Headquarters Canyon Route

Headquarters Canyon is a sandy 2.6-mile out-and-back from the signed Waterpocket District trailhead to a sandstone ramp at the back of the canyon. Allow 2–3 hours. You cross open sagebrush and dry washes, then enter a short slot that opens into a greener canyon below tall, color-streaked walls. Published totals for the same walk range from 2.25 to 3.2 miles round trip. The mapped path measures about 1.29 miles from the start to the ramp; walking it back makes about 2.6 miles. The sandy washes can make the tread less obvious than a built trail.

From the roadside start, head west across the sagebrush toward a pink-striped sandstone dome. The route crosses the dry Halls Creek drainage, skirts orange Entrada sandstone outcrops, then crosses more washes before reaching a wide, stony gulch. When you enter the wash, turn right and follow it north into the canyon. A missed cairn can send you onto the reef instead of into the wash; markers aren't maintained, so don't rely on them as your only way to navigate.

Less than a mile from the start, the gorge tightens into a short slot that usually has no major obstacles. It opens into a greener stretch with high Navajo sandstone walls streaked in color, then narrows again at the steep sandstone ramp in the Kayenta formation. That's the turnaround. A six-foot dryfall above the ramp is passable to agile climbers, but climbing it isn't needed to finish this hike; a much higher dryfall soon stops further progress.

The approach crosses orange Entrada sandstone, the canyon walls are Navajo sandstone, and the final sloping ramp is Kayenta. The route packs several sedimentary layers of the Waterpocket Fold into a short walk. In the slot, look back toward the opening for the striped walls framing a slice of sky.

The signed sandy pullout is just north of The Post side road, about 34.8 miles south of UT-24 on Notom-Bullfrog Road. Parking is small, and the southern approach is unpaved and weather-sensitive. Spring and fall are the preferred seasons for this district. These routes are unmaintained and route markers may be absent or misleading. Pets aren't allowed on trails or in the park backcountry; an overnight backcountry permit is required for camping, not for this day hike.