Spruce Creek Slot Canyon
ACA Canyon
Rating – 2C III
This canyon
requires a full day or more backpack just to arrive at the canyon
NEVER ENTER ANY SLOT CANYON WHEN HEAVY
RAIN IS IN THE FORECAST
The
Spruce Creek “slot” is a canyon lovers delite...!!!
...a
sweet little 15 footer
Spruce
Creek Slot Canyon 
at
sunrise...
THIS IS A VERY
DIFFICULT TRAVERSE
We have not done the entire
canyon… read more below…
Swimming is mandatory, so wear a lifejacket…!!!
beta facts:
name- Spruce Creek Cascades
height- 15 to 20 feet are the
highest waterfalls here but the entire cascade drops about 150’ in a few 100
yards
elevation- 6950’
GPS coordinates- ±33°17.594’N 108°43.319’W
flow- perennial trout stream
best season- some years the wet times like
Memorial Day or July and August rainy season are too dangerous. Most years May thru October is fine
accommodations- Gila Wilderness
ownership- Gila National Forest
access-
7 miles on trail with some bushwhacking and game trails
nearest town- Glenwood is about 10 miles west
of here
fun fact- Gila high country’s BEST…!!!!!
…but hard to get to…!!!!!
essay bro
Spruce Creek Cascades cut thru the Spruce
Creek Slot Canyon. We found no
waterfalls on Spruce Creek more than about 15 to 20 high. However they are extra beautiful within the
“Box” because the canyon walls are sculpted and sheer for hundreds of feet
overhead. This is a delightful place.
We did not have time to explore the “slot
canyon” farther upstream, but it likely holds beautiful waterfalls of its
own. In fact every tributary is highly
likely waterfall candidates because this whole area is waterfall prone
Hanging Rock Trail and Silver Drip Trail
are the two most direct routes into the upper Big Dry Creek drainage. Both have been abandon by the National Forest
Service. We will soon loose these “two
most spectacular trails of the Gila Wilderness”. They are both marked on the map below as
“unmaintained trail”. If we
outdoor-people use these trails and care for them each time we hike them...
they will be preserved... otherwise they will be lost.
Spruce Creek Slot Canyon is
found in the middle of the map below… labeled as Spruce Creek Cascades
Enhanced
USGS topo map
______ONE MILE______
Send questions and comments to dscott@TheMarbleSculptor.com