip down neon. Took the longer extended route by rappelling off the hoodoo. Water is low, had wetsuits but didnt need them. First keeper in full keeper mode, climbed up to the anchors. Second keeper completely full.
31 Aug 2019	Great	Deep pools	Rain jacket	Normal	2 hours	1 people	Willie92708 (1019 reports)
Comment: Time was from river to river. I did a bit of recon on the approach climbing up to the highest shelf and finding an old path with a big cairn that marks a weakness in the headwall to get up on top of the Choprock plateau. This weakness is at the top of the sneak drop-in drainage, which is the 2nd significant drainage on the approach. The 1st drainage is totally cliffed out. After validating hiking up onto the Choprock plateau, I descend down to the 40 foot sneak drop-in rappel off a big boulder, perched on the shelf above the wide Neon canyon floor below. It's easy to downclimb to this boulder, using a handline for one spot just above it. From the bottom of this rappel, there is no keepers (presently), one short rappel, and just the swim in after the multi-holed section before the final rappel. Thus the sneak route is truly "cruiser", even solo.
30 Aug 2019	Great	Deep pools	None	Advanced	4 hours	4 people Intermediate to Expert	Erek (206 reports),Willie92708 (1019 reports)
Comment: Erek -> Backpacker into confluence of Fence Canyon and Escalante River, time is based on starting from here. Did mid and lower section. Mid section had one keeper pothole accomplished by stemming above it and dropping in on other side. Bolt also exists on LDC to use to drop in on other side of pothole. Lower section pothole was swim over. No wetsuits used, but there were a few short cold swims. Willie -> I used 3mm neoprene shorts and 1mm full sleeve top and that was plenty for the cold water, but not getting too hot in between. We entered from the "full" route, not the sneak or extended drop-in points. 4 hours was camp to camp time for 3 of our party, the other half continued to Ringtail. The approach has 3 different shelves to head up canyon and they all get you there; our party split onto different shelves at different times.