The Canyonlands Backcountry Part III - Flint Trail & The Maze
- David Maiwald
- Oct 31, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Feb 9
Part III of the Canyonlands Backcountry Series
In this article:
The Maze
In the far southwest of Canyonlands National Park, cut off from the other districts by the rivers and miles of the park’s inaccessible backcountry, lies the Maze. The nearest highways in any direction are at least 60 km as the crow flies, and Hanksville, the nearest settlement, is a 140 km drive via a rough dirt road which will take you at least 6 hours to complete. The nearest ranger station and last outpost of civilization is the remote Hans Flat Ranger Station - a 50 km, 4 hour drive via the notorious Flint Trail. Due to its remoteness and inaccessibility the Maze district therefore is the least visited section of the park. Depending on where you are headed you will most likely encounter nobody else for several hours if not days. A truly unique experience that also needs thorough planning and preparation.
However, just like the other districts, the Maze has its very own unique character and offers some incredible views and unparalleled solitude. Much like most of the park’s backcountry, large parts of the Maze are situated on an intermediate plateau that lies several hundred meters below the rim of the Orange Cliffs to its west, separating it from the outside world. To its east, the Colorado River flows several hundred meters below, separating the Maze from the backcountry of the Needles district. In between is a surreal landscape of colorful mesas and buttes rising from a large network of narrow and intertwined canyons. Staying overnight at one of the 17 primitive campsites - just marked spots to pitch your tents, NO pit toilets - will be a once in a lifetime experience and a true wilderness adventure.
Driving along the Flint Trail to access one of the most remote regions in the U.S.
Hanksville is a small rural settlement roughly 200 km from Moab via Highway 191, I70, and Highway 24. Since I planned to stay here overnight I was able to take a quick detour and check out Goblin Valley State Park which was well worth the visit that afternoon. A strange and otherworldly landscape filled with hundreds of sandstone hoodoos. My actual backcountry adventure started the next morning after stocking up on food, water, and gas at the local Hollow Mountain convenience store. I also filled up an extra 5 gallon canister just to be on the safe side for the 300 km out-and-back adventure into one of the most remote and inaccessible sections of Canyonlands National Park that I had planned for the next two days.
Day 4 - Today’s route would take me roughly 150 km into the Maze district in the far southwestern portion of Canyonlands National Park with 72 km of unpaved roads and an additional 45 km of rough trails only suitable for high-clearance 4x4 vehicles. I generously added two hours to the five hours estimated by Google Maps and made sure to get started early enough in the morning in order to be able to make it to the Maze Overlook Campground before sunset. The first planned stop along the way would be the Hans Flat Ranger Station which is a 72 km and 2 hour drive via an unpaved road from Highway 24. This section was mostly uneventful and the roads are in good condition, leading through open range farmland and a seemingly endless prairie-like landscape. The only notable feature along the way is a vast colorful dune field about halfway to the ranger station - a place where I kicked off my shoes and went for a short walk in bare feet amongst the dunes.
The landscape slowly changed as I reached the ranger station with a sparse forest of Juniper trees lining the rim of the Orange Cliffs towards the east. This was the last opportunity to use a pit toilet outside the ranger station or stock up on basics inside the small store. I went inside to let the ranger who was on duty that day know that I’d be traveling to the Maze Overlook to stay there for a night. Since I already got my backcountry permit at the NPS backcountry office in Moab I was good to go. From here on out the road conditions changed immediately with the first rough patches starting right after the ranger station. However, most of the next 20 km were still in a comparatively good condition and relatively easy to drive, albeit at a slow pace. Several scenic overlooks along the rim of the Canyonlands basin were located right next to the road allowing for sweeping views all the way to the La Sal mountains located roughly 80 km out east. After another 2 hours I arrived at Flint Cove which marked the beginning of the notorious Flint Trail. Once again I was all alone in this beautiful desert country of southeastern Utah. In front of me nothing but pristine wilderness and the rugged valleys stretching out for miles and miles far below.
From the top of the Flint Trail Overlook I was able to scout ahead and see if there was anyone making their way up the narrow switchbacks for the next 5 km. An important precaution as the next section would be one of the most challenging parts of the entire journey. Navigating down the Orange Cliffs would sometimes require three point turns in order to steer around the narrow curves. Had there been any oncoming traffic the situation would have been extremely challenging to resolve. A couple of large rocks, sharp edges, and tight curves later I was back down in the basin several hundred meters below the rim of the Orange Cliffs which separated this isolated place from the outside world.
Believing that the hardest part was now behind me, and having been on the road for roughly five hours already, I continued to take on the final 20 km to the Maze Overlook. Much of the drive through the Elaterite Basin past steep canyon walls and numerous buttes was incredibly scenic and I stopped as often as I could to take in this beautiful scenery and experience that pure solitude with no other person around. However, as I got close to completing my sixth hour behind the wheel, I had crossed countless dry washes with steep and sometimes incredibly sharp edges that would prove challenging and tiring to traverse. By the time I reached the Maze Overlook Road some 8 km from the Maze Overlook Campground I realized that the road had gotten progressively worse and ever more difficult for the past few kilometers and I started to fear the worst for the final stretch ahead.
And this is exactly what happened - the final 8 km and one hour drive along the Maze Overlook Road had been the most exhausting and challenging of my entire week in the Canyonlands backcountry. About half way into the road - once I had reached the western National Park boundary - I even briefly considered giving up altogether. I was alone and had been on the road for almost seven hours by that time so my patience was wearing thin. However, after letting my exhaustion-induced emotions pass, I decided to keep going and to cautiously work my way forward meter by meter; stepping out of the Wrangler every hundred meters or so to scout ahead on foot for any major obstacles on the road. And finally, after more than seven hours and 150 km on some of the roughest roads that I have been on to
this day, I arrived at the Maze Overlook - all alone! And it was absolutely worth it - a place unlike anything else on this planet. Here I was not looking at some rugged canyon similar to the Grand Canyon, or at rock formations that look like those in the Monument Valley.
For me it was the combination of it all: the views from the Maze Overlook were spectacular in any direction with the twisted narrow slot-like canyons of the Maze below stretching out towards the east and south all the way to the horizon. Towards the north and west I could see the towering walls of the Orange Cliffs as well as the Island in the Sky glowing dramatically in the far distance. Beyond there were the Blue and La Sal mountains with massive storm clouds towering above them. And in between were countless mesas and rock spires rising from this desert landscape. I knew there was nobody else in that area and the last person I saw was the ranger at Hans Flat roughly 4 hours and 45 km ago. I was isolated in one of the most remote places of the United States, separated from the rest of the world by miles of pristine wilderness, rugged canyons, cliffs, mesas, and endless plains. I just sat there watching the landscape change its colors in the light of the setting sun. The storm clouds raced by in the far distance with the occasional rainbow appearing below them. Once the sun went down the moon rose above the distant storm clouds which were illuminated by countless lightning flashes. All of this was happening right in front of me yet everything was so peaceful and quiet. An experience so calming yet exhilarating that I hardly got any sleep that night. I got up many times to just watch the distant thunderstorms whilst surrounded by this absolute silence. Words just don’t do it any justice - you’ll have to see it for yourselves!
Day 5 - The next morning I was up very early just before sunrise. I was still alone and kept wondering about my way back - those steep drops, dry sandy washes, and sharp rocks. But I had enough time and by now I knew what to expect. Both excited and eager to go, yet not quite ready to leave this mysterious world behind, I started my way back to civilization. Today’s route would be the longest of my entire trip: roughly 9 hours to cover the almost 400 km in order to get from the Maze Overlook to the Needles Campground - two points that are less than 20 km apart as the crow flies. While the first 8 km along the Maze Overlook Road were still quite daunting and nerve-wracking I felt like the drive wasn’t nearly as tiring as the day before. I made good time traversing the Elaterite Basin which allowed for some breaks along the way - I did not feel quite ready yet to rush back to civilization!
However, there was one last challenge waiting at the far end of the basin - the climb up the canyonwall along the Flint Trail. I put my Wrangler into 4Lo, scouted ahead for any oncoming traffic and crept my way up the narrow switchbacks, stopping every now and then to step out and check which way to take across the large rocks and holes in the middle of the road. And then, two and a half hours from the Maze Overlook, I found myself back atop the cliffs in an entirely different world. One last look back into the depths of terra incognita and off I went towards Hans Flat. And right here, just before the ranger station, I encountered oncoming traffic for the very first time in nearly 20 hours - back in the rush of civilization.
Quick facts about the Maze district:
main roads: Flint Trail / Doll House Road / Queen Annes Bottom Road
campsites: 17 / Top Picks: Maze Overlook, Doll House, Chimney Rock
accessibility: extremely remote / long & partially very technical 4x4 drive to get there
good to know: no pit toilets at the campsites, bring WAG bags
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