Box Canyon is a short, shady and beautiful family hike near the Josie Morris cabin in Dinosaur National Monument. It leads into a lush, green box canyon with towering walls. The main trail is less than a half-mile one way, but you can hike up improvised foot trails into the boulders. Another parent I spoke with described the hike as an "easy win" for families traveling with small children. I found several wildflowers in late May. Throughout the canyon are a number of cottonwood trees and sumac bushes, which made me suspect it would be a nice hike in autumn for a bit of fall color; rangers confirmed that.
Directions • The trailhead is at the Josie Morris cabin, on the Utah side of Dinosaur National Monument. From the monument's west entry, go east 8.1 miles on Cub Creek Road (State Road 149) to Josie Ranch Road, which is to the north. Turn north and travel 1.7 miles east and north to the parking lot at the end of the road.
Hike • From the parking lot, go north behind the bathrooms and into the cottonwood trees. The trail is well-maintained and flat for about a third of a mile. Then footpaths spider up into the canyon walls. I went north up along the west-facing slope of the canyon, turning back after about a half-mile. The views above and below are dramatic and the climbing was fun for my 4-year-old. We saw daisies, cactus and wallflower in bloom.
Destination: Canyon
Hiking time • 1 hour
Round-trip miles • 1 mile
Elevation gain • 300 feet
Difficulty • Easy to moderate
Trailhead restrooms • Yes
Dogs allowed • No
Bikes allowed • n/a
Fees • $20 per car
Digital map available at https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oEDyTIzTAWaCXLDgMYD86vC5NRk&usp;=sharing.
— Erin Alberty
