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South Fork Horse Canyon Route in Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park, UT

South Fork Horse Canyon Route

A remote canyon branch for experienced Maze backpackers.

Length
23.9mi
Time
20hr
Elev. change
1,093ft
Difficulty
Challenging
  • No dogs
  • High point 5,463 ft
DirectionsMap
Parkwolf audio tour43 stories across Canyonlands’s roads

Overview

About South Fork Horse Canyon Route

Why go

  • A mapped route into the remote South Fork canyon
  • A long backcountry objective in the least-visited park district

Heads up

  • The 24-mile return and approach make this a multi-day commitment
  • No services or potable water in The Maze

Map & elevation

The route

Loading the Canyonlands map
Full map
Elevation4,370–5,463 ft
TrailheadSouth Fork junction on Horse Canyon Trail38.25961, -109.98091
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Plan your hike

Before you go

Parking

No dedicated parking is documented at the South Fork junction. Reach it on the Horse Canyon Trail from a Maze roadhead; high-clearance four-wheel drive is required for the canyon roads, several hours beyond Hans Flat. The approach distance from a roadhead is not included in the trail mileage.

Safety

Very remote and difficult to navigate: the path is minimally maintained and often unmarked, and Maze routes can involve steep slickrock and drop-offs. Flash floods can occur without warning; do not enter or cross a flooding canyon. There is no potable water, food, or gas in The Maze; overnight trips require permits. Pets are prohibited on hiking trails.

2 active Canyonlands alerts

  • ClosureRain-damaged Needles backcountry roads impassableRecent rains have made several Needles backcountry roads impassable; do not drive these routes.Official details
  • CautionMaze access roads require high-clearance 4WDOnly use high-clearance 4WD to reach Hans Flat or Horseshoe Canyon in The Maze; low-clearance vehicles are not recommended on these damaged, rutted, muddy routes.Official details
Canyonlands alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Canyonlands Tour Guide

Your drive to South Fork Horse Canyon Route, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Canyonlands National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

See the Canyonlands audio tour
  • 43 audio storiesacross Canyonlands’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Coyote, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 63 trails, 65 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
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Trail guide

Hiking South Fork Horse Canyon Route

A serious Maze routeSouth Fork Horse Canyon Route follows an 11.

South Fork Horse Canyon Route follows an 11.97-mile mapped corridor from its junction with Horse Canyon Trail to the end of the mapped South Fork line. It is not a loop: plan 23.94 miles out and back along the same corridor. Allow about 20 hours of walking, usually split over several days; that is a planning estimate, not a published route time. It starts at the junction and does not include the approach from a Maze roadhead.

Follow the canyon carefullyThe mapped path follows a watercourse.

The mapped path follows a watercourse. Routes in The Maze are steep, minimally maintained, often unmarked, and difficult to navigate; some involve slickrock and exposed drops. Use a topographic map for the route; the National Park Service warns that GPS directions can get drivers lost on the Maze approach. A layered canyon view with a butte beyond the sandstone shelves is the standout scene along this route.

Plan for the remotenessThis is a backcountry itinerary, not a day hike.

This is a backcountry itinerary, not a day hike. Maze canyon access is several hours from Hans Flat by high-clearance four-wheel drive, and reaching the junction adds a trail approach. There are no food, gas, or potable-water services in The Maze; natural water is not guaranteed. Overnight trips require a permit, flash floods can arrive without warning, and pets are prohibited on hiking trails.

backcountrycanyonremotewashstrenuousslickrockexposedroutefinding

Wildlife

Wildlife in Canyonlands

All Canyonlands wildlife maps
Bighorn Sheep48 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapMule Deer47 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapCoyote12 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapWestern Rattlesnake30 sightingsWestern RattlesnakeMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapTurkey Vulture18 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapWild Turkey18 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Canyonlands. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near South Fork Horse Canyon Route

See it all on the map

Trails that start nearby

ChallengingMaze Overlook Trail1.1 mi · 1 hr · 2 mi awayA cairned scramble from Maze Overlook into South Fork Horse Canyon.ChallengingHorse Canyon Trail (The Maze)15.1 mi · 7 hr · 4.1 mi awayCairns lead down to a sandy canyon in the remote Maze.ChallengingShot Canyon Route10.1 mi · 8 hr · 5.1 mi awayCairns lead from Chimney Rock into Shot Canyon's broad floor.ChallengingPete's Mesa Route8.4 mi · 6 hr · 5.1 mi awaySlickrock miles with the Maze spread out below.ChallengingChimney Rock Route2.3 mi · 2.5 hr · 5.1 mi awayA steep old stock route drops into Pictograph Fork.ChallengingHarvest Scene Route8.7 mi · 7 hr · 5.1 mi awayA rugged loop reaches the Maze’s famous Harvest Scene pictographs.ChallengingThe Plug Route3.9 mi · 2.3 hr · 6 mi awayA hard one-way 3.9-mile connector from The Plug to Pictograph Fork.ModerateChocolate Drops Trail8.8 mi · 5 hr · 6.4 mi awayCairned slickrock to four sandstone sentinels deep in The Maze.

Places near the trailhead

Sight · 2.2 mi awayMaze OverlookA canyon panorama reached only after hours of rough 4WD travel.Sight · 2.8 mi awayThe Harvest SceneA striking pictograph panel on a hard Maze backcountry loop.Sight · 2.8 mi awayChocolate DropsFour nearly 200-foot shale towers, deep in the Maze.Sight · 3.3 mi awayPanorama PointA two-hour 4WD crawl from Hans Flat ends above Horse Canyon.Sight · 5 mi awayChimney RockA sandstone tower worth stopping for once you're deep in the Maze.Sight · 5.8 mi awayStanding RockA roadside spire reached by a five-hour, low-range 4WD drive.Campground · 5.9 mi awayMurphy Hogback Camping AreaA remote night below the Island in the Sky mesa.Sight · 7.4 mi awayThe Doll HouseA sandstone spire city at the end of a six-hour 4WD route.

Parkwolf’s Canyonlands ranking

Top-rated trails in Canyonlands

All 63 trails
  1. 1Mesa Arch TrailEasy · 0.6 mi
  2. 2Chesler Park Loop and Joint TrailChallenging · 10.7 mi
  3. 3Druid Arch TrailChallenging · 10.8 mi
  4. 4Grand View Point TrailEasy · 1.8 mi
  5. 5Horseshoe Canyon Trail to the Great GalleryChallenging · 7 mi
  6. 6White Rim Overlook TrailEasy · 1.8 mi

Take Parkwolf to Canyonlands.

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