Hiking ~ Glen Canyon ~ Colorado River ~
Hike Overview
The Ropes Trail is a challenging out-and-back hike near Page, Arizona that descends from the top of Glen Canyon through exposed slickrock and down the 700 foot high cliff to the Colorado River. The route requires advanced route-finding, steep scrambling and class 5 climbing moves with height exposure; there is no signage, and the Park Service does not maintain the route, so only experienced hikers should attempt this descent.
Type of Hike : Out and Back
Length: 4×4 Approach = 0.75 miles ~ Hiking approach = 3.5 Miles round trip
Difficulty: Hard
Terrain: Slickrock Sandstone and vertical cliffs
Elevation Gain: 750 feet one way ~ 1500 feet total
Dog Friendly: No
Park Pass/Permit Required: National Parks or Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Pass
The Ropes Trail Approach and Description
Closer to a rock climb than a hike, this 5 star adventure takes you down a weakness in the sheer seven hundred foot wall of Glen Canyon to the emerald waters of the Colorado River. Only very experienced hikers should attempt this route! Bring loads of water, be prepared for difficult route finding, 5th class climbing moves and extreme temperatures. If you die it’s your own fault.
The 4×4 Approach
Take the dirt road past the Beehive Campground across from the Wahweap South Entrance and wrap around the Beehives (aka The New Wave) bearing left at the Ferry Swale/Dead Dog fork. Bounce over some sandstone washboard and then rally up a sand dune to a really cool amphitheater cavern. About a quarter mile past the cave you will take a left at a very soft, sandy intersection and then an immediate right towards the Electrical Substation. Keep the substation on your left and continue for another quarter of a mile. Park when you get to the edge of the sandstone escarpments on the same layer as the electrical transformers. There is a road that continues beyond but it is extreme and not worth the beating your vehicle will take.
The Hiking Approach
If you don’t have a 4×4, park at the Beehive Campground located just off of Highway 89, a quarter of a mile north of Glen Canyon Dam. Hike through the draw to the left (south) of the Beehives /The New Wave mesa. The trail will be lined with stones for the first half and then will be unmarked sand until you cut the dirt road at the end of the mesas. Use the above, 4×4 description, from there.
Finding the Top of the Route
There is no signage for this hike and in fact the Park Service will adamantly advise you not to do it. One of the most difficult parts of this hike is finding it. All the slick rock looks the same, but I will do my best to point you in the right direction. Hike upstream from the parking spot at the electrical transformers/poles on the same sandstone layer you are parked on, resisting the urge to go down to the edge of the canyon for about four hundred yards. You will be looking for a scooped out half bowl feature with a rusted iron stake stuck in its belly.
Hike past the rusted steak and slide down a smooth, scooped saddle with another steak in it. Once you leave the saddle head downstream past a blob of sandstone with a hole through it’s base. I like to call it the “Holey Blob”.
From the Holey Blob, look down and towards the cliff edge for two more rusted stakes. Once you have located these two steaks you are golden. You will be at the top of your first 5th class scramble down a body wide crevice.
There will be an exposed section after this chimney that leads to a second body wide chimney.
A short scramble through some talus will get you to the “Halfway Cave”, this is a great place for a break while you try and find the faint petroglyphs that adorn the walls of the cavern.
A couple hundred yards down some easy slick rock you will arrive at the crux of the route. A sixty foot slab of steep, slick sandstone protected by a hand rope. The 5th class moves are never really that hard but for those not used to heights and the slippery nature of the rock, this section can be intimidating. Most people don’t put their weight on the rope and let it slide through their hand as they climb the ledges with the grain of the rock, traversing down and in the upstream direction.
Once you have gotten to the bottom of the talus slope, turn upstream and walk for a third of a mile. When the bathroom outhouse comes into view there will be a twenty foot steep section to downclimb to flat sand. The campground is just beyond and the petroglyphs are to the left of the bathroom as you look upstream. The trail continues up river towards the dam for another half mile providing access to private spots for fishing and relaxing.
