Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Utah / Canyonlands and Capitol Reef

Lower Muley Twist Canyon and Halls Creek Loop

Capitol Reef National Park, Waterpocket District (Burr Trail Road)

Lower Muley Twist Canyon is a deep, remote canyon through part of the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park, according to Visit Utah. The guide says it “winds tortuously through its entire length” and has ties to Mormon pioneer history; the NPS describes large alcoves and overhangs along the lower canyon.

The full loop follows the canyon to Halls Creek, then returns past The Post, a remote trip with few reliable water sources.

The hike

The NPS route sheet gives several options from two trailheads on the Burr Trail Road. The Burr Trail trailhead is at the top of the switchbacks, about 35 miles south of Highway 24. The Post parking area is about 2.2 miles south of the Notom-Bullfrog junction, then half a mile down a spur road to an old corral. The entire loop is 21.9 miles if you return by the Burr Trail Road, or 22.8 miles via the Post cutoff trail. Shorter options include a 10.7-mile upper loop and a 15.4-mile lower loop from The Post.

From the Burr Trail trailhead, the canyon narrows about 2 miles in. The Post cutoff trail sign comes at 3.8 miles. Visit Utah notes sandstone caves and high overhangs where the Wingate layer has been undercut. Below the cutoff, the NPS describes large alcoves in the Kayenta formation and a huge alcove near the south end, after which the canyon turns east and narrows, with Big Thomson Mesa’s cliffs ahead. Halls Creek comes in at 12.4 miles; Visit Utah says it follows Charles Hall’s old road toward a former Colorado River crossing, and mentions old cattle bones and cowboy campsites.

The NPS says the Muley Tanks sign is about 0.7 mile south of the Halls Creek junction, on the west side above the wash. Hamburger Rocks, small dark-red hoodoos, are an unmarked side trip of about 2.3 miles round trip. From the junction it’s 4.7 miles north up Halls Creek to The Post, then 2.1 miles on the cutoff trail back over the fold into the canyon. The NPS warns that the cutoff has “severe exposure,” and one 2012 Backcountry Post hiker found it “obscure with intermittent or missing cairns.”

Visit Utah recommends early April to mid-May and early October to late November, and warns that summer temperatures often pass 100 degrees. The NPS recommends the USGS Wagon Box Mesa and The Post topo maps.

For a canyon trip with designated camps, see Salt Creek Canyon in Canyonlands.

Tips

Camping

A free backcountry permit is required for all overnight trips. The NPS backpacking page says to camp at least half a mile from roads and trailheads, out of sight and sound of the trail and other campers, and 300 feet from water, archaeological and historic sites, and trail junctions. Groups are limited to 12, and stays to 3 nights per location and 14 days per trip. Fires and wood gathering are prohibited. Bury waste 6 inches deep, 300 feet from water and out of washes, and pack out toilet paper. Pets aren’t allowed on trails or in the backcountry. Vehicle camping isn’t allowed in the park, including at trailheads.

Inside Intel: No camper accounts recommending a specific site in the canyon were found. One 2012 Backcountry Post hiker left the Post cutoff trail and dry-camped on a saddle to the north, which he called “a glorious camp spot,” after carrying about 7 liters of water because he expected none.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Dinner on a dry Waterpocket Fold camp:

Lower Muley Twist has little dependable water and no fires, so every meal should be light to carry and easy on the water you hauled in. See the backpacking meals testers keep coming back to.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.