Lower Ute Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3A II (v3a1 II) Raps:3-4, max ↨165ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger Rock type:Granite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 4 May 2025
"My daughter and I did the canyon on Sunday 5/4 and ended up struggling a bit on the last long (165) Rappel 4. Long story short there are two ropes t |
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| Best season: | Mar-Oct
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39.0535, -108.6670
39.0681, -108.6600
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Introduction[edit]
The locals favorite within the Colorado National Monument. This route is extremely unique and scenic as it cuts through a granite layer in the midst of the predominantly sandstone landscape. At the top is a series of small potholes that may contain water and resemble a string of pearls. This should be on the top of everyone's list if they are coming to the Monument to do canyons.
This could be combined with the rappels listed on the "Liberty Cap" page for a longer day.
Approach[edit]
Park at Liberty Cap Trailhead off Wildwood court. As of June 2022, a Colorado National Monument permit is not required to park here. This parking lot is small and fills up fast so get here early on a weekend day. Take either the liberty cap or corkscrew trails (approach shown takes corkscrew to access liberty cap trail) to the top of the bench, then find a use trail following a small wash to get to the top of the canyon.
Pictures of the approach:
Descent[edit]
4 raps, to a maximum of 50m. There is abundant anchor material throughout the canyon, and the downclimbs are all very fun. Retrievable anchors could likely be used, but as of June 2022, all anchors were slung with webbing and rapides or rap rings.
As of 04/06/2025, All raps have bolts, R1 bolts on the Left LDC. R2 has bolts on the right LDC. Midway cairn anchor was removed. R3 has bolts in the middle of canyon behind a large rock. R4 has bolts below the large boulder previously used.
R1: ~40m from bush on left, far above the actual drop, which is only ~10m tall
R2: ~50m from boulder on left
R3: ~15m from chockstone on right
R4: ~50m from boulder on right, but a midway ledge provides more anchor opportunities if you want to do this one in two stages
From the last rappel, work through the large blocks until you start to see a lot of sandstone on the canyon walls.
Pictures of the descent:
Exit[edit]
Look for a way to reach the top of the sandstone bench on your left after the last rappel. You will likely come across a foot trail that leads up to the top of the bench, then intersects the Corkscrew trail, which will lead back to the parking (or, back to the top of the bench). If you walk down canyon far enough to see a fence, stay inside the fence line and you will need to work your way back up in elevation to find the Corkscrew trail.
Red tape[edit]
While the canyon is in Colorado National Monument, the parking is not, and no permits are required for parking.
