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Soap Canyon - Marble Canyon
| Summary: |
A fairly easy route to the Colorado
River down the south fork of Soap Creek in the Marble Canyon area of the
Grand Canyon. |
| Directions: |
From Flagstaff drive north on Highway
89. Turn left on Highway 89A towards Jacob Lake and follow it over
the Navajo Bridge. Just past mile post 548 turn left on a well graded dirt
road at the sign for Soap Creek. Go through the gate and follow the brown
hiker signs 0.6 miles to the trail head and register. |
| Road
Conditions: |
Passenger Car |
| Navigation: |
Easy |
| Length: |
~4.5 miles |
| Date
Hiked: |
February, 2002 |
| Weather
Conditions: |
Cool and windy |
|
Required Skills: |
 |
| Hike
Description: |
From the trail register, head down
the most prominent sandy wash in front of you. The canyon begins as a wide
and sandy wash and is not terribly interesting. After about 15 minutes
you'll hit a series of drop offs (all of which are easily down climbed)
and the canyon deepens significantly. Shortly afterwards you'll reach a
spot where another canyon enters from the right, stay left and continue
down canyon. The going becomes slower as you have to negotiate some large
boulders that have fallen into the canyon from above until you reach a
dry fall and 25' drop off. It is possible to down climb this falls with
some exposure by inching around on a small ledge on the left until you
reach a point where you can climb down, however, most people will prefer
to bypass this section altogether. To avoid this section, reverse your
steps above the slick rock drops until you see a large tilted boulder on
canyon right (the right side of the canyon facing down stream). There is
a cairn and fairly well established trail that leads up and around on the
right allowing you to avoid the falls. Below the falls are a few more large
boulders to negotiate, then it's easy walking all the way to the Colorado
River. Along the way, you will pass a prominent canyon which enters from
the left (this is the north fork of Soap Creek), then, just before you
reach the river, you'll pass a small steel sign which welcomes you to Grand
Canyon National Park (permit required for overnight travel, firearms ground
fires and pets are prohibited). The river makes a nice spot for a snack.
When ready, return the way you came. |
| Rating
(1-5 stars): |
 
There is nothing terribly remarkable about this canyon,
but it's nice enough. There are no narrow sections (contrary to one trip
report of this canyon that I have read). The author climbed down the dry fall on
the way in and followed the path around when coming out. The hike was
completed in just under 4 hours. |
| Maps: |
Trails Illustrated - Grand Canyon
National Park |
| Books: |
Canyoneering Arizona
- Tyler Williams |
| Photos: |
Click picture for larger view,
click your browser's 'Back' button to return to this page. |
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| Looking upstream at the
Colorado. |
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