Hey Joe Canyon Trail

Hey Joe Canyon, a site of some mining ruins, is a short tributary to Labyrinth Canyon of the Green River. To get into the canyon, one must travel about 20 miles of pavement and 10 miles of good dirt road to the rim of Spring Canyon, where a spectacular ledge road winds down a 600-foot cliff to the canyon bottom. The trail follows the canyon about 2 miles to the Green River and another 9 miles upstream in Labyrinth Canyon to Hey Joe Canyon. The trail along the river is subject to rockfalls and collapse. Some of the hand-made passages can be difficult for full-size pickups and such. Although the brushy tamarisk alongside parts of the trail is occasionally cut back, fancy paint jobs may prefer another trail. Approximate mileage: 85 total, 45 off highway.

Difficulty Rating

3 (old 3)

Scenery

The access roads include the paved one in Sevenmile Canyon and good dirt roads in the open plateau country and into Spring Canyon to the Green River. Spring Canyon is a jewel. The trail enters Labyrinth Canyon at Bowknot Bend, a large loop of the river where the river doubles back and threatens to short-cut the loop in the near future, geologically speaking. There are abandoned mining roads on both sides of the river; remains of the cable that ferried equipment across the river may be seen.

Road Surface

The road into Spring Canyon once carried ore trucks and heavy equipment but has been subject to erosion from storms. It is now being maintained as part of the Grand County road system. The roads in Spring Canyon and Labyrinth Canyon are good dirt except where erosion has narrowed them or left rockfalls that were made passable with the least possible labor.

Obstacles

There are no fixed obstacles on this route; the hard places move around as erosion continues. Some of the older rockfalls have been crossed so much that they are getting easy. The road is scary when dry and terrifying (dangerous, too) when wet.

Hey Joe Canyon

(38.62559, -109.99651)

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