Buck Tank Draw and Birthday Arch
- 5.0 mi
- round trip
- 1,089 ft
- climb
- 4,999 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- Mar–May, Oct–Nov
- best months
Buck Tank Draw and Birthday Arch is a moderate hike of about 10 miles on a round-trip route, with roughly 1,090 feet of elevation gain. The trail starts at a low point of about 4,350 feet and climbs to a high point of about 5,000 feet on the State Trust Lands Big Water Block in Utah, managed by the State Land Board. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Big Water show October highs around 72°F with lows near 44°F, while July highs reach about 98°F. That station sits nearly 900 feet below the trail's high point, so temperatures up top run cooler. Climbers will find Ferengi Boulder and The Final Frontier about 2.7 miles away. White Rocks Canyon Trail and Judd Hollow are both hikes within about 5 miles.
Local outfitters
- Dixie's Lower Antelope Canyon Tours18 mi away
- Antelope Slot Canyon Tours18 mi away
Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.
Best time to go · Mar–May, Oct–Nov
Best time to visit Buck Tank Draw and Birthday Arch
Best months: March–May and October–November. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
45° / 23°
4 wet
Feb
52° / 28°
4 wet
Mar
62° / 35°
5 wet
Apr
71° / 41°
4 wet
May
81° / 49°
3 wet
Jun
93° / 59°
2 wet
Jul
98° / 67°
4 wet
Aug
95° / 65°
5 wet
Sep
87° / 56°
4 wet
Oct
72° / 44°
4 wet
Nov
57° / 32°
3 wet
Dec
45° / 25°
3 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Big Water, UT, 2 mi away at 4,100 ft. The station sits about 900 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive
Photo: bumeister1 — CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)White Rocks Trail
~8 min drive
2.10-mile out-and-back hike in Utah with 505 ft of elevation gain.
Photo: Stephen Edmonds, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)Skylight Arch Trails
~12 min drive
1.76-mile out-and-back hike in Utah with 1,048 ft gain.
Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)White House / Paria River Trail
~18 min drive
14.5-mile out-and-back hike on the Paria River Trail in Utah with 2,841 ft of elevation gain.
Photo: Capt' Gorgeous, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)Spencer Trail
~28 min drive
3.92-mile out-and-back hike in Arizona with 1,513 ft elevation gain.
Photo: Capt' Gorgeous, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)Historic District River Trail
~28 min drive
Throughout the 1800 and 1900s, Lees Ferry was backdrop to a mix of Westward expansion dreams and failed schemes. Because of its strategic location along the Colorado River, unlikely groups overlapped on these shores. Miners, traders, U.S. government scientist, Church elders,…
Photo: Stephen Edmonds, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)Stud Horse Trail Network
~13 min drive
2.16-mile out-and-back trail in Utah with 253 ft gain.
Photo: Stephen Edmonds, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)Wildcat Tank Path
~14 min drive
0.7-mile out-and-back trail in Arizona with 66 ft of elevation gain.
Photo: KMK Photo, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)Paria River Trail
~19 min drive
29.38-mile point-to-point hike in Arizona with 2,478 ft gain and 4,522 ft max elevation.
HIKE
Wahweap Hoodoos Trail
~11 min drive
5.18-mile out-and-back hike in Utah with 85 ft elevation gain.
Photo: Capt' Gorgeous, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)Spencer Trail
~28 min drive
Rough mule trail for hauling Charles G. Spencer’s gold mining supplies. Built 1910 Spencer’s mining machinery needed fuel. As the rest of the miners hauled equipment to Lees Ferry, two men spend the fall of 1910 building a trail up this sheer cliff to a coalmine at Warm Cree…
Also worth it near here
Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors
