After being closed for seven years, we’re pleased to announce that access to Tatahatso Canyon and Tatahoysa Canyon off the Navajo Rim of Marble Canyon has reopened. The loop to descend Tatahatso Canyon involves some of the most beautiful scenery in Grand Canyon National Park and includes a stunning 7-mile packraft exit on the Colorado River. The loop is usually done over three days. Beta details are published in Grand […]
Dear Grand Canyon National Park,
The Coalition of American Canyoneers is a 501(c)(3) organization, with 2,000 members, focused on promoting and preserving access to canyoneering on public and private lands by building on a foundation of ACES: Access through Conservation, Education and Safety. Many […]
The Bonita Falls clean up has been postponed due to COVID-19. We will reschedule for a new date later this year or next year once the global pandemic simmers down. We hope you will be able to join the cleanup once a new date is announced.
Join the Coalition of American Canyoneers (CAC) in picking up trash around the Lytle Creek wash/ lower Bonita Falls area!
CAC will provide trash bags, […]
Conservation is at the heart of the Coalition of American Canyoneers’ mission to preserve and promote access to America’s canyons. The canyons are living systems; they are the metaphoric circulatory system of the planet.
We hope to highlight any threat to our canyons and through the power of our membership take action to facilitate the repair of any damage and provide a measure […]
Event flyer for the CAC Stoney Point Cleanup on February 23, 2019. The cleanup will begin at 8am. CAC will provide pizza and water; please bring your own reusable water bottle to fill. Cleanup participants and new CAC members will receive a complementary CAC T-Shirt. Please RSVP your shirt size to Danielle Monroy at daniellemonroy@msn.com.
On Saturday, September 8th, the Coalition of American Canyoneers hosted a conservation project at Sundance Canyon in the West Clear Creek Wilderness area of the Coconino National Forest, AZ. Unable to use the CAC’s portable pressure washer within a wilderness area we removed the graffiti the old fashioned way with elbow grease.
A group of twelve awesome volunteers hiked into […]
On April 8th, 2018 the first SoCal Spring Round-up kicked off with nearly 100 canyoneers, sunshine, and a sampling of SoCal’s best canyons. The SoCal community made a strong showing and others even traveled from Norcal (Northern California), Utah, Nevada, and Oregon to partake in the fun! The event was hosted at Bonita Ranch Campgrounds in San Bernardino, California and included a […]
On Saturday, July 29th, the Coalition of American Canyoneers (CAC) held a conservation project at Monkeyface Falls in Southern California. As part of this effort, 31 volunteers removed trash and graffiti from both the canyon and surrounding area. We were able to use the CAC’s portable pressure washer to remove nearly every trace of the canyon’s graffiti. […]
The Coalition of American Canyoneers was asked by Capitol Reef National Park to consult on anchors in Cassidy Arch Canyon. This canyon has seen a tremendous increase in canyoneering activity over the past couple of years. The traditional first anchor was off of a tree above the arch on canyon left. The tree is showing signs of […]
On Saturday, March 19th, the Coalition of American Canyoneers and the BLM joined forces on a clean up of the Sandthrax campground in the North Wash area of Utah. Twenty-five (25) CAC members and volunteers helped in the effort. Fire rings were placed in non-flood plane areas, a registry box added and a new kiosk sign was installed. After a […]
Capitol Reef National Park encompasses nearly a quarter million acres of slickrock and mixed desert terrain over a 100 mile long expanse called the Waterpocket Fold. The monocline layers through which many of the parks canyons travel provide the canyoneer with a unique opportunity to encounter geology in reverse. Elsewhere, canyons in Capitol Reef are a showcase of majestic, soaring red Wingate walls, with their characteristic cracked and pocketed erosional […]
Three separate service projects were run by the Coalition of American Canyoneers (CAC) this President’s Day weekend, two within Death Valley National Park and one nearby. Kirk led 14 folks into Golden Canyon for a trash and poop clean-up. CAC supplied the trash liners and gloves and folks went after it. When it was finished, the results were a surprise. The […]
In conjunction with Death Valley National Park (DVNP), the Coalition of American Canyoneers (CAC) is planning two public service projects: one on Saturday, February 14th and one on Sunday, February 15th. A third project, outside of the park, will occur throughout the entire President’s Day weekend.
On Saturday morning, February 14th, the plan is to hike this […]
The Coalition of American Canyoneers (CAC) continues to grow, with membership more than doubling this year. We now have over 850 members! Thanks to all of you for joining and welcome to our new members! When dealing with issues like the Eaton Canyon closure in Southern California, or the recent winter shutdown of Kelly Point access in Grand Canyon, the power of […]
On Saturday, April 5th, 2014 CAC volunteers assisted the BLM in service projects in Robbers Roost. The projects were planned by the BLM Henry Mountains Field Station with the CAC organizing the volunteer side of the project. The CAC volunteers were from Utah and Colorado.
One project involved cleaning up the Granary Springs campsite, including disassembling and removing two old wooden structures that […]
Another unpublished canyon in the Matkat system is one we named Dump Truck. It’s the east Sinyella Fault arm of the big east tributary arm of Matkat. It was named Dump Truck because the exit was so huge spilling out into the east arm of Matkat in […]
If Olo Canyon is the crown jewel under Great Thumb Mesa, then Panameta Canyon might be considered the Hope Diamond. It has some of the prettiest and tightest Redwall narrows anywhere in Grand Canyon with fluting similar to that seen in some softer rock sandstone slots.
The Colorado Plateau is filled with slot canyons. The […]
Great Thumb Mesa carves a 20 mile arc north into Grand Canyon. It originates on the South Rim about 20 miles northwest of Grand Canyon village. Royal Arch Creek (AKA Elves Chasm) is on the far east side at river mile 118 and Havasu Creek is on the far west side at river mile 157. The Colorado River makes a huge sinuous detour […]
Matkat is a big canyon complex tucked deeply into the West side of Great Thumb Mesa. It is the only way to get from the river level to the Esplanade for 20 river miles in either direction. We passed the exit of this slot climbing up Matkat at least six times before I walked […]
Grand Canyon river runners know Matkatamiba Canyon well (AKA Matkat). More recently, technical canyoneers visit via 150 Mile Canyon. But to backpackers it’s a mystery. How would you get there? The way to Matkat isn’t easy, but the fastest route is off Great Thumb Mesa southeast of Towago Point. No matter how get there, the slot in the Muav […]
