No Thoroughfare Canyon runs 8.5 miles from Rim Rock Road to Little Park Road along the Monument’s south boundary. A maintained trail leads 2 miles in to a seasonal waterfall, where a primitive route continues another mile to a second waterfall. Strenuous cross-country travel resumes up-canyon to its terminus on Little Park Road.

Collared lizard tails do not regrow like many other lizard species

The No Thoroughfare Canyon Trail runs through pinyon-juniper flats before narrowing into the canyon

Purple Fruited Prickly Pear Cactus bloom May-June and produce fruit by late July

Purple Fruited Prickly Pear Cactus produce a very sweet, edible fruit also favored by coyote

Potholes in non-porous gneiss hold water for extended periods and are essential to desert life

Quail, rabbit, lizards, snakes and coyote are common in the sage flats at the mouth of the canyon

Cottonwoods are related to poplars and aspens, and share the same shaking, shimmering leaves

Cross-country travel in the diversely vegetated washes of No Thoroughfare Canyon

Views extend out to the Grand Valley from the top of the first waterfall

Cottonwoods ring the first waterfall's drop pool

Rock features at the mouth of the canyon resemble the Book Cliffs, a 200 mile long range that runs from De Beque Canyon to Price Canyon

The 'First Pool', located just over a mile from the Devils Kitchen Trailhead

A brief reprieve between the first waterfall climb and a thick stretch of head-high willows