(updated fall 2019, fall 2020, winter 20/21, spring 2022, spring 2023, summer 2024, winter 2025)
These are organized section by section, east to west. Looking for sections 1-7? Looking for Hayduke Trail Tips?
Hayduke Section 8
Round Valley Draw is super cool but it is MUCH more difficult to hike north than it is south. I recommend having cord or rope for this, especially if you are alone. I managed with 1/8″ 800lb dyneema cord, which I always carry 50 feet of. If solo, chimneying DOWN after lowering your pack shouldn’t be too bad. Then you’re mostly set except one or more further smaller drops. If your ankles and knees are strong, you’ll be fine. This route can change yearly due to flooding, so my advice about lower obstacles could be wrong. All things said, there is a full bypass trail at right (West).
Cows v. Water
Take water from higher up in Hackberry because by the time you reach Cottonwood and Paria it will be very foul. COWS. Cows. Are you starting to sense a theme? Hate to harp on it but in case you didn’t know, cattle ranching and our love for burgers and steak are a huge factor in the destruction of our sacred outdoors, and our health. If anything, the Hayduke was a repeat lesson about how livestock affects ecosystems. Whereas these impacts are normally hidden from us (we tend to not live so remotely), a ramble of Utah should bring them front and center for you.
Anyway…
Yellow Mountain
Yellow Mountain is worth summiting. There’s trails approaching from the south and the West. It’s just a nice distraction with a great view.
If you are not summiting Yellow Mountain and like views and straighter lines, you can walk the road between Hackberry and Paria. I’ve done it both ways and honestly prefer the road. It has a nice surface and allows you to rubberneck for the views while walking. Rubberneck in Cottonwood wash and you’re likely to step in cow dung.
Paria River
The further north in the Paria you go, the better the water is. Water entering from side canyons is tasty. Keep an eye out for petroglyphs and cowboyglyphs along the Paria clear up to Willis Creek. Do not touch them, since skin oils will damage the art. Do not geotag them, either. More and more panels are being destroyed and stolen (chipped from the wall) as they get easier to find.
Side trips — such as a Bull Valley Gorge out-and-back or as an alt — are worthwhile.
The Willis Creek parking lot has no bathroom or trash but offers a great opportunity to hitch into Tropic with tourists. It’s not too far into town that it can’t be walked, though. I’ve done that.
Section 9
The Willis Creek road walk west is a bit creepy especially where there are ranches. Do not trespass to swim or to shortcut. Close the gates or cattle will get into Bryce (which is what some ranchers might be hoping). FYI there really really are cougars in the Bryce area, so don’t do the things that make you look yummy.
Bryce
If you do not have Bryce permits, there are incredible alts to explore such as the 78 mile-long Grand View Trail. It’s also worth it if you’ve never seen Bryce to hike into the park directly west out of Tropic, then south back to the official Hayduke.
Unfortunately after you leave Bryce you’re in for another slog in the deep sand, but “good news” is it’s mostly a road walk clear to the highway. Count your blessings if it is raining; it makes the sand so much easier to walk in, and the tall sage smells wonderful.
Buckskin Gulch
Buckskin Gulch had water Spring 2016 but was dry Fall 2017 so be ready to perhaps drink from muddy potholes lower in the gulch or yogi water near Stateline if desperate, at the parking lot or in the campground. If you wander the slickrock, you may find cleaner potholes than those in the gulch. But don’t wander if you are desperate. Stay close to the road and someone will come. Worst case there is a cow ditch (Adams Reservoir) with water in it between the parking lot and the campground. Bleach and/or filter and flavor it, close your eyes and plug your nose and…
The Wave
FWIW don’t poach The Wave. It’s on a permit system because of erosion. Rangers have deputized guides to issue tickets. It will be really obvious if you don’t have a permit just by looking at you, even from many yards away.
There is reliable tasty water 4 miles into section 10.
Section 10
I recommend getting your hands on the AZT water report for this section before/during your hike. Water is abundant in this section but finding it can be tricky. You’re looking for water aprons, mostly.
Jacob Lake staff is friendly and the cookies are locally famous, but Jacob Lake does not accept packages due to storage issues.
This might change in 2026 due to the 2025 Dragon Bravo fire. The GCNP North Rim Lodge and all other buildings burned to the ground. There are not enough tears to describe how incredibly sad all GCNP lovers are about this. No North Rim facilities means it will be very difficult to receive resupply packages in 2026+.
You can send mail “General Delivery” to South Rim or North Rim Grand Canyon.
Here’s an example of how to do that for the South Rim:
YOUR NAME, eta: date, e.g. May 15 2026
c/o General Delivery
100 Mather Business Ctr
Grand Canyon Village, AZ 86023
YOUR NAME, eta: date
c/o General Delivery
6225 N HWY 67
North Rim AZ 86052-9901
Empty your trash at Jacob Lake.
Plan your camping around the burned area south of Jacob Lake, especially if it is windy. Otherwise the trees will howl, you won’t have much wind block, and it’ll just be sorta creepy. The burn extends from approximately mile 32 to mile 39 (ends at Telephone Hill if headed south). Many of the camps along here have bathrooms, but don’t leave your trash for someone else to deal with unless they agree, and don’t steal toilet paper.
Hayduke hikers can ruin things for future Hayduke hikers by abusing the time of resources of rangers and custodians who care for this area. Get consent to dump it, or hike it out!
My rant has to do with seeing the remote pit toilets on the Kaibab overflowing with what is OBVIOUSLY thru hiker trash. Don’t be a sissy. Just carry your trash until you meet a motorist on your road walk or hitch a ride on a boat inside the Grand Canyon, and ask them the favor of packing it out for you. That’s only 3-4 days.
Section 11
Be very cautious in the Grand Canyon. If it feels like you’ve gone off route, you probably have. Except for in a few short stretches, and while walking along shore, you should see clear, worn (human) use path beneath you. It is safer to back-track until you’re on an obvious path than it is to plow ahead.
Read “Death in Grand Canyon” by Ghiglieri and Myers and you will see that bad choices are deadly above and below the rim. If you feel lost, it’s best to stay still for a while, find shade, hydrate and rest.
There is trail all the way between the mouth of Nankoweap Canyon and Kwagunt Canyon, along the Colorado. The trail is well above the water, so if you find yourself bushwhacking along the shore in the tammy, I’m sorry. You’re doing it wrong. The trail is there because many people (rafters) hike a loop from Kwagunt around Horsethief, down Nankoweap back to Kwagunt. Don’t be surprised to meet boaters who have hiked more of the Grand Canyon than you have at this point — or any part along the way. They might have nice tips for you.
Before you go into full yogi mode for your hitchhike across the river, check your attitude and ask yourself what you can do for them, even if it’s just taking names and writing thank you notes, offering to share candy or cash, take their picture, or tell them an amazing story if there is time. You don’t need to actually do any of this stuff, but it’s the attitude to have when entering negotiations.
Many of the boaters go down the river repeatedly every year, and you want their community to LOVE Hayduke hikers, not resent them… because hikers after you, their lives depend on that hitch.
See a theme here? Haydukers are creating a reputation for themselves, more and much more each year. You contribute one way or another.
Hitching Across the Colorado
Try not to get too nervous about hitching across the Colorado. It will work out.
Commercial vs. Private Trips
Commercial boats aren’t likely to pick you up (though it has happened in special cases). A commercial trip had a fatality in 2024 that caused riffles/policy re-adherence, meaning in 2025 you might REALLY be wasting your time trying to hitch with a commercial. I’ve noticed over the years more and more private trips are less and less interested in strangers. Not sure if this is politics, or a generational thing, or if hikers have started to annoy the rafting community, or what. That said, many private trips are still thrilled to meet hikers, and will even spoil you rotten.
How do you tell a “commercial” trip from a “private” trip? If a huge rubber raft with 8+ people on it comes around the corner, it’s almost certainly a commercial boat. If a raft motors around the corner, it might be a commercial boat, and it might be a science boat or even a RANGER craft. If you hear a motor, I recommend NOT sticking out your thumb (unless you desperately need help, and in that case, wave your arms frantically). If you see a group of rafts come by surrounded by kayaks, SUPs, or packrafts, that’s almost certainly a “private” trip. Time to flirt!
Where to Wait
Wait somewhere where a boat can easily eddy out. A spot with a sandy shore is great. There are some nice sand spits between Kwagunt and LCR river right. They make great places to catch rafters’ attention from a long way out. This give them time to think and debate and hem and haw and feel like assholes for NOT picking you up, because you are so dang cute and helpless-looking. Don’t be hiding near some bushes or just around a bend, and expect them to pull hard on their oars to fetch you when technically they’re on a hard-earned vacation of a lifetime1.
What to Say
Be standing up. Be waving, be smiling. If you can’t yet hear one another, gesticulate in ways that don’t convey desperation, but which might generate curiosity. Maybe do a little dance? 🕺 If you’ve established eye contact and they can maybe hear you, it doesn’t hurt at this point to try to talk (yell) to them, “hello! can you help me get across the river?” Make it clear you only want a ride a short way, and let them know you just need that particular help. Help to cross. If you end up getting a ride across miles upstream from LCR, that’s okay. That side of the River is also hike-able, and you could always hitch again.
Once a craft approaches you, it’s unlikely the folks on board won’t help you. Have your pack closed and strapped tight. Be ready to jump on board. If they give you a PFD (life jacket), put it on. Follow all of their instructions carefully, and ask questions if you have questions. If you are scared or nervous, tell them! They will hopefully give you advice and/or reassurance.
Here’s a little River lingo for you, that will help when speaking with boaters. When facing downstream, “river left” is on your left, and “river right” is on your right. So, to hitch across the river upstream of LCR, you could tell a boater, “I need to get to river left.” For the people rafting down the canyon, almost everything all day is in terms of “river right” and “river left.”
Don’t complain in an effort to beg food/beer/etc., and don’t make your problems their problems unless it’s an emergency.
In short, make sure they can see you a long ways out, and be well-organized and friendly. Don’t be too proud to beg, but that said, take a “no” answer graciously. Anther boat will come along.
Don’t try to swim across the river unless you are 1) an extremely strong swimmer 2) have a life vest and 3) are VERY aware of what is up ahead the next half-mile or so of River. It’s very COLD water and some days is moving faster than other days.
Little Colorado River Ford (LCR)
Scout the Little Colorado carefully when fording. The river bed is very slippery due to the sediments. Don’t be too afraid; people play in this river all the time (wearing PFDs around their asses like diapers). 🤷♀️ That said, the LCR also flash floods fairly frequently. If the water is brown, pay particular attention.
My first time fording it I ended up in turquoise water up to my neck and felt like an idiot for not having walked further upstream to ford. The second time it only came to mid-thigh but was brown. There is quicksand and it can be scary. Go high enough upstream so that if you get swept down river, you do NOT end up in the Colorado. That would be bad.
When I ford rivers I’m afraid of, I do a little extra something when waterproofing my backpack: I inflate my bladder and empty my bottles, put a little air in my Thermarest, so that I might have a flotation device if things go sideways. If somehow you end up being swept into the Colorado River below the confluence, a float will be a huge asset, but you should research what happens in the Colorado River, and never assume you can swim it. While you’re down there it’s interesting to have an idea what the current flow is, and how that compares historically.
Once you cross the Little Colorado there is trail (or basic canyon ambling or road walk) clear to the end of the Hayduke (except some miles in Saddle Canyon, which is the worst bushwhack of the entire Hayduke). Can you find it? With so many Hayduke miles under your belt already, it should be old hat.
UPDATE LATE 2025: YOU WILL WANT TO MAKE SURE THE PARK SOUTH RIM HAS WATER FLOWING in its pipes. Do not take for granted there will be water at the top and in the spigots along the trails down from the south rim. This is no longer a given.
Section 13
This is probably the most difficult section of the Hayduke to navigate, but if you’re hiking westbound, you’ll be mentally ready for it. Just keep in mind if walking the North Rim to Swamp Point, water sources are not reliable year-round. Contact the North Rim ranger station for beta. Usually they have some recent info. Say hi to Ranger Bridgehouse for me.
Queen Anne Spring near Teddy’s Cabin is reliable and tasty, though it is a tiny bit out of the way.
AGAIN – TAKE THE GRAND CANYON SERIOUSLY: check out a really cool interactive mapped legend of all the deaths in the Grand Canyon. Newer version of the interactive GCNP death map here. Here is a smaller (12.6MB) PDF file map showing the gist of the interactive Death in Grand Canyon map. I’m not trying to jinx you or anything, but it is wise to enter the Grand Canyon fully cognizant of how easily it can kill you. It has killed people taking selfies, and almost killed me doing the same!
Saddle Canyon
I’ve hiked the Saddle Canyon dryfall bypass twice and I still don’t quite understand it. So many people hike this there should be a use trail, but it’s hard to find. I mean, I found part of it, but then lost it. Maybe by 2030 it will be more bedded in. Good luck.
Tapeats Creek
After getting down to where the canyon opens up, you’ll find foot paths along Tapeats clear to Thunder River where trail picks up. Be careful in Tapeats and definitely follow the advice of Mitchell and Coronella about it! Because of how steep it is, it flows quickly. If the water level is below the knee, it should be quite manageable, esp if you have hiking poles to steady you against the strong current. That creek is NO JOKE, and takes lives regularly.
I highly recommend reading chapter four of Craig Child’s book “Secret Knowledge of Water” before hiking past the “headwaters” of Thunder River. Your mind will be blown.
Shore Walk
When you get back to the Colorado, the 7-mile walk along the shore isn’t too bad, at least not the first four miles of it. If you’re not a purist, I recommend hiking the first four miles — the bypass climb is actually fun and follows a lovely old path past a couple dripping springs — and then hitching the last three miles on a raft. Because the last three miles are tedious and talus-y without trail, and there is no good or right way to cover them.
Kanab Creek
Kanab Creek is like an obstacle course with fallen boulders and water, and side-trips are recommended. Maybe don’t sleep at Showerbath Spring unless you’re in a tent – this is where I got stung by a bark scorpion. The neurotoxin blinded me for several hours and in incredible pain for 16 hours. Be very alert if you are in Kanab Creek during monsoon season; Kanab drains a lot of Utah.
Water from Black Willow Spring is probably no more radioactive than other water on the Hayduke, and may actually be tasty depending on the condition of the tank. Please clear anything from the tank (except living reeds) that shouldn’t be there, like trash and dead animals.
There is trail all the way up east Hack Canyon. Watch for the HUGE cairns.
Section 14
Yellowstone Spring is not worth finding. Instead look for the dug out trench lined with black plastic and surrounded by a fence. The spring is piped into this. Fill up with uranium water. It’s delicious!
I recommend avoiding Colorado City unless curiosity gets the best of you. It’s creepy as hell, and sad as a humanitarian crisis is sad. I suppose if you’re not a female hiking solo, it wouldn’t be so weird. But even if you’re not female, it should be weird, and should not be normalized. I refused to shop there, but did pick up a package at the post office there. At least read up on Colorado City before visiting. A hitch to Hurricane (pronounced “Hurricun”) is worth the extra peace of mind.
Of note, in 2017 it was proposed that Yellowstone Road (at least north of highway 389) be renamed in honor of LaVoy Finicum. You will see that the proposal passed as you walk the road. This leaves me flabbergasted, but unsurprised. Just another clue to what the politics of this area are like. BE CAREFUL IF HIKING ALONE AND FEMALE. And unless it’s raining, prepare for another long walk in deep sand until you hit the Virgin River.
East Fork Virgin River
There’s use path most the way up the Virgin River. Keep an eye out for poison ivy, though, especially on the west end. There are two ways up and out of the River to Checkerboard, both are easy to follow and well-cairned. This area gets heavy traffic by canyoneers. They are mostly using Fat Man’s Misery to rappel down, then rounding the corner downstream before climbing. There’s a treat at the base of Fat Man’s canyon, wink wink. But don’t climb up out of the canyon from there. I also wink wink recommend hiking beyond the exit a ways to the falls — not legal, not that safe, but AMAZING.
If you’re struggling with the Virgin River obstacle like that boy struggled in the “Hayduke movie,” you’re doing it totally wrong (the bypass is under an enormous rockfall on the south side). Mitchell and Coronella describe the obstacles along the Virgin River well enough in the Hayduke book, so definitely review the book again. This is not a difficult section, and by this point, having hiked through so many obstacles already, you will have grown some intuition around how these canyons flow and how we move through them.
Checkerboard Mesa
Following trail out over Checkerboard Mesa was super easy in 2016 but as of 2025 the trail has become pretty badly threaded and a wrong turn can get you a bit lost. Preferentially watch for older-looking cairns, and try not to trample what’s left of the cryptobiotic soil.
The rest of the Hayduke is easy trail.
Looking for info on sections 1-7 of the Hayduke?
- It is FREAKIN’ HARD–nearly impossible–to get permits to run that damn River ↩︎
