Refrigerator Canyon

Directions

Trailhead

Take county road 280, otherwise known as York Road. At the York Bar, turn left onto a gravel road and head north about 8 miles to Nelson. At Nelson, turn right heading east toward Hogback Mountain approximately 5 miles. The trailhead sign is large and easily seen from the road. For those with horses, there is a roadside turnout here with a hitching rack, but you may need to go up the road a mile or so to turn around.  (From US Forest Service)

Trail Quality
The trail is well marked from the trailhead and decently groomed. The trail follows the creek all the way past the narrow canyon that named this hike.  For some of the time the creek runs over the the trail.  You can stay mostly try by walking on the rocks.  Past the canyon the trail starts to climb gently as far as I went, about 3 miles up.  Several trees have fallen over the trail but all were cleared away.  There were several spots along the trail were worn from erosion and horse traffic.  Caution the trail through the canyon may be impassable during peak runoff times in the spring.  Difficulty rating is easy. 
 
Overall Impression

Refrigerator Canyon

If you are into Geology, the drive to the trailhead will be interesting for you.  There are many spires and rock formations throughout the drive.  I liked the narrow canyon and walking along the creek.  The temperature is about 15 degrees cooler inside the canyon compared to in the shade outside it.  I was disappointed that the narrow part of the canyon was only about 100 feet long.  Still, the erosion from the creek was neat to see.  The canyon itself was only about a 1/4 mile up the trail.  Beyond the canyon the trail went through a mostly forested areas broken up by several open grassy areas.  There was evidence of lush wildflowers that would have been in bloom about a month before I hiked it.  There was not much to see past the canyon.  Overall, I enjoyed this hike but it seemed like a long way to drive for a 1/2 mile walk.  It seemed like more of a place to take a picnic with the family as opposed to hiking. 

Rating 5 out of 10