Handlebars
NAXJA Member #135
- Location
- Albuquerque, NM
The Park Service claims that the Maze is one of the most remote areas in the United States. I won't argue that statement, but do expect to see other people along many of the roads there.
The actual Maze is a small portion of the Maze District, which itself is the 1/3 of Canyonlands National Park found west of the Green and Colorado Rivers. It is accessed on a minimum 50 miles of rocky road so you had better be committed to going there. This means reserving one of the few designated campsites well in advance. You will be very disappointed to find yourself surrounded by such beautiful landscape after getting the rattle can treatment for most of a day to reach it and then having to pack up to leave the very next morning. Get your campsite for a minimum of 2 nights, you will not regret it.
Obtaining that reservation is also a test of commitment using the following maze-like process: First call the backcountry reservation desk at (435)259-4351 to find out what sites are available for the nights you want to be there. Next mail or fax your reservation application for those camps and $30 to that very same office. If nobody has snagged your site before your application shows up you will be mailed a postcard confirming your reservation. It will be good for 3 vehicles and 9 people. Now you are almost ready to camp in the Maze... your next stop is the Hans Flat ranger station the day before or day of your trip, where you will need to show them your required portable toilet in order to get your camping permit. Permit in hand, you and 8 friends are now ready to go camping in the Maze!
There are 3 roads accessing the Maze. The most direct route starting from the ranger station is to drive down the Flint Trail switchbacks. For those with vehicles that have a limited fuel range the starting point from the nearest gas station would take you on the road from the 24 hour gas pump at the otherwise abandoned Hite Marina on the stretch of the Colorado River formerly known as Lake Powell. Anyone wanting the longest, least traveled road into the Maze will choose the route through Poison Springs Canyon that fords the Dirty Devil River. It is 44 miles from pavement just to reach the border of Canyonlands National Park. That is if you can even get across the Dirty Devil. It earned the name because the flow seems to be half soil, half liquid drained from a huge, barren watershed. Precipitation of any significance rapidly affects the level of the of the river. Luckily there is a gauging station right at the ford available to anyone with internet access. I would have liked to see what that river looked like a few days after we crossed it in October of 2006. That was the week of biblical deluges during the Fall Fling. On Monday we crossed it at a meek 90cfs...by Friday the station went offline as the graph was heading past 13,000cfm. I suspect that the USGS had to build a new gauging station.
Here's a map showing those 3 routes, it also shows the free camping area on the rim of Horseshoe Canyon that may be a good staging area.
Hite's gas station does not look like much but the pumps have card readers.
Some Poison Springs Canyon scenery:
Jared fording the Dirty Devil at 90cfs
Climbing up above the canyon of the Dirty Devil after the ford.
Near Teapot Rock
Camping at Dollhouse #3. This is a good site if you have more than the 3 vehicles allowed on the permit. There is a hiking trailhead parking area just down the hill where we left a couple of extra vehicles with the blessing of the NPS. Note the wood post in the foreground- you are only allowed to set up camp within the boundaries of those 4 posts.
The actual Maze is a small portion of the Maze District, which itself is the 1/3 of Canyonlands National Park found west of the Green and Colorado Rivers. It is accessed on a minimum 50 miles of rocky road so you had better be committed to going there. This means reserving one of the few designated campsites well in advance. You will be very disappointed to find yourself surrounded by such beautiful landscape after getting the rattle can treatment for most of a day to reach it and then having to pack up to leave the very next morning. Get your campsite for a minimum of 2 nights, you will not regret it.
Obtaining that reservation is also a test of commitment using the following maze-like process: First call the backcountry reservation desk at (435)259-4351 to find out what sites are available for the nights you want to be there. Next mail or fax your reservation application for those camps and $30 to that very same office. If nobody has snagged your site before your application shows up you will be mailed a postcard confirming your reservation. It will be good for 3 vehicles and 9 people. Now you are almost ready to camp in the Maze... your next stop is the Hans Flat ranger station the day before or day of your trip, where you will need to show them your required portable toilet in order to get your camping permit. Permit in hand, you and 8 friends are now ready to go camping in the Maze!
There are 3 roads accessing the Maze. The most direct route starting from the ranger station is to drive down the Flint Trail switchbacks. For those with vehicles that have a limited fuel range the starting point from the nearest gas station would take you on the road from the 24 hour gas pump at the otherwise abandoned Hite Marina on the stretch of the Colorado River formerly known as Lake Powell. Anyone wanting the longest, least traveled road into the Maze will choose the route through Poison Springs Canyon that fords the Dirty Devil River. It is 44 miles from pavement just to reach the border of Canyonlands National Park. That is if you can even get across the Dirty Devil. It earned the name because the flow seems to be half soil, half liquid drained from a huge, barren watershed. Precipitation of any significance rapidly affects the level of the of the river. Luckily there is a gauging station right at the ford available to anyone with internet access. I would have liked to see what that river looked like a few days after we crossed it in October of 2006. That was the week of biblical deluges during the Fall Fling. On Monday we crossed it at a meek 90cfs...by Friday the station went offline as the graph was heading past 13,000cfm. I suspect that the USGS had to build a new gauging station.
Here's a map showing those 3 routes, it also shows the free camping area on the rim of Horseshoe Canyon that may be a good staging area.
Hite's gas station does not look like much but the pumps have card readers.
Some Poison Springs Canyon scenery:
Jared fording the Dirty Devil at 90cfs
Climbing up above the canyon of the Dirty Devil after the ford.
Near Teapot Rock
Camping at Dollhouse #3. This is a good site if you have more than the 3 vehicles allowed on the permit. There is a hiking trailhead parking area just down the hill where we left a couple of extra vehicles with the blessing of the NPS. Note the wood post in the foreground- you are only allowed to set up camp within the boundaries of those 4 posts.
Last edited:
