Top Backpacking Trails in Utah
21 routes. Each page shows when we last checked it. Updated October 2026.
Backpacking in Utah splits between red-rock canyon country in the south and high mountains in the north. The site’s southern trips cover Zion and Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands’ Needles District and Capitol Reef, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Glen Canyon’s Escalante District, and Cedar Mesa in Bears Ears National Monument, on routes like the Zion Narrows, Coyote Gulch, Grand Gulch, and the Chesler Park Loop. Expect sand, slickrock, wading, pour-off scrambles, long dry stretches, and campsites that are often designated and assigned by permit.
In the north, the High Uintas Wilderness holds lake basins and long trails such as Kings Peak via Henrys Fork, Naturalist Basin, and the 104-mile Uinta Highline Trail, while the Wasatch Range adds shorter trips like Red Pine Lakes and White Pine Lake near Logan.
The seasons run opposite each other. Spring and fall are the usual desert seasons; summer brings heat and monsoon storms, and the NPS warns that storms miles away can send flash floods through canyons. The mountain trips are mostly summer and early fall, with guides warning of afternoon lightning above treeline and snow possible by mid-October.
Rules vary by agency. The national parks and Cedar Mesa require overnight permits, the Escalante areas require free permits and packing out human waste, and the national forest trips need no permit but have group-size and campfire limits. Utah’s 2026 general rifle deer hunt runs Oct. 17 to 25, so wear bright colors on national forest trips in the fall.
Quick picks
- Easiest overnight: White Pine Lake from Tony Grove
- Longest trip: Uinta Highline Trail
- River-wading overnight: Zion Narrows Top-Down (Chamberlain's Ranch to Temple of Sinawava)
- Mountain summit trip: Kings Peak via Henrys Fork
- Desert canyon loop: Fish and Owl Canyons Loop
Canyonlands and Capitol Reef
- Chesler Park Loop and Druid Arch (Needles) Canyonlands National Park, The Needles District (Elephant Hill Trailhead) 10.7 miles Hard Designated backpacking sites (Chesler Park CP1-CP5, Elephant Canyon EC1-EC3); permit required
- Lower Muley Twist Canyon and Halls Creek Loop Capitol Reef National Park, Waterpocket District (Burr Trail Road) 22.8 miles Hard At-large backcountry camping; free permit required
- Salt Creek Canyon (Cathedral Butte to Peekaboo) Canyonlands National Park, The Needles District (Cathedral Butte Trailhead) 22.5 miles Hard Designated sites SC1-SC4 and Peekaboo plus the Salt and Horse at-large zone; permit and hard-sided food canister required
Cedar Mesa
- Fish and Owl Canyons Loop Bears Ears National Monument, Cedar Mesa, BLM Monticello Field Office (off Utah Highway 261) 15.6 miles Hard Existing dispersed campsites; Cedar Mesa overnight permit required
- Grand Gulch: Kane Gulch to Bullet Canyon Bears Ears National Monument, Cedar Mesa, BLM Monticello Field Office (Utah Highway 261) 23 miles Hard Existing dispersed campsites; Cedar Mesa overnight permit required
Grand Staircase-Escalante
- Boulder Mail Trail (Boulder to Escalante via Death Hollow) Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, BLM (between Boulder and Escalante) 15.6 miles Hard Dispersed camping; free BLM permit required; pack out human waste
- Coyote Gulch (Hurricane Wash to the Escalante River) Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Escalante District (Hole-in-the-Rock Road, near Escalante) 24.6 miles Moderate Dispersed camping at existing sites; free permit required; pack out human waste
High Uintas
- Amethyst Lake High Uintas Wilderness, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Evanston Ranger District) 13 miles Moderate Dispersed wilderness camping; no permit
- Grandaddy Basin Loop High Uintas Wilderness, Ashley National Forest (Grandview Trailhead) 14.5 miles Moderate Dispersed wilderness camping; no permit
- Kings Peak via Henrys Fork High Uintas Wilderness, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Mountain View Ranger District) 26.2 miles Hard Dispersed wilderness camping; no permit; Dollar Lake and Henrys Fork Lake are common base camps
- Naturalist Basin via the Highline Trail High Uintas Wilderness, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Mirror Lake Highway) 13 miles Moderate Dispersed wilderness camping; no permit
- Red Castle Lakes High Uintas Wilderness, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Mountain View Ranger District) 20 miles Hard Dispersed wilderness camping; no permit; most sites in forest around Lower Red Castle Lake
- Uinta Highline Trail High Uintas Wilderness, Ashley and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests (McKee Draw to Hayden Pass) 104 miles Hard Dispersed wilderness and national forest camping; no permit
Wasatch Range
- Lone Peak via Jacob's Ladder Lone Peak Wilderness, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (above Draper) 15.6 miles Hard Dispersed wilderness camping; no permit found
- Mount Timpanogos via Timpooneke Mount Timpanogos Wilderness, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Pleasant Grove Ranger District) 15.7 miles Hard Dispersed wilderness camping in Timpanogos Basin; no permit found; rules unconfirmed
- Red Pine Lakes Lone Peak Wilderness, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Little Cottonwood Canyon) 7 miles Moderate Dispersed wilderness camping in a protected watershed; no permit
- White Pine Lake from Tony Grove Logan Canyon, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Logan Ranger District) 7.6 miles Moderate Dispersed backcountry camping around the lake; no permit found
Zion and Bryce
- Bryce Canyon Under-the-Rim Trail Bryce Canyon National Park (Rainbow Point to Bryce Point) 22.9 miles Hard Designated backcountry campsites; permit and bear canister required
- La Verkin Creek Trail to Kolob Arch Zion National Park, Kolob Canyons (Lee Pass Trailhead, off I-15) 14 miles Moderate Thirteen designated creekside sites; wilderness permit required
- Zion Narrows Top-Down (Chamberlain's Ranch to Temple of Sinawava) Zion National Park (North Fork of the Virgin River, near Springdale) 16 miles Hard Twelve designated river campsites; one night only; permit required
- Zion West Rim Trail (Lava Point to the Grotto) Zion National Park (Kolob Terrace to Zion Canyon, near Springdale) 14.2 miles Hard Nine designated backpacking sites; wilderness permit required
Backpacking in Utah: common questions
Do you need a permit to backpack in Utah?
It depends on the managing agency. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef require permits for all overnight backcountry trips; Zion releases reservations on Recreation.gov on Dec. 5, March 5, June 5, and Sept. 5 and keeps about half its sites for walk-in permits, while Capitol Reef issues free permits in person at its visitor center. Cedar Mesa trips like Grand Gulch need a permit year-round, sold on Recreation.gov, and Grand Staircase-Escalante and Glen Canyon's Escalante District require free permits from visitor centers or trailheads. No backpacking permit was found for the High Uintas or Wasatch trips on this site, though some trailheads need a recreation pass, and Timpooneke requires a timed-entry vehicle ticket on weekends and holidays in season.
When is the best time to backpack in Utah?
Spring and fall are the usual seasons for the desert canyons, and Canyonlands calls them its busiest times. Summer brings heat and monsoon flash floods: Capitol Reef's route sheet puts flash-flood season mainly from mid-June to mid-October, and Zion closes the Narrows when the river runs above 150 cubic feet per second or during a Flash Flood Warning. The High Uintas and Wasatch trips are mostly summer and early-fall trips, with snow possible on the passes by mid-October; UDOT listed the Mirror Lake Highway and the Alpine Loop as open until further notice in October 2026 and says it typically closes its seasonal roads from about November into May or June.
Is there water on Utah backpacking trips?
In the desert, plan on carrying most of it. The NPS calls Bryce's backcountry water intermittent and unreliable and says to carry at least a gallon per person per day, Canyonlands says no water source is guaranteed in Salt Creek, and the BLM says Cedar Mesa springs are intermittent and shouldn't be counted on. Zion has posted a toxic cyanobacteria Health Watch for the North Fork of the Virgin River and La Verkin Creek and says not to drink stream water, so ask the Wilderness Desk which springs are flowing. Mountain trips have plentiful lakes and streams, but treat all water.
Do you need a bear canister or waste bags in Utah?
In some places. Bryce Canyon requires approved bear canisters and lends them free at the visitor center, and Canyonlands requires hard-sided containers at Salt Creek campsites, where its Salt Creek page says Ursacks don't qualify. Solid human waste must be packed out in a commercial waste bag at Needles designated campsites, in Coyote Gulch, and throughout Grand Staircase-Escalante, while Cedar Mesa allows catholes at least 200 feet from water, trails, and camps. No canister requirement was found for the High Uintas trips on this site, but black bears live there, so store food carefully.
Can you have a campfire while backpacking in Utah?
On most trips on this site, no. Fires are prohibited in the Zion Wilderness, the Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef backcountry, the Cedar Mesa canyons, and Coyote Gulch, and a Forest Service order in effect from May 5, 2026, through 2031 bans campfires and wood stoves within a quarter mile of many High Uintas lakes. Seasonal restrictions change: the Southeast Utah national parks rescinded their 2026 fire restrictions on Sept. 4, while the Fishlake National Forest's Stage 1 order runs through Oct. 31 unless lifted sooner. Carry a stove and check current restrictions with the managing agency.
Can you bring a dog backpacking in Utah?
Usually not in the national parks and canyons on this site. Capitol Reef bans pets on trails and in the backcountry, Canyonlands doesn't allow them on hiking trails, Glen Canyon bans them in Coyote Gulch, and the BLM bans them in Grand Gulch, Slickhorn Canyon, and their tributaries. Salt Lake City's watershed rules also ban dogs in protected canyons such as Little Cottonwood, home to Red Pine Lakes. Guides report dogs on High Uintas trips like Amethyst Lake and Naturalist Basin, but rules vary by managing agency, so check before you bring one.
Where this comes from
- NPS Zion: Backpacking permits
- NPS Bryce Canyon: Backcountry information
- NPS Canyonlands: Backpacking
- NPS Southeast Utah Group: Fire restrictions rescinded (Sept. 3, 2026)
- Recreation.gov: Cedar Mesa backpacking permits
- BLM: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, plan your visit
- USDA Forest Service: High Uintas Wilderness occupancy and use order (2026)
- USDA Forest Service: Fishlake National Forest Stage 1 fire restrictions (2026)
- UDOT: Seasonal road status
- Utah Division of Wildlife Resources: 2026 general season dates and extensions