Red Wash
ACA Canyon
Rating – 1A II
NEVER ENTER ANY
SLOT CANYON WHEN HEAVY RAIN IS IN THE FORECAST…!!!
There is
much more to Red Wash than what first meets the eye…
Red Wash Canyon is a beautiful “open”
canyon with several wonderful “slot” portions in and around it. The photo above is of the first 20’ dry falls
The photo below is of a 5’ wide natural
arch at this first falls
This sweet “little slot” canyon is a tributary on your right, between your car
and the first falls shown above. It is
50’ deep and so narrow that I had to turn sideways to walk…
The 10’ wide natural bridge below spans the
first arroyo on your left, below the upper 20’ high dry falls. It can be seen from Red Wash but must be
accessed by a steep long climb. See map
below.
…the beautiful, 20’ high, upper dry falls
The following photo is from the top…
looking down the AMAZING Middle Fork Red Wash.
This is a finely sculpted slot…the real CRUX of Red Wash Canyon. see map below…
…some fine red slickrock
scrambling within the Middle Fork Red Wash…
Good scrambling without ropes…
The Middle Fork Red Wash has a colorful
palette…
beta facts:
name- Red Wash
elevation- 6300’ at the top down to 6100’ at the
bottom
GPS coordinates- ±36°14.457’N 106°22.423’W
flow- intermittent
season to visit- drier months of the year, like
May, June, September, October and November… NEVER ENTER ANY SLOT CANYON WHEN HEAVY RAIN IS IN
THE FORCAST…!!!
accommodations- NONE
ownership- Carson National Forest
access- from HWY 84 about 3.6 miles west of Abiquiu… see the map below
fun fact- a friend shared this place with me
Enhanced USGS topo map by Doug Scott Please right-click-save-as and make yourself a hard copy
of this map
The thin Red Lines depict
sections of “slot canyons”
____________________________one
mile_____________________________
Back to New Mexico
Slot Canyons
Send questions and comments to dscott@themarblesculptor.com