On our third and final day of outdoor adventuring, we had narrowed our hiking plan down to one of two hikes: the Arizona Hot Spring Trail and the Gold Strike Canyon Trail. From everything I had read, Gold Strike was the more interesting trail, bit Arizona Hit Spring had a more beautiful end destination, an impressive natural hot spring (supposedly much nicer than the one in Gold Strike Canyon). I’ve always been more about the journey than the destination, so the choice was clear in my mind, and I don’t regret it even a little.

Tail of the Trail - The Stats for Gold Strike Canyon

Difficulty: Difficult
Time: 3-4 hours
Distance: 10km (round trip)
Elevation Gain: 447 metres
Season: October-May (closed the rest of the year

Be Prepared for a Hard Trail in Desert Conditions

We start off at the trail head near a large desert parking lot with lots of spaces for hikers. The map of the area warns you to drink your water and consume electrolytes every 10 minutes as you hike to prevent dehydration, rather than guzzling it when you feel thirsty. Sound advice for any desert hike. It even recommends dunking in the Colorado River at the end to cool off before hiking back up. Sunscreen, or layers of sun-protecting clothes are also a must. I would also recommend starting as early in the morning as you can so you get as much shade as possible in the earlier parts of the hike, to help prevent heat exhaustion. We started just before 8am and were glad that we did.

At first the trail is easy enough, and manageable by anyone of any fitness level. A walk in the park, so to speak, but one that might mislead people who are ill-prepared for the rigours of the trail that come later on. I saw lots of people come down who lack the appropriate, fitness, footwear, and/or clothing for such a hike. I would also suggest having a basic hiker first aid kit too. Do not underestimate this hike! Be ready for it. It is famously beautiful, which is why people give it a try anyway, despite lack of preparedness.

An Unparalleled Descent into Beauty

You start at the top of the canyon, travelling under the highway bridge, and hike down through it toward the Colorado River Every step of the way you are faced with the varying features of impressive, imposing beauty of the canyon’s towering rock formations as you descend deeper and deeper toward the valley. Every level change makes you feel that much smaller in relation to the rock faces that loom over you.

Safety Ropes and Spray-Painted Arrows

As the trail decline becomes more aggressive, you’ll find yourself picking your way down boulders, even scrambling a little to get down to the next level. At first, the safest paths are obvious, but are less obvious in other places. Some trail samaritans spray-painted arrows on the boulders to guide people unfamiliar with the trail, which is definitely helpful.

Later, the safety ropes tied into the rock, some with ladders cut into the boulders even, make the path much clearer. Some boulders, you can just parkour your way over, but if there's a rope, you probably will need to use it. Even with the ropes, you still need a basic level of fitness and climbing ability to make your way down, and up again on return. Many of the roped sections are really the only practical way to follow the trail.

The trail gets busier after 10am too so you’ll find your pace will be slowed by the number of people going up and down the ropes, causing bottlenecking. The bottlenecking is made worse by people who end up requiring help because they are unable to make the climb on their own, or because they have dogs (wtf?!?) or children that can’t climb them unassisted.

Hot Spring Heaven

As you get closer to the bottom, you’ll see the first signs of the hot spring, steamy water trails trickling down the path. Eventually these become pools, some sand-bagged to make them more pleasant as dipping stations.

We decided to forge on to the river before stopping and were glad we did. Jumping into the frigid waters of the Colorado River was the perfect respite from the heat. We were also able to sit and appreciate views of a nearby highway bridge and see kayakers shoving off and continuing the journeys downriver.

Enjoying the Hot Spring

I was surprised at how nice it was, considering that comments I had read from other hikers suggested that it wasn’t nearly as nice as the one at the Arizona Hot Spring Trail. The one at Gold Strike was more than enough for me to enjoy the novelty of soaking on the trail. The largest, most impressive pool was at the bottom, featuring a small waterfall and two levels of pool above and below it. This is the one most people choose to use, but we decided to use a smaller one a little further up for the quieter, more contemplative experience. It also allows us to enjoy it without anyone else in the pool for a few minutes.

Hiking Back Up the Canyon

It’s in a lot of ways easier to hike up rather than down. The bottlenecking from the greater numbers of people made it slower though. Be sure to allow groups of people down, then take a turn going up with groups going up. This helps with everyone go up and down more quickly and efficiently. Use the pauses to rehydrate since you have to wait anyway.

If you started the trail in the morning, you’ll likely make it back to your car in the midday sun. Start your car, open all your windows and blast your A/C. Also, don’t be too quick to put on any metal sunglasses you may have left out in the car. Chris burned the side of his face with his, not realizing how hot they had gotten. And of course, rehydrate. It’s also a good idea to find a cool place to have lunch, especially if you’re planning to go back outside in the afternoon sun

Over to you: have you ever hiked the Gold Strike Canyon Trail near Boulder, Arizona? If so, what was your experience like? Please share your thoughts in the comments.