This Wildly Underrated Utah Hike Rivals Angels Landing's Breathtaking Views

Just when you think you're going nowhere fast up a dead end, you round a bend and an undulating, elliptical tunnel opens up before you, the slanting light playing shadows across striped pink and ochre walls. Suddenly, you're in a magical realm that seems not of this world. Are you the first tourist to take a hike on Mars or Venus? Nope — you've just stepped into Zebra Canyon, a hidden gem hike in Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that rivals Zion's famously scenic yet crowded Angels Landing for utterly unique scenery that will make you gasp in wonder.

In the Southwest's canyon country, not all of the vistas are grand and sweeping. Sometimes a walk through an intimate slot canyon can be just as awe-inspiring as the view from atop a high desert mesa. That's definitely the case when it comes to Zebra Canyon and Tunnel Slot. This hike can be done as a 6.6-mile lollipop loop by hiking all the way through Zebra Canyon and back down Tunnel Slot. But some hikers find they would rather hike it as a "Y"-shaped trail, hiking a shorter way up each canyon and then backtracking for a less arduous sampling of the scenery.

You may not enjoy the 8-mile drive to the trailhead over Hole-in-the-Rock Road as you're bumping along, waving away the dust (passenger cars can make the trip just fine in dry weather), but you'll appreciate the remoteness once you get here, as the unpaved access is one reason this hike remains relatively undiscovered. Grand Staircase-Escalante's 1.87 million acres are less developed than Utah's Mighty 5 National Parks, but the beneficial trade-off is more solitude for adventurous souls.

Starting out on this hike, most of your mileage to reach the canyons will be across open desert, so bring plenty of water in any season — at least a gallon — as the dry air can leave you parched even in winter. Bear in mind that the hike up Zebra Canyon is not for claustrophobic folks. You will enter a slot canyon littered with boulders well before reaching the main attraction, and some scrambling will be necessary. Trekking poles, even strapped to a daypack, would be a liability on this hike, so leave them behind. You may need to wade through a bit of standing water, too. All of these conditions render your normal hiking pace meaningless, so make sure to allot around 4 hours for the entire 6-ish mile journey.

Once you're inside, Zebra Canyon completely surrounds you in an intimate realm of natural beauty, resulting in a totally immersive experience that's powerful enough to rival any of Zion's grand vistas. Zebra may also remind you of the Wave, another swoopey, stripey canyon hike just across the border in Arizona. The Wave has become so wildly popular that your chances of winning the permit lottery aren't much better than winning a Powerball lottery. While it's smaller in scale, Zebra's joys are simply more concentrated but no less impressive, making this a good alternative adventure. The canyon is as short as it is photogenic, though, so take your time and don't hurry through it.

Tunnel Slot Canyon is so narrow in places that it appears to close overhead, hence the name. Its walls are stained dark from the passage of water, giving it such a glowering, dramatic appearance that you half-expect Indiana Jones to pop out of the entrance, cracking his bullwhip. Inside the canyon, you can expect to wade in water up to your waist at times; don't worry, as it can be quite a refreshing break from the desert heat. This is a good reason to bring or wear sturdy water shoes for wading (don't go barefoot) and leave the bulky packs behind before you enter.

Before embarking on a hike up this or any slot canyon, you absolutely must check the forecast, because a sudden summer thunderstorm can lead to heavy flooding, and it doesn't even have to be raining where you are for a flash flood to barrel down the canyon you're in. Stopping by the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center before your hike is the best way to get the most current information on weather, water levels, fire risks, and other local conditions that may affect your hike. Staff can also tip you off to the best free backcountry campsites in the monument, so you can sleep out under the stars, dreaming of other planets to visit someday.