Canyoneer Ringpin Canyon Lake Mead National Recreation Area, AZ

Jan 30, 2021 — Ringpin Canyon is a cute little remote canyon on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, south of Lake Mead. Apparently it used to be a wet canyon, but it's completely full of gravel now. This resulted in a really easy introductory canyon experience, but it's quite pretty and worth the minimal effort, though it's not really a destination canyon by any means. That being said, there are no bolts at the rappels, so expect to build your own anchors. You can access Cranes Nest Wash Road by navigating here (35.94507416248944, -114.64520244512336) and following the gravel and sand to the trailhead. Mid-clearance required to avoid a couple of big rocks, but likely not 4WD.

From the parking area, we hiked up the road for a minute and continued up a side-drainage leading east. A couple of Class 2/2+ moves within the wash up small dryfalls brought us to a wide saddle. We dropped south into the drainage that would lead to the mouth of Ringpin Canyon. The walls became colorful and narrow and we encountered two short stemmy-downclimbs (one of which might be better rappelled for some parties). We came across the first true rappel, where we rebuilt a cairn anchor. After more pretty narrows, we came to the second and final rappel, which used a pinch point in the canyon wall. Both raps were short and straightforward, and we found ourselves at the Colorado River in no time.

There are a few options to complete this canyon. Since the rappels are so short, you could just set up handlines and return back up-canyon. Alternatively, you could likely just skirt the east bank of the Colorado River and head north to Cranes Nest Wash. At least from our rafts, the terrain seemed to be maximum Class 2/3, which is uncommon since the walls tend to be sheer cliffs in the Black Canyon. A fall would result in a three-foot drop into the river, so it's certainly not high-risk. It would likely not be a pleasant experience though, since the banks are loose and crumbly. The fun way, and honestly probably the highlight of the route in my opinon, woud be to bring inflatable rafts and paddle upstream back to Cranes Nest Wash. We felt ridiculous as actual kayakers passed our giggling selves as we paddled upstream with our stupid $25 floaties. Once at Cranes Nest Wash, we headed up the canyon back to our cars, a couple of short Class 2 obstacles along the way.