Latest:	11 Aug 2024 (1 yr, 7 mos ago)

Reported by:	Dimethyli (1 reports)
Location:	Spyhole Canyon
Quality:	Ok
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	6 hours

Team: 2 people with experience level Intermediate to Beginner

Trip report URL:

Comments: There is a large rock (perhaps 100lbs) that is directly underneath the webbing on the tree of R1. I noticed that rock being ever so slightly lifted up at the end closest to the anchor tree by the weight of my partner while she was on rappel. The rock is well seated as of this writing but was definitely wiggling and is directly in the rappel line. In time, it will need to be dealt with.

The bolts for R2 were on a heady edge. We opted to have the first person clip into the R2 bolts while still on R1 before coming off rope. This allowed us to set up a line to the bolts.

For R3 we opted for the spyhole. We could hear people in the cave so I yelled down the hole before dropping the rope. In the time it took to get my partner into the spyhole (there was room for 2 of us in there) a hiker had approached the rope at the bottom and was looking up. I had to ask them to clear out, fearing rock fall. This was an incredibly fun and unique rappel.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
17 Mar 2026	Great	Dry	None	Normal	6 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Stever2003 (4 reports)
Comment: Great day! Approach followed the track closely enough. Loose rock on the climb from the rock to the ridge was expected, didn't cause any issues. Aside from the loose stuff the route was pretty clean and straightforward, no bushwacking. Rappels were good, all anchors in good condition, and we didn't have any problems with loose rock on R1. 6 hours included a 2 long breaks and a long lunch at the bottom of the cave.
15 Mar 2026	Good	Dry	None	Normal	4 hours	3 people	AZ Advocate (61 reports)
Comment: As per usual, R1 is a bowling alley - please be careful when retrieving your rope and/or pullcord. There's a new fixed line which is in great condition and it's affixed to the anchor in the Spyhole so you can't mess up that transition. An excellent day out!
4 Jan 2026	Good	Dry	None	Normal	4 hours	4 people Intermediate to Brand new	Davidsnaz (25 reports)
Comment: The weather was relatively warm and made for a great day out. The approach is getting quite worn in and generally easily followed. We replaced the webbing on the first rap. The other webbing was quite new. There is still plenty of loose rock and the first rappel has some larger pieces that will likely break free sooner than later. There is not currently a fixed line for the 15 foot drop into the hole.
16 Dec 2025	Good	Dry		Special challenges	4 hours	2 people Beginner to Advanced	Triggerfish (88 reports)
Comment: Handled R2 exposure by staying on the 220’ rope (all of it was enough to easily reach R2) all the way to the station. R2 hangers spun, but the wedge bolts were tight in the rock. The final hole tap is unique and absolutely worth doing. Used a stoppered 50’ rope scrap to get in. Looks kinda crazy from top, but the landing zone inside is flat, almost big enough for 2. Easy to clip in, rig for the final 100 (maybe a few feet longer?), and go from there. Little tight with packs on, and the required wiggling 100’ off the deck made us glad to have VTs on. Anyone more than medium build will likely be happier hanging pack from harness. It’s straight down, and we could easily lower exactly enough rope to touch bottom.
12 Dec 2025	Good	Dry		Normal	5 hours	5 people Beginner to Intermediate	Rpatt-kstew (18 reports)
Comment: We had a little trouble choosing the right path out of the waterway, but eventually found it ok. R2 anchor is spinning a bit but the bolt is solid. Took the hole through the top of the cave and it was super rewarding. I'm a bigger guy and tried to go through the hole with my pack on my back, but eventually had to hang it below me because there was no way I was fitting through that final opening into the cave. I would not recommend brand new canyoneers to do this canyon because it would be very difficult to make sure they were properly set up on rappel for the final descent.
2 Nov 2025	Great	Dry	None	Special challenges	5 hours	6 people	Treyshoe (80 reports)
Comment: R1 is a bit of a mess with choss and cacti in many places on the decent. R2 is a nice rappel but the highlight is the Spyhole. We all dropped through and it was one of the most unique rappels I've done. Anyone that does this route should try to overcome the nervousness and go down the hole. No fixed line is present so plan on rigging the 15 footer to the internal anchor with a stopper knot or a J loop.
12 Oct 2025	Great	Dry		Normal	6 hours	4 people Intermediate to Advanced	Alex Columbus (7 reports)
Comment: For R1 throw rope far out RDC to avoid cactus. R2 had exposure so we opted for a handline using webbing found LDC just before the bend. Rest of my group went over the spyhole while I opted to go in. 65 meter rope is enough for the spyhole if you can get it perfectly. No handline was seen above the spyhole.
1 Apr 2025						1 people Intermediate	Dyln cole (105 reports)
Comment: Webbing is clean, fixed line was good and decent as of yesterday, always pull to check. Windy day but turned out alright.
30 Mar 2025					5 hours	6 people Beginner to Advanced	EMoorcroft (452 reports)
Comment: We removed ribbons on the approach and cleaned up the anchor for the first rappel. Rock quality is poor and hikers were present below, use extra caution.
30 Mar 2025						6 people Beginner to Expert
Comment: Removed ribbons on the approach... Please practice LNT principles. Cleaned up webbing on r1. Rock quality poor on approach and r1 but cleans up a little after that. Use extra caution. Hikers were below in the last rappel and this is very common. They appeared to be a bigger threat to their safety than we were.
29 Nov 2024	Great				5 hours	4 people	RFontaine (351 reports)
Comment: Great quick route with high quality rappels and a great area to practice ascending skills. We rigged up two ropes on the outside drops and a rope on the inside. Had fun running laps on the drops!
11 Aug 2024	Ok	Dry		Normal	6 hours	2 people Intermediate to Beginner	Dimethyli (1 reports)
Comment: There is a large rock (perhaps 100lbs) that is directly underneath the webbing on the tree of R1. I noticed that rock being ever so slightly lifted up at the end closest to the anchor tree by the weight of my partner while she was on rappel. The rock is well seated as of this writing but was definitely wiggling and is directly in the rappel line. In time, it will need to be dealt with. The bolts for R2 were on a heady edge. We opted to have the first person clip into the R2 bolts while still on R1 before coming off rope. This allowed us to set up a line to the bolts. For R3 we opted for the spyhole. We could hear people in the cave so I yelled down the hole before dropping the rope. In the time it took to get my partner into the spyhole (there was room for 2 of us in there) a hiker had approached the rope at the bottom and was looking up. I had to ask them to clear out, fearing rock fall. This was an incredibly fun and unique rappel.
3 Mar 2024	Good	Dry	None	Normal	3 hours	3 people Intermediate	Bconklin (3 reports)
Comment: The current GPS track follows the drainage way too far uphill. This leads to a loose sidehill backtrack to the east. Turn right (north) out of the wash as soon as you are past the cliff and can see the ridgeline. The track (03/04/2024) is the only one I've found that is this far off. The others are correct.
6 Jan 2024	Great	Dry			5 hours	2 people Beginner to Advanced	Mojojojo (27 reports)
Comment: The approach hike is pretty long and arduous- the scramble up to the ridge is very loose and a good bit of work. It took us 2 hours to reach the first rappel. It was our first time trying this route, and now knowing where to go I think we could do it in the 1.5 hours next time. Definitely not my favorite approach, but although short we agreed that the descent makes it worth it! Our time is a bit skewed because we ended up sandwiched between 2 other groups, which is something I’ve never experienced in canyoneering, but it ended up being a really fun day making new friends! All anchors in good shape - the bolts in the cave are fantastic! Rock fall is certainly still an issue but it seems mitigated since previous reports. This canyon seems to be getting a good bit of traffic lately which is probably helping. Once through the descent we were back to the car in about 30/40 minutes hiking at a swift pace on easy terrain. All in all I’d say a worthwhile route due to super fun and bomber rappels. I would absolutely repeat despite the approach being a bit of a PITA.
31 Dec 2023	Good	Dry	None	Easy	4 hours	4 people	AZ Advocate (61 reports)
Comment: An excellent day out on this incredibly fun, unique, and short route. We used a 60m rope for R3 through the roof of the cave and it was the perfect length for a double-strand rappel.... and we also used it as a rope swing. For the approach, we opted to exit the wash a bit earlier than we have in the past and although that route was steeper and looser, it had less vegetative hardships on the way up to the ridge. I thoroughly agree with RFontaine that staying a bit below the true ridgeline is the easier way to go - saving you unnecessary elevation gain and vegetative battles. Of note, it is possible to climb back up to the top of R1 without a rope. We missed that our stone hitch was tied backwards (away from anchor, not towards) and as a result we stuck our rope there. We did inspect the hitch before using it but we didn't notice the flipped orientation. We won't be making that mistake again any time soon.