Leprechaun Canyon

Leprechaun is one of North Wash's beginner-to-intermediate technical slots, and one of its most photogenic. Three forks — East (Right), West (Left), and the very tight Middle — each drop through a handful of short rappels and sustained stemming, then converge into a spectacular shared lower gorge. There is also a non-technical bottom-up hike (2A) that walks into the lower narrows without ropes. It's dry most of the year, with the longest rappel around 50 feet, but the slots are narrow and flash-flood-prone: never enter with rain in the forecast.

Quick stats

ACA rating

3B II

Distance

4 mi

Time

3–6 hrs

Difficulty

Challenging

Rappels

to 50 ft

Rope

~132 ft

Permit

Required

Best months

March, April, May, October, November

The descent

Rappels. Longest rappel ~50 ft. East/Right Fork: first rappel ~50 ft off a natural anchor. West/Left Fork: an initial ~27 ft drop with no obvious anchor — the usual anchor is a wedged rock/chockstone in a pothole set back from the edge. Longest rappel across the system is ~50 ft in the East/Right Fork.

Water & swims. Generally little or no water unless right after rain — possibly wading, but likely no swimming.

Potholes. None flagged as mandatory/keeper in the sources.

Downclimbs. Multiple downclimbs and chockstone moves throughout.

Obstacles. Sustained stemming; silo squeeze (middle fork); chimneying (belfast boulevard side slot); chockstones.

Gear. Rope ~132 ft (Road Trip Ryan recommends a 40 m (~132 ft) rope to cover alternate rappels; a 30 m rope handles the standard drops.). Wetsuit: no. A wetsuit is generally not needed given little/no water; consider one only in cold conditions right after rain.

The Middle Fork's difficulty is sustained, very narrow stemming rather than rappelling — 'the tightest of all' near the end.

The forks

• East Fork (Right Fork) · 3B · longest rappel ~50 ft — First rappel ~50 ft off a natural anchor; final rappel ~33 ft. Tends to hold water after rain.
• West Fork (Left Fork) · 3B · longest rappel ~27 ft — Initial ~27 ft drop with no obvious anchor — usual anchor is a wedged rock/chockstone in a pothole set back from the edge.
• Middle Fork · 3B R- (RopeWiki: 3A II PG) · longest rappel ~25 ft — A ~20 ft low-angle rappel plus a ~14 ft drop; the real difficulty is sustained, very narrow stemming. RopeWiki: 'the final stretch is the tightest of all.'

Permits & access

Reserve your permit →

Permit required. Bureau of Land Management — Henry Mountains / Hanksville Field Office. System: self-issue (free). Fee: Free. Sources conflict: RopeWiki and Road Trip Ryan report a FREE self-issue permit (Garfield County / Bryce Canyon Country online), instituted because of high search-and-rescue volume; an older CanyoneeringUSA page says none is required. Treat it as a free self-issue permit and verify current status with the BLM Hanksville field office before your trip.

Shuttle. Optional — a car spot is generally unnecessary; the forks loop back on foot.

Approach. Off Highway 95 in North Wash, near Hanksville. Approaches to each fork are short.

Trailhead. North Wash / Highway 95 pullout — Park along Hwy 95 in North Wash; approaches to the Irish Canyons are short.

North Wash is remote — nearest services in Hanksville, and no cell coverage. Carry water; there is none reliable in the canyon.

When to go

Spring, fall, or winter are best; summers can be hot. Monsoon season (roughly July–September) is the highest flash-flood risk — do not enter with rain in the forecast.

Avoid: July, August, September.

Safety & hazards

Flash flooding (high). Narrow North Wash slots, flash-flood-prone. Monsoon (roughly July–September) is the highest risk; do not enter with rain in the forecast. You can see the sky from much of the route — use it.

Tight stemming (Middle Fork) (moderate). The Middle Fork is very narrow with sustained stemming; a fall or getting stuck in the squeeze is the main non-flood hazard.

Remote — no services (moderate). Remote North Wash with no cell service; the nearest help is in Hanksville. Carry water and self-rescue capability.

Sources & beta

Canyon conditions, permit rules, and flows change — verify against the current source and forecast before you commit.

• Leprechaun (bottom-up hike) — CanyoneeringUSA (Tom Jones): 2A II bottom-up hike, fork names, 'permit not required' (older).
• Leprechaun — Road Trip Ryan: 3B / Middle 3B R−, per-fork rappels and anchors, 40 m rope, free self-issue permit, flash-flood rating.
• Leprechaun Canyon (Middle Fork) — RopeWiki: Middle Fork 3A II PG, rappel count/heights, 'tightest of all', free permit note.
• North Wash Recreation Area — BLM: Land management, access.