Showdown Canyon (Dinosaur)
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| | Difficulty:3A III (v4a1 III) Raps:5, max ↨180ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:Optional 2.8 miles Vehicle:4WD - High Clearance Rock type:sandstone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Best season: | Sept-Oct
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40.5024, -108.9308
40.5100, -108.9343
40.4815, -108.9415
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Introduction[edit]
Showdown is a great technical entrance to access the Yampa river. While this beta is shown with the long exit, consider combining Showdown with one of the canyons on the north side for a full day: Scoggins, Outlaw, Inlaw, Upper or Lower Tiger Wall.
Approach[edit]
Drive Highway 40 east of Dinosaur, CO turning north at the Canyon Visitor Center onto Harper's Corner Rd for 25.5 miles on pavement. Along the way, a bathroom is available at the Plug Hat Butte parking and dispersed camping is available down Blue Mountain Road.
Late arrivals beware the many deer and black cows on the open range along Harper's Corner Road.
Turn right off the pavement toward Echo Park at Sand Canyon Road, which is easily passable with 4WD HC in dry conditions. Drive Sand Canyon Rd 7.5 miles to the intersection with Yampa Bench Road. Echo Park is to the left. Turn right on Yampa Bench Road for 3.9 miles. Yampa Bench Road is also easily passable with 4WD HC in dry conditions to where it intersects Red Rock Canyon.
Park the shuttle vehicle next to Yampa Bench Road just before Red Rock Canyon.
Drive back northwest on Yampa Bench Road for 1.3 miles, turn northeast on a two-track at (40.49553, -108.94982).
Park at (40.50996, -108.93429) next to a fenced area.
Hike southeast cross-country to the first rappel at (40.50242, -108.93082).
Descent[edit]
R1: 70' or 140' from a bush in drainage
DC: 20' or extend R1 to 140'
R2: 175' from a large tree DCR with an extension of 50' from the tree. This is a good location to join a shorter rope and fiddle the longer joined combination.
Skirt a 20' cliff by downclimbing DCR. Note a deep cave at the bottom of the cliff.
DC: 10' over pothole water, then DC: 20'
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Walk a ways in the drainage to the final descent to the Yampa River.
Shortly after the slick rock starts,
DC: 12'
DC: 20' into water or bypass DCL
If bypassing the next rappel/downclimb is also missed:
R/DC: 20' into pool
end the bypass and rejoin the drainage at R3 by completing a few switchbacks on ledges
R3: 180' from a tree DCL. A chockstone is available as well, but the tree provides a better place to start the rappel.
DC: 20' after the pothole at the bottom of R3 or extend R3 to 200' to stay on rope.
DC: 20' DCR to get to the limestone ledge for R4
R4: 50' from a boulder DCL
R5: 105' from a tree DCR
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Exit[edit]
Add another canyon north of the Yampa to make a full day, then return to the shuttle vehicle by hiking upstream along the Yampa River to the bottom of Red Rock Canyon.
Cross the river when required to switch sides of the bank. Pass the bottom of Tiger Wall Canyon, Tiger Wall (the landmark striped wall for rafters), the bottom of Outlaw, the bottom of Inlaw then either hug the west bank to avoid a full swim, but be careful of thick poison ivy or swim directly across the river, which is too deep to touch. Inflate dry bags for floatation.
Once on the west bank, be sure to gain the bench at (40.48855, -108.91048). This is the easiest location to transition between the river bank and quicker trails on the bench. If staying low by the river too long another upstream swim or a short unprotected cliff climb is required and will take more time.
Hike to the end of Red Rock Canyon and cross a barbed wire cattle fence. Just past the fence are petroglyphs in a sandstone alcove on the north side of the canyon with an inscription from Bert Hadfield in 1919.
Return to the shuttle vehicle 1.9 miles +400' up Red Rock Canyon. The north side of Red Rock Canyon seems to offer better cattle trails to follow.
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Red tape[edit]
While the North side of the Yampa is closed to access March 1 - August 15 for Peregrine Falcon nesting, this trip is still a trip for the fall and not the spring. The Yampa needs to be in a lower flow for crossing in the fall and avoiding the higher river levels during spring melt.
A National Park's pass or a Dinosaur National Monument entrance fee is required.
Beta sites[edit]
Trip reports and media[edit]
2025-09-06 Explored and beta added by Ira Lewis. With Carl Bern, Aven Bern, Rob Demis, Jim Rickard, Wayne Herrick. One anchor had evidence of a previous descent.