Hiking Headquarters Canyon - Notom Road

Overview

Tue

68° | 39°

Wed

72° | 43°

Thu

70° | 49°

Fri

69° | 48°

Sat

75° | 46°

( Rated 3.5 / 2 Ratings )

36 Todo Lists / 4 Ticks

RATING: Easy Hiking

LENGTH: 2-3 hours (2.4 miles)

MAPS: The Post, UT;

SEASON: Any, hot in the summer

GEAR: Standard Hiking Gear

WATER: None.

FLASHFLOOD: Low

Tue

68° | 39°

Wed

72° | 43°

Thu

70° | 49°

Fri

69° | 48°

Sat

75° | 46°

Beautiful sky in Headquarters Canyon

Short and sweet, this is a family friendly canyon I would highly recommend if passing through the area. It, in my opinion, is quite a bit prettier and more interesting than its very near neighbor Surprise Canyon. A short approach and nice narrows make it a good outing most of the year, though will be brutally hot during the day in peak summer.

View from the trailhead.

Getting There

Travel east out of Capitol Reef National Park on highway 24. Just past the park, 0.25 miles, is the well signed Notom road.

Turn south onto Notom Road and reset your odometer. 12S 488763E 4237262N / 38°17'00"N 111°07'43"W

At 13.6 miles, is the Sandy Creek Junction. Stay right on the Notom road here. 12S 493913E 4217290N / 38°06'12"N 111°04'10"W

At 13.9 miles, is the second Sandy Creek Junction. Stay right on the Notom road here. 12S 494104E 4216858N / 38°05'58"N 111°04'02"W

21.2 miles to the Cedar Mesa Campground on the right (west) side of the road. 12S 492760E 4206611N / 38°00'26"N 111°04'57"W

Burr Trail junction is at 32.5 miles. Stay straight, heading toward Bullfrog. 12S 498890E 4189788N / 37°51'20"N 111°00'45"W

34.3 miles from highway 24, the Surprise Canyon trailhead is a small turn out on the right (west) side and is signed. 12S 500983E 4187875N / 37°50'18"N 110°59'20"W

34.8 miles - Headquarters Canyon trailhead parking is on the left. The Post side road is off on the right. This goes 0.5 miles to the Halls Creek/Lower Muley Twist Trailhead. 12S 501614E 4187295N / 37°49'59"N 110°58'54"W

Headquarters Canyon Slot Section

Toward the end of Headquarters

Route Description

From the small parking area, head west on the trail toward the reef. Headquarters Canyon is the pink striped canyon visible almost due west of the trailhead. The trail crosses the valley bottom to the base of the sandstone dome, then cuts slightly south over a low ridge and down to the wash bottom.

In the wash bottom, go right (north) and follow the wash. It soon snakes around and enters a reef via a deep and sinuous short section of slot canyon. Beautiful!

Above the slot, the canyon opens. Continuing up, the canyon narrows again after a few bends at an interesting steep section with a sandstone floored bottom. At the top of this short section is a moderately difficult upclimb, then the canyon ends at a steep cliff. Return the same way.