Sundance Trail to Dark Canyon is a 4.3 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Blanding, Utah and is rated as difficult. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is best used from April until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
hiking
DOG OWNERS BEWARE! This is an amazing trail for backpacking but I really regret bringing my dogs. There were some dogs on the trail that seemed to do okay but their paws must have been well conditioned for the desert (we live in Colorado and my dogs paws were only used to shaded mountain hiking). The slope into the canyon is a steep hike with a lot of rock scrambles and loose rock and getting my very athletic dog to the bottom was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. His pads were sliced up and bloody by the time we got down and it took a few days of rest and healing before he could stand up and make it out of the canyon.
Unless your dog is very used to these conditions or wearing booties I would recommend leaving the pups at home. Again some dogs out there appeared to be okay but if you're questioning how your dog will do I'd suggest leaving them behind or going somewhere else. But for humans........amazing and challenging hike!
Stunning !!!! very challenging! have to go back
We just make it this weekend, it's very beautiful and hard. The trailhead marked here actually is about 1.5-2 miles to the parking lot. And the road from freeway to parking lot is a bit tough, SUV is recommended, although I see several full size cars also make it, I won't try that. There are several good camping sites down in the canyon. We cannot make it to the Colorado river nor Young Canyon, it will take some time to look for the best trail, be prepared for that.