This canyon makes you work hard for its awesome views. After driving south from Escalante down 50 miles of unpaved road, visitors must hike about 10 miles along an unmarked route to reach the rim of the Glen Canyon Area, where Reflection Canyon, an extension of Lake Powell, is tucked away. The area is so remote that it wasn’t widely known until as recently as 2006, when National Geographic published photos of it by Michael Melford. There isn’t any water along the hike, nor is there a reliable way down to the lake once you’ve arrived. The hike can be done in a day but it’s best to camp above the canyon, especially to catch the sunset and sunrise.
Reflection Canyon is a remote viewpoint of Lake Powell. I decided to go close to the winter solstice since the rising sun would be aligned with the canyon. However, it’s not easy to get there in the winter. Most photographers hire a boat to get here, but that’s not an option in the winter. First, I had to drive nearly 60 miles on a snowy/muddy Hole-In-The-Rock Road. From there, it was a 9-mile cross-country backpacking jaunt with a lot of washes to cross. Since I did most of the hike in the dark, I know I didn’t go the most efficient route. The next morning it was cloudy and I got some great shots of the canyon (I’ll share those later on). But since I didn’t get the sunburst I had hoped for, I stayed one more night and was treated to clear skies the next morning.
Kane County Office of Tourism
