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HALLS CREEK NARROWS TRAIL
 GENERAL
DESCRIPTION:
An overnight hike down Halls Creek and through the spectacular
3 mile long Halls Creek Narrows - a total round trip distance
of about 22 miles.
LOCATION OF TRAILHEAD:
Halls Overlook is located on a spur road about 3 miles west of
the Notom-Bullfrog Road. The Notom-Bullfrog
Road is hard-packed dirt, generally passable to passenger
cars. The spur road to Halls Overlook is rough but usually passable
to high clearance two-wheel drive vehicles. Total distance from
Utah Highway 24 is 57.6 miles.
MAPS:
USGS 7.5 Minute Series: Deer Point, Stevens Canyon North, and
Hall Mesa or Earth Walk Press, Capitol Reef National Park. Available
from the CRNHA at
the park Visitor Center.
BEST SEASON TO HIKE:
Spring and Fall.
NOTE:
Extremely hot in summer. Don't count on finding water before the
Narrows - carry plenty with you. Deep wading sometimes required
in Halls Narrows.
DESCRIPTION:
In 1876 G. K. Gilbert, who was doing a geological survey of the
area, traversed the Halls Creek Narrows and provided the first
written description of this spectacular gorge:
"The traveler who follows down the Waterpocket Canyon
[Grand Gulch of Halls Creek] now comes to a place where the
creek turns from the open canyon of shale and enters a dark
cleft in the sandstone. He can follow the course of the water
and will be repaid for the wetting of his feet by the strange
beauty of the defile. For nearly three miles he will thread
his way through a gorge walled in by smooth, curved faces of
the massive sandstone, and so narrow and devious that it is
gloomy for lack of sunlight; and then he will emerge once more
into the open canyon."
Halls Narrows is a classic example of the "slot" canyon which
so typifies the canyon country of southern Utah. Deeply incised
into the massive Navajo sandstone of the Waterpocket
Fold, it is like a world apart - hidden, secret, mysterious.
A trickling perennial stream and deep shade from the arching canyon
walls create a cool, moist oasis in the midst of surrounding desert.
Halls Creek Overlook provides the best access to Halls Narrows.
From this spectacular viewpoint, a steep switchbacking trail
descends 800 feet to the bed of Halls Creek. The remainder of
the route is unmarked but not difficult to follow; it is simply
a matter of walking down-canyon to the Narrows.
The historic Halls Crossing wagon trail, developed in the
1880s for access to Halls Crossing on the Colorado River, followed
this same route. Although the crossing was only active for a
few years, the road continued to be used until recent years
by stockmen and it is still visible in many places today. Cutting
across many of the wide meanders in the wash, it provides a
convenient path for much of the route to Halls Narrows.
Though the Narrows may be your destination, the walk down
Halls Creek is itself very spectacular, with the high cliffs
of Halls Mesa to the east and the deeply eroded standstone slopes
of the Waterpocket Fold to the west. Many intriguing side canyons
enter Halls Creek from the Fold and beckon to the hiker with
sufficient time for exploration. For anyone interested in geology,
there is a wealth of information on display here. Rocks of the
Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods are exposed along
the route and the Waterpocket Fold provides a textbook example
of a monocline,
unobscured by vegetation and soil.
Although the Narrows themselves are almost always wet, water
can be a scarce commodity along much of the rest of the route.
If there has been any recent rain, waterpockets can usually
be found in the short, steep side canyons in the Fold. The Fountain
Tanks will hold some water in all but the driest times. Don't
count on finding water before the Narrows - carry plenty with
you. Be sure to purify any water you drink.
At the Narrows, Halls Creek abandons its logical path down
the wide gulch separating the Fold and Halls Mesa and cuts stubbornly
into the thick Navajo sandstone of the Fold. The change is sudden
and dramatic. For the next three miles, the creek meanders tortuously
through a deep, narrow canyon.
The walk through the Narrows always requires some wading,
but the depth of the pools can vary greatly from year to year
and from season to season. Flash floods periodically scour out
the sediment, sometimes leaving pools that require deep wading
or possibly even a short swim. If you wear a backpack through
the Narrows, you may have to carry it over your head in some
of the deeper pools.
You can bypass the Narrows on the return trip by walking over
Hall Divide. This route cuts 1.5 miles off the return to the
start of the Narrows. The rest of the return trip simply retraces
the route back to Halls Overlook.
Halls Narrows is a beautiful and unspoiled place. Use your
best backcountry etiquette; pack out your trash, bury human
waste, build no fires. Leave as little trace of your passing
as possible.
MILAGES (approximate):
- Halls Overlook to bottom of Halls Overlook trail 1.2
- Bottom of Halls Overlook trail to beginning of Narrows 7.5
- Narrows 3.0
- Return to beginning of Narrows via Hall Divide 1.5
- Total round trip 21.9
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