Moab to Zion · ~800 Miles · Utah Canyon Country
Not as hard as its reputation. You still need to cache.
About the Route
I went into this trail with real anxiety. The Hayduke has a reputation for being technical, remote, and genuinely scary. I'd been contemplating it ever since finishing the AZT in 2023. Turns out the reputation is overstated. The trail deserves respect, but it's not as hard as people make it sound.
The Hayduke is roughly 800 miles of canyon country in southern Utah, connecting Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Grand Canyon. Most of it is cross-country. A lot of it is unmarked. It was pieced together in the 1990s by Mike Coronella and Joe Mitchell, not as a formal trail, but as an idea for connecting the parks through the best and most remote terrain they could find.
If you enjoy Type 2 fun, occasional bushwhacks, and planning logistics, you'll be fine. Hike it with a partner. You need someone to argue with about the right way down.
The trail is named for George Washington Hayduke, protagonist of Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang. If you haven't read it, that's homework before the trip.
Planning Tools
I built a free navigation app specifically for the Hayduke after finishing the trail: offline topo maps, 226 community water reports, 413 waypoints, and 47 alternate routes. My full trip notes (caching strategy, water carries, resupply logistics, everything) are on Trail Peaches.
Offline USGS topo maps, GPS navigation, water source conditions, and community trail reports. Works without cell service once you download the trail pack.
Download the AppWater carries, resupply town breakdown, technical section notes, caching logistics, and what actually went wrong out there. Full trip report from my 2026 Hayduke hike.
Read the GuideMore details on the app at hayduketrail.app. It is not a replacement for a dedicated GPS and physical topo maps.
What You'll Need
The Hayduke doesn't need exotic gear. A few items do real work, though. Cord is the one people consistently forget until they're staring down a move with no good options.
Carry 30 to 50 feet for pack hauling on technical downclimbs. It weighs nothing, and you will absolutely need it at some point. Doubles as a clothesline and guy line.
View on AmazonDesert water is often silty and red-tinged. Pre-filter through a bandana first; it extends filter life significantly. Replace the element before the trip.
View on AmazonThe original route guide. Good context for the sections and how the route came together. Worth reading before the trip.
View on AmazonAmazon links use the trailpeaches-20 tag. No extra cost to you.
Water Strategy
One cache is strongly recommended. Everything else is situational. The short version: Hack Reservoir near mile 724 is not really optional for most people. The rest of the caches on the route are nice to have if you can make the logistics work, but you can plan around them.
The reason Hack is a big deal: the only water source between Kanab Creek and the cache point is Willow Springs. Willow Springs is radioactive. Skip Hack Reservoir and you're doing a 38-mile water carry in hot, exposed terrain. That's the whole problem in one sentence.
From Kanab Creek to here is about 18 miles; the next reliable water past the cache is Yellowstone Spring, another 20 miles out (38 total, exposed, no shade, hot). Lower-clearance vehicles can generally reach the cache point. Set this one up.
Breaks up a long water carry early on and reduces reliance on a rough bushwhack down to the Colorado River. About 2 miles off trail. Needs 4WD to access. Worth setting up if it fits your logistics, but not essential.
Useful before the Red Benches. In 2025 and 2026, the cow troughs off Fortknocker Canyon Road were reliable enough that most people skipped this. Have a backup plan either way.
Skip it if you're comfortable hitching into Tropic. The solar well at Grosvenor Arch has been intermittently unreliable. It was running in 2026, but don't count on it. If you cache here, do food and water.
Logistics
My general approach: resupply as often as possible. Lighter pack, more flexibility. Tropic is the best trail town on the route (great supermarket, good people, easy to get in and out). Grand Canyon Village is the best single-stop resupply if you only care about selection.
| Town | ~Mile | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moab | 0-30 | Walk in | Full resupply. All your needs at the start. |
| Needles Outpost | ~90 | Walk in | Send a box by UPS. Some convenience-store food on-site to supplement. Camping and showers available. |
| Hanksville | ~192 | Hitch from Hwy 95 | Adequate market (not amazing, but workable). Hotel, camping, a few restaurants. |
| Escalante | ~300 | Hitch from Hurricane Wash | Easier hitch than you'd expect. Full resupply, gear shops, exceptional pizza. Takes 3 hitches to get back to trail. |
| Tropic / Cannonville | ~365, ~414 | Hitch or walk-in (Bryce Alt) | Best trail town on the route. Great supermarket, packages accepted at Bryce Pioneer Lodge (UPS). Hit Cannonville for the bakery if you're doing the Bryce Alt walk-in. |
| Kanab | ~464, ~510 | Hitch from Hwy 89 | Everything you need. Multiple grocery stores. Good place to take a zero. |
| Jacob Lake | ~510 | Walk in | UPS only. USPS can't deliver here. Limited on-site food. Not a great place to zero. |
| Grand Canyon Village | ~620 | Walk in | Well-stocked store with solid gear selection. No box needed. Post office for USPS flat-rate if you need it. |
| Colorado City / Hildale | ~758 | Walk in | Bee's Supermarket is genuinely excellent: full selection, salad bar. Hardware store, good thrift shop. Colorado city is a surprisingly functional trail stop. |
Getting There
Two real options: fly into Moab Field Airport and start walking from the airport (easy, and a fine trailhead), or take Amtrak to Green River and hitch or shuttle to Moab. If you want the Devil's Garden start, you'll need to coordinate a shuttle from Moab (nicer trailhead, more logistics).
Hitch from the East Rim Road to Springdale. SunTran bus runs roughly hourly from 7AM to 9PM ($5) to St. George. From St. George: shuttle to Las Vegas, then fly home, or fly direct from St. George.
Book the St. George shuttle before you book flights home. It sells out on weekends and rental cars go fast too.
Less dramatic than people make it sound. Get to 61.1 Mile Beach by early morning (7 to 9 AM) and flag down passing raft groups. Most will take you across. After 9 AM the traffic drops off fast. Miss the window and you're camping and trying again in the morning.
The approach from Nankoweap Granaries is brutally slow (figure about 1 mile per hour through that section). Plan on camping close to 61.1 Mile Beach the night before your crossing.
Do not try to swim the Colorado. It's cold enough to cause hypothermia before you'd make it across.
More Resources
The best water source documentation for the Hayduke. Detailed, ground-truthed, and more current than anything else out there. Start here for water carry planning.
Widely-used route guide with section notes, alternates, and resupply logistics.
Good overview for people figuring out what they're getting into before committing to the trip.