Best Friends Animal Sanctuary has 40,000 some odd acres. So there’s bound to be some cool stuff there. One such place is Kanab Creek. Kanab Creek actually runs for miles and miles, but there is a really cool section just off the Best Friends parking lot.

To get there, turn into Best Friends off Hwy 89. There are two entrances about 2 miles apart. From Kanab up, go into the first entrance. From the south, go into the second entrance. Either way, it’s the entrance with the HUGE sign; the other one just boasts a small, state-issued one.

It’s about a mile in to the parking lot. Believe me, no one cares if you come in. In fact, take a tour after the hike. They run constantly and are free and you get to pet some animals. Who doesn’t love that!

The parking lot is on the left and there is always plenty of space so don’t worry that you’re taking up space. Once parked, walk up the road a little ways and you’ll see a trailhead on the right. There is no sign though. I doubt anyone will ask you what you are doing because employees hike here all the time and trainers even take dogs to the creek for fun.

Now, the trail is foot-made so it might disappear at times. Just be sure that when you get to the fork (it’ll be obvious; last time, there was a picnic table there), go left even though the creek is to the right. Go left. You’ll follow a quickly disappearing trail until you hit some black trees. I don’t know what’s up with the black trees except to say they’re creepy. At this point, there is no trail.

Go through the trees and you’ll see a creek. Kanab Creek, to be exact. Honestly, it’s nothing to write home about…until you start walking to the right.

Once you start heading right, very quickly you’ll see some rock structures around the creek. The water is super shallow here unless there has been rain so you can get in if you want.

The beginning of the “almost slot canyon.”

Keep walking right and it gets kind of cool. It’s nothing too big but if you’re in the area or volunteering at Best Friends, it’s definitely worth a look. It’s like seeing the Grand Canyon before it got all grand. SCIENCE!

Just think, a million years from now, this will be a slot canyon!

It’s cool because you can jump around and walk across broken trees and such. And the water is waist deep at the deepest, but mostly knee deep. We were all wearing jeans so we didn’t get in.

If you go left instead of right, you’ll find a more traditional creek. The water is super warm most of the year so if you want to cool off, go for it.

It was a little too far to jump from one side to the other, but I gave it serious thought.

Again, nothing major and not on any maps. Just something the locals and Best Friend employees know about.