| Name: | Juniper Gulch |
| Type: | Out and Back |
| Trailhead: | Juniper Gulch Trailhead |
| Map: | Download GPX |
| Round Trip Length: | 4 miles |
| Time: | 2 hours |
| Nearest Major City: | Marsing, ID |
| Best time of year: | May – June |
| Elevation Gain: | 1518 ft |
| Highest Point: | 4675 ft |
From Boise to the National Parks of Southern Utah is a hell of a drive. The closest park is Canyonlands which is nine grueling hours away. What if I told you, there was a similar area that was only 2.5 hours away from Boise? For only five payments of $19.95, you too can have the Utah experience in your backyard…Wait that’s not right, sorry I’ve seen an excessive amount of late night infomercials. Where were we? Oh right, finding a desert oasis similar to The Mighty Five closer to the City of Trees. Enter Juniper Gulch in the Honeycomb Wilderness near Jordan Valley, Oregon.
Like Russian nesting dolls, Juniper Gulch along with several other ravines lies inside an area of the Honeycomb Wilderness called Leslie Gulch. Hiking Juniper Gulch will bring you through dense vegetation, under massive rock overhangs and eventually climbing up into a Sahara-like combination of sand and sun surrounded by rock formations that look like explosions suspended in time.
Juniper Gulch Trailhead
Recall those country songs about longing for carelessly cruising down backcountry gravel roads. You better channel your inner country music artist because getting to the Juniper Gulch Trailhead requires more than an hour of unpaved road travel. Don’t let that deter you, though. It is easy to navigate, well signed, and does not require 4-wheel drive. One caveat though. Do not attempt to do this hike if it has rained or if any moisture is in the forecast. Flash Floods are common in the ravine and are the stuff of nightmares. I’d rather fist fight a grizzly than get caught in a Flash Flood. Luckily, this wet danger is easily avoidable by just paying attention to the weather forecast. Clear skies and you have a greenlit for adventure.
After about 45 minutes on the unpaved road, you will come to your first glimpse of Leslie Gulch. Drive through the metal gates and descend into the gorge and be smacked in the face by towering stone spires that seem to come out of nowhere. It’s reminiscent of coming out of the tunnel when driving into Zion National Park. The giant boulders make you feel like a grain of sand in comparison.
Wind through the canyon, and you’ll soon come to the Juniper Gulch trailhead which is well marked. There is a restroom across from where you’ll park.
Juniper Gulch Trail
None of the trails in the Honeycomb Wilderness are maintained. Remember this as you go along. The path will bob and weave due to animals and people being redirected by natural obstructions like overgrowth and rock slides. It helps to have a GPS. Even then you’ll still probably take a wrong turn and have to backtrack to the previous fork. Luckily due to the nature of a gulch, you’re boxed in on two sides so getting lost isn’t a huge concern.
From the parking, look for a small opening in the brush. The start of the trail looks like a dry stream bed. I’d recommend wearing long pants for the first half of the hike. There is a lot of underbrush that you’ll have to bushwhack past.
The first 30 minutes of the hike will be an even split of traipsing through vegetation and swerving under and over giant slabs of rock. Enjoy the shade while you can. Once you start to gain elevation, you’ll wish you had savored the cool shadows.
Before you start climbing, you’ll come to a significant fork in the trail. The divisions eventually meet back up at the end but going left is way more comfortable. The left path widens out sooner and is pretty much a straight shot to the end, compared to the winding up and down of the right divide.
Halfway through the hike, you’ll have a short but steep climb to get off the canyon floor. Once the trail evens out, you’ll be in the heart of Leslie Gulch. Enjoy the 360-degree circle of views then continue the walk towards the mountain of yellow stone.
Take notice of the slow transition as plants begin to turn from lush and overflowing to hardened desert flowers. As you approach the end of the trail, you’ll get the best example of the Honeycombs. You’ll see caves dotted all over the massive lava rocks. It looks like what would happen if Al Capone tried to carve a sculpture with a Tommy gun.
If you continue straight on the trail, a large rock wall will block your path. You have a couple of options here. You can climb up the front, which is doable but not ideal when trying to drag a dog along. You can head back the way you came on for about 500 feet and take a side path to the left wall. From here, you can keep going up the trail or do a more accessible jaunt up the backside of the rocks for a beautiful view. At this point in the hike, the best views are behind you, so it’s an excellent spot to turn around and head back the way you came to the trailhead.
My Experience
I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this trail. I’ve wanted to explore this trail for a while and finally found a dry weekend to explore the area. I snagged one of the few remaining spots in Leslie Gulch Campground, set up camp and headed back out with my dog, Kona. It wasn’t the early start I hoped for, but we had the trail to ourselves for most of the day. The scenery was almost identical to the Little City of Rocks, a hike we had done a year ago at around the same time. It was a little like deja-vu. The trail here was much more scarce, though. I had the trek mapped out on my Garmin GPS because I knew the trail didn’t have a specific endpoint and knowing my curiosity would get the best of me, I would keep going and going to see what was around the next turn until I was dangerously burned out. The GPS came in handy as I watched several couples take wrong turns to dead-end sections and have to retrace their steps.
The first half of the trail offered lots of shade in the morning. Kona took advantage of stopping and laying down in the cool shade of just about every cave we passed. Once we gained elevation, the view presented itself in ample open space. Hard to believe it would get better, but we still had some energy to burn, so we kept going. When we got to the rock wall, I contemplated the climb. It would have been fun if I wasn’t worried about Kona taking a tumble. I referenced the map and found a way around the backside. It was a super steep walk up to the top of the wall. Kona found it easier than I did, and was up in a flash, and immediately found another cave to relax in.
The view up top was good, but I don’t know if it could be considered better than a similar scene at the bottom. This area marked the end of my GPS Track. However, I noticed that down below the trail continued. We wandered up it for a little while, but the canyon walls started to enclose again. I figured I wouldn’t end up seeing anything more impressive than what I had already experienced so I decided to head back to camp for a sub sandwich and a celebratory cold can of Miller. It’s the champagne of beer, you know.
The next day we would explore another trail near Juniper Gulch called Timber Gulch.
To see more pictures from our hike in Juniper Gulch make sure to follow us on Instagram.
Trail Tips
- Start Early. Juniper Gulch heats up quickly
- Wear Sunscreen. Only parts of the trail are shaded
- Wear long Pants. The trail is overgrown in some areas and ticks and Poison Ivy may be present.
- Bring extra water. There are no streams to refill your water bottle.
- Watch Out for Rattlesnakes. Mostly in the summer time
- Bring a First-Aid Kit. There is no cell reception out here in case of emergencies
Chad can be summed up by his idea of a perfect day: Waking up early to watch the sunrise over the mountains, warm cup of coffee in hand then grabbing his camera and fly rod, hitting the trail to explore some uncharted territory followed by cold beers and campfire steaks. Chad is often joined on his adventures by his wife, Tori, and their dog, Kona.
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