Utah Rides

Hell’s Backbone Rode
This route is located between Boulder and Escalante, Utah.One of many routes I found interesting from johncletheroe.org is known as Hell’s BackBone Road or Posey Lake Road. Gary Hicks of Atlanta, Georgia review states: This scenic backway, winding through the Dixie National Forest off of Utah Highway 12 between Boulder and Escalante, is undoubtedly the most terrifying road I’ve personally driven. We’ve yet to drive the central Colorado roads, but over the past 4 years have driven just about every possible road from the Sierras to the western Rockies, and nothing has come close to this backway for sheer exhilaration.Although Hell’s Backbone is a gravel road and suggested for 4WD/high clearance, it’s technically rated for passenger cars and appears to be well maintained, as of 2004 when we last drove it (in a 4WD Ford Explorer rental – I was taking no chances). It switchbacks up one mountain and down another, with a twelve mile stretch in the middle that runs across a mountain ridge with steep dropoffs on both sides. The road is generally wide enough for one car comfortably – two cars approaching each other have to take extreme care. There are no shoulders or guardrails at any point on the 30 mile-plus drive, and it takes about two and a half hours to complete safely and enjoyably. At one point it crosses a tiny, single-lane bridge (the Hell’s Backbone Bridge) that spans an incredibly deep gorge through Box and Death Hollow Canyons. A very worthwhile drive!

This road is definitely off the beaten path so it’s easy to understand how it could be missed. I stumbled across a personal blog that included a detailed description of Hell’s Backbone while doing some internet research prior to a Grand Circle vacation back in ‘04. The impetus to add it to our vacation plans came from this personal trip diary. It seemed a natural side-trip as we drove Utah Highway 12 between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef national parks. In fact, it was the sole reason we rented a 4WD SUV rather than a passenger vehicle, although in retrospect we would have probably done just fine in a Ford Taurus. The 4WD certainly gave me some confidence, though, as we switchbacked miles and miles of narrow gravel road with heart-stopping, 2000-foot drop-offs just a few unprotected feet away!For location on a map, the proper name for Hell’s Backbone is Utah FH (Forest Highway) 153. It’s not identified in any atlas that I’ve run across, but can be found on a common fold-out detail map of Utah purchased locally. My impression is that very few people know of this fantastic road – I’ve yet to run across anyone in the two years since our trip that has ever heard of it. The day we drove the Backbone, in May of ‘04, we saw four other vehicles the entire trip, and two of these were Forest Service trucks.

Hell’s Backbone Road is a completely different experience from the other roads mentioned here. According to utahcanyons.com this isn’t a desert road, but instead takes off into the high country of the Aquarius Plateau. The road was built during the Great Depression Era of the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps as an alternative route between Escalante and Boulder. From Escalante, the road climbs along the Pine Creek Drainage skirting around the heads of The Box and Death Hollow and reaching an elevation of over 9,000 feet above sea level. The road climaxes at the Hell’s Backbone Bridge which spans a deep chasm where the heads of Death Hollow and Sand Creek cut deeply into the Navajo Sandstone. From the bridge, the road descends into picturesque farming community of Salt Gulch and intersects Highway 12 about four miles west of Boulder.

Trail Heads – Hell’s Backbone Road provides access to several popular trail heads. The Lower Box and Upper Box access points and trail heads are located on the road and are well signed, as is the Death Hollow Trail Head two miles west of the bridge. There is one of our favorite campgrounds at Blue Spruce just past (east) the Upper Box Trail Head. Sweet.

Because of the high elevation of Hell’s Backbone Road, it can be closed for a good portion of the year due to snow.  During the warmer months there is no better way to beat the desert heat than venturing up into the high country. Hell’s Backbone Road is a well maintained gravel forest service road and is passable by low clearance vehicles, weather permitting.

About 15 miles from Escalante, Forest Road 154 takes off to the north and provides access to Posey Lake and its beautiful setting, campground, and day use area. Continue north along Forest Road 154 to the crest of the Aquarius Plateau above 10,000 feet in elevation and wonderful meadows, lakes, and lots of wildlife. You can continue along FR 154 all the way to Highway 24 in Bicknell.

Please check back for more routes. Thank you johncletheroe.org for sharing some routes with us.