Fins Trail through Ernie’s Country

The Fins Trail through Ernie’s Country is an 8.1-mile one-way crossing from the Ernie’s Country East Trailhead near the Dollhouse to the Fins Trailhead by Mother and Child. It descends through boulders into Main Flat, follows sandy washes into Sweet Alice Canyon and Sand Tank Canyon, climbs through The Chute, then drops into Range Canyon before climbing out. The tread is intermittent and the route is marked mainly by cairns. This is a serious Maze backcountry route, not a signed day trail. Allow a full day on trail; hikers often fold it into an overnight or longer Maze itinerary. Arrange a through-hike shuttle or plan a larger backcountry route. Carry a detailed map: GPS units can mislead visitors in The Maze.

The first 0.1 mile winds down through boulders and drops about 80 feet onto Main Flat, a broad sage-covered plain roughly three miles long and a mile wide. The route uses sandy washes along the north side; about 1.5 miles of loose sand can make this stretch slow. After about 3.3 miles, it passes the end of a rocky wall; 0.4 mile later, a cairned turn leads into Sweet Alice Canyon. Tall sandstone fins rise north of the canyon. Frame one fin with the wash in front to show the scale of the landscape.

Sweet Alice Canyon continues for about 1.6 miles before the route turns into Sand Tank Canyon. Follow the cairns at both junctions: missing the Sand Tank turn can send hikers south toward the Colorado River. The path leaves the sandy washes and climbs about 240 feet over 0.9 mile through The Chute, a fault passage that narrows to roughly 18 inches before opening into a small canyon.

Beyond The Chute, the route drops toward the East Fork of Range Canyon, climbs a high point, then descends about 150 feet through a steep, narrow gully. It follows a tributary wash and finishes with a roughly 0.8-mile, 320-foot slickrock climb to the Fins Trailhead. This end has the route’s more strenuous scrambling. In the opposite direction, the exit cairn out of broad Sweet Alice Canyon is easy to miss.

Lou’s Spring is reached by a short spur near the west end, not by following the through-route itself. Its flow has varied; ask the Hans Flat Ranger Station before relying on it and treat any collected water. There is no food, fuel or potable water in The Maze, and long open stretches have little shade. Plan for cooler seasons where possible and verify water before leaving. The remote approach uses difficult four-wheel-drive roads, and the two trailheads need separate logistics. Overnight backcountry trips require a permit, and pets are prohibited in the park backcountry. A shorter 2.3-mile round trip from the Fins access to Lou’s Spring and the optional Cedar Bark Ruin spur is a separate outing, not the distance mapped here.

Main Flat was used as pasture by the Chaffin family until 1944. Lou’s and Clell’s springs were named for Chaffin family members and developed in the 1930s. The open, sandy plain and the narrow slickrock canyons make this crossing feel like several different walks stitched together.