FEBRUARY 2019 & NOVEMBER 2019
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
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| BLACK MAGIC CANYON |
Black Magic Canyon is a roughly 1.5-mile round-trip hike located just north of Shoshone, Idaho. This canyon is actually flooded with water during irrigation season, so you will only be able to hike it from roughly November through March. You can call the Wood River Canal Company for exact dates. I visited the area in February, hoping to hike the Gooding City of Rocks, but as that road was too snowy so I decided to try Black Magic Canyon. The road to Black Magic Canyon wasn't too bad, and looks like it would be fine for low-clearance vehicles. Though it can of course become impassable if wet.
As you can see, the canyon was covered in a light layer of snow while I was there. This made travel slow, as I couldn't always tell what was below the snow I was stepping on. There was a tiny bit of climbing required to get up some sections, but nothing too difficult. I really enjoyed this canyon as it reminded me a bit of the slot canyons in southern Utah. The difference being this canyon had black walls of volcanic rock, instead of the reddish sandstone of southern Utah. I will definitely need to come back some time when there isn't snow to see the rocks in more detail.
As the canyon was covered in snow the first time I visited in February, 2019, I returned the following November to see how it would look dry. It was much easier going the second time being able to clearly see what you were stepping on, and being able to get a better grip on the rocks when you needed to climb. On the second trip I also had the place all to myself.
