Fay Canyon

Easy level hike through Fay Canyon, which may lead to a waterfall at certain times of the year. There is also an arch that requires some rock scrambling and good maps to find.

Distance:            2-3 miles
Time:                     1-2 hours
Start:                     Parking lot on Boyton Pass Rd.
Difficulty:            Easy
Elevation Gain:  122 ft
Fee:     Free

Just outside parking area, there is a sign directing you to the correct path. This is a busy area with a lot of hikers.

The trail is partially shaded, but wearing sunscreen and bringing a lot of water is always advisable.

The trees were too inviting to pass up on a quick climb.

Apparently there is a nice arch about .6 miles into the trail that you can see if you take a side trail about a tenth of the mile and 200 ft elevation gain. We ended up not taking this side trail, because it wasn’t obvious and we were going to hit it on the way back.

We came to what we assumed was the end of the trail and where the waterfall was supposed to be, but there wasn’t any water. We went past that point in the left canyon. Both canyons offer pretty good views back over the terrain from which you came. We went until the trail got pretty rough and then turned around.

On the way back, we heard a squealing noise from the bushes and when we went to investigate we saw a large bird attacking a very small animal. We believe it must have been a baby rabbit. The bird apparently was able to break through it’s underground lair and pull him out. We rescued the poor thing once, scared off the bird, put him back in his underground nest and tried to cover it somewhat but as soon as we started walking away again, the bird returned and started pulling stuff out of the hole to get back at it. We tried once more to secure the entrance without making it impossible for the mom to get back to the baby and hoped our efforts were good enough.

Because there wasn’t any water, and we missed the arch, and we felt really bad for this tiny creature my family didn’t love this hike. As one of the first hikes of our trip, I’m sure we’ll have a lot of better hikes to report on.