A Guide to Southern Utah's Hole-in-the-Rock Trail

by Stewart Aitchison

In 1879, 230 settlers in southwestern Utah heeded the call from leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pull up stakes and move to the distant San Juan country of southeastern Utah. Their year-long journey became one of the most extraordinary wagon trips ever undertaken in North America, their trail one of peril, difficulty, and spectacular vistas. Beginning in Cedar City, Utah, this trail crosses today’s Dixie National Forest, skirts Bryce Canyon National Park, bisects the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, crosses the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and comes close to Natural Bridges National Monument on its way to Bluff, Utah.


Though the trail that these devoted pioneers broke across raw frontier was used for several years afterward, no highway was built over most of the route because it was deemed too rugged for modern vehicles. In addition to the historical value of the story of these pioneers, this guide includes road logs, maps, and hiking trails along the historic trail. It also points out fascinating natural history along the way, making A Guide to Southern Utah’s Hole-in-the-Rock Trail a significant reference for a variety of readers. 

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 2005

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting brief history of the trail through nearly impassible terrain made by Mormon settlers in 1879. Plenty of photographs. I have visited the Hole-in-the-Rock and it is hard to imagine that anyone thought that they could take wagons through that cleft and down to the river but they did it. Driving directions if you're interested in following the whole trail. You can't actually go through the Hole in the Rock down to the river now, thank goodness.

[Brittany Hanson]

Read on the drive down the Hole in the Rock road from Escalante to Hole in the Rock - what an experience!

[Les Gehman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short, but excellent guide to Southern Utah's Hole-in-the-Rock Trail. The author has broken the trail up into a series of segments and for each segment tells the history of that part of the trail, then gives detailed directions on how to see, hike, or drive that section of the trail. It seems that most books focus on the trail from Escalante to Hole-in-the-Rock and then ignore the rest of the trail. Here, the author does a great job of detailing the further challenges that the pioneers faced beyond Hole-in-the-Rock.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

After listening to Jeffrey Holland refer to the San Juan pioneers in his talk today, I came home from church and read this great little book that gives a concise account of the expedition as well as modern day travel information for those who want to explore the region where it all took place. Well worth my time.

[Katie K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this as a companion book to THE UNDAUNTED, mostly for the photos (of which there were none in UNDAUNTED). It really helped me visualize what those pioneers did. Amazing to say the least.