Little Wild Horse Canyon, San Rafael Swell

We're thinking of heading to Utah the 1st week of April. Little Wild Horse Canyon looks appealing. Does anyone have any information on the area and the best time to photograph? Thanks

James, it's a cool place!! I've been there three times I think, and am most likely going to be there again about the same time as you (Mar 29-Apr 2). I'm not sure I can give any great photo advice, especially about times to shoot, as every time we've gone, it's been basically a day hike, not a specific photo op. That being said, I still took lots of photos! This time of year though I'd say late morning might be best. The sun does start to get high enough around now that it can get directly into the canyon, and be just too contrasty. I'd say one of the toughest things about shooting in there would be setting up a shot, and having another hiker need to get past you! Some spots that can be very difficult! The shot I posted above proves that! I had to move at least three times while working on that image!

I've only really been about a mile into the canyon myself, but would love to do the entire Little Wild Horse/Bell canyon loop. Usually stop too many times to take pictures and video though to get too far! Maybe this next time!

As far as the surrounding area, there are lots of other great opportunities. Of course, Goblin Valley is great, a nice spot for sunset after a day hike in Little Wild Horse. You could drive west through the San Rafael Swell also, some neat stuff back there. I'd really like to camp back there next time also. Speaking of camping, you can either camp at the Goblin Valley campground, or better yet, we always just find a side road back near the Little Wild Horse trailhead to camp. That's a lot more fun anyway.

OK, enough from me. Good luck, and I'm sure you'll have fun! Let us know how it goes! Here's a link to a few LWH images I've taken over the years: Little Wild Horse

I highly recommend doing the Little Wild Horse / Bell Canyon loop that Brent mentioned.

I've been to Little Wild Horse twice, Brent is right about tripod placement, most of the canyon is very narrow. The first time I went there was on a weekend in February and there were a lot of people going through the canyon, including 3 Boy Scout troops and it was almost impossible to take photos. I went back this last January on a weekday and spent 4 hours in the canyon by myself, so hit it on a weekday if possible.

Another nice spot in the area that is infrequently visited is Horseshoe canyon, part of Canyonlands NP [URL]http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/horseshoecanyon.htm{/URL]
The petroglyphs there are awesome. The canyon tends N-S and the great gallery is on the west wall, so mid morning is probably best. Also the gallery is 1-2 miles in so allow an hour or two to get there from the trailhead.

Have fun!

Thanks for your feedback. We will be there during weekdays, hopefully the weather will be good for the trip.

I've been through Little Wildhorse a few times. It's one of my favorite slot canyons in all of Utah. There are some very tight squeezes and the light in the slots is usually best around mid-day. Depending on how far you intend to go you might plan to do a little shallow wading (if the water isn't frozen this time of year). Some of the pools you are able to stem over while others are too wide. I'm attaching a photo of one pool found in the third slot section that seems to always be there. We stemmed up and over but the next pool resulted in a shallow (knee deep) wade.

Have a great time while you're there, James!

If you have some time you may also want to check Crack Canyon which in my opinion is more photogenic.

Here's my favorite from Little Wild Horse:

http://scenicwild.com/sw/gallery/image.jsp?iid=dc000298

Guy