These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
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Cathedral Wash Trail near Marble Canyon, Arizona has been on our radar since our last trip to White Pocket. It is a short canyon but super exciting and beautiful. This trail is the combination of hiking and scrambling with many sections where you’ll need to find the best routes down 30ft dry falls and tall ledges. It sounds intimidating but if you know where to go, it’s not that bad. We found the scrambling sections the highlight of our hike. And the payoff is huge! Not only you be rewarding with a drop-dead gorgeous slot canyon, but you’ll also get to see the impressive Colorado River. Cathedral Wash Trail has the best bang for your buck!
Cathedral Wash Hike Trailhead
Lees Ferry Rd, Marble Canyon, AZ 86036
36.833790, -111.640163
Small parking area on the side of the road.
The Cathedral Wash Trail is located inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which charges an entrance fee. At time of writing, the single vehicle fee is $30. If you already have an interagency/National Parks pass, you can use it here. More options and info here.
You can pay the fee / buy your pass at an automated machine on Lee’s Ferry Road, which takes credit card and cash.
3.3 miles R.T.
300 ft
Moderate to difficult. This trail has tons of scrambling and some exposure, which can be difficult for some people.
Takes average 2-3 hours
Since this is the desert, the best times to hike this trail are October through May when the weather is cooler.
DO NOT HIKE IF THERE’S RAIN IN THE FORECAST! This is a slot canyon, so you’ll get flashflood.
There are no restrooms on this hike.
According to the park’s website, pets are NOT allowed on the portion of Cathedral Wash between the road and the Colorado River, which is pretty much this trail. Honestly, we don’t recommend bring your pups on this hike regardless
Cathedral Wash Trail is located inside Lees Ferry, a part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, near Marble Canyon, Arizona. It is about 40 miles from Page, AZ. To get here from Page:
After parking, we excitedly followed the trail signage toward a small dirt path on the same side of the parking lot. This dirt path led to the small tunnel underneath the road. We walked through the tunnel to cross over to the other side of the road. This is where the Cathedral Wash Trail officially starts.
The first section of the Cathedral Wash Trail is pretty, but it is quite similar to the White Owl Canyon that we did near Las Vegas. In the beginning, the trail follows along the sandy wash. As we hiked further, the canyon walls slowly rose around us. The scenery also became more and more beautiful. We loved the way the walls curved and bent as they ran along the canyon. We also loved all the interesting colors and textures of the walls. They are quite different from the smooth walls of the Antelope Ridge, the slot canyon where we did our Via Ferrata in Page.
Along the way, there are some scrambling and down-climbing. These sections aren’t too technical. They usually can be bypassed by going either right or left, depending on what works for you. We found many ledges on these sections that we can use to climb down more easily.
About 1 mile in, we came upon the biggest obstacle of the Cathedral Wash Trail, a 30ft dry waterfall. It is quite steep and looks very intimidating. At first, we weren’t sure if we could actually make our way down. Luckily, Megan spotted some steps along the ledges on the right-hand side. I also remember reading something about going right. So yes, when you’re facing down the dry waterfall, go toward the right side of the canyon, all the way near the canyon wall. When you get closer, you’ll see a series of steps in the rock where you can safely make your way down to the ledge below. If you have shorter friends, you might want to give them a hand at the end.
After getting down to the bottom ledge, we made our way under a rocky overhang and kept going further until we found smaller ledges that allowed us to climb to the bottom of the canyon safely. We love how there are many ways to do this. It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure kind of way. If you find yourself at drops that are too steep, don’t be afraid to backtrack and try a different route. In certain areas, previous hikers piled up rocks so you can use them as steps down. They were quite helpful.
Once we got to the bottom of the canyon, we continued on our hike. At this point, Cathedral Wash Trail becomes even more spectacular and exciting. There are tons of overhanging rock walls, fun ledges, and potholes. It was so beautiful that we kept stopping to take photos and videos.
After the first dry falls, there were a few more along the trail, although none was as intimidating as the first one. Under some of these downclimbs, there are puddles of water. We tried to go either right or left to avoid getting into the water. If there is a lot of water here, we can see how this trail can get more challenging. For these downclimbs, you can choose whichever way that works for you. This is the best part about Cathedral Wash Trail.
Sometimes we found that the best route is to backtrack and climb up on the ledges instead of keep going on the canyon floor. We also noticed that on a certain section, if we stayed along the ledges longer, we could find an easier route to climb back down. Again, this is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of hike, so you choose what is best to your ability.
Eventually, we got back down to the sandy wash. We could also see the canyon widening up. The canyon floor also becomes rockier. After some more scrambling, we made our way to the Colorado River. It was such a beautiful spot for a quick snack break before we headed back. The sound of the river was very soothing. The water was very brisk but refreshing. Although, since there were a lot of rapid, it wasn’t as calm was the water we saw at Gold Strike Hot Springs or Arizona Hot Springs. Maybe because of the rapids but when we were here, we saw a bunch of white water rafters floating a lot. That looks so much fun. We might do that next time we have a chance.
When we were done, we returned the same way. The way back, even though uphill, was a lot easier. It was because we could see all the hand and foot holds on the way up. They were harder to see on the downclimb. And for some reason, climbing up is always easier than climbing down. One thing to note, once you get to the narrow canyon area, make sure to follow the cairns on the right-hand side to climb up the ledges and stay there. It will help you from backtracking! By the way, due to flash flood, the cairns might not be there when you visit.
Cathedral Wash was such a fun and beautiful trail. We were so glad we finally got to do it. If you’re visiting Page, we highly recommend hiking this trail. If you love slot canyons, another one around the area is the Buckskin Gulch. That is one of the longest slot canyons in the world. Since you’re in Lees Ferry, you’re not too far from the Cliff Dwellers House.
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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