May 2026-6. Miles & Miles of Dirt Road, Part 1: Hell's Backbone & Escalante

May 20-21, 2026

    In 2025, we drove from Boulder to Escalante, Utah, on Route 12. It includes the 4-mile Hog's Back section with its steep drop offs on either side and no guardrails. This year we decided we should have even more excitement: Hell's Backbone Rd, a 38-mile-long, 2-lane mostly dirt road along the northern edge of the Box-Death Hollow Wilderness Area. Well, it sounds scary anyway! 

Leaving Green River, Utah. We turned south from I-70.

(Turquoise) Durango CO-Silverton CO-Ouray CO-Green River UT. 272 mi/6 days. (Brown) Utah: Green River-Torrey-Boulder-Hell's Backbone Rd-Escalante-Burr Trail Rd-Torrey. 300 miles/3 days. 

    Hell's Backbone Rd was completed in 1933 by the CCC, allowing summer travel between Escalante and Boulder. In winter, travelers had to rely on the old wagon road. In 1940, the CCC completed a paved road between the two towns, allowing year-round travel, but Boulder did not have a paved road north to Torrey until 1985. 

   

Hints of things to come...

Purple:Torrey-Boulder-Hell's Backbone Rd-Posey Lake Campground. Blue: Posey Lake-Escalante-Hog's Back-Burr Trail Rd.

        Driving south from Torrey on Hwy 12, a little beyond Boulder we turned onto Hell's Backbone Rd. After 5 miles of paved road, we were driving on a comfortable dirt road. We'd already driven 50 miles of dirt road on this trip, on the Moki Dugway and in Valley of the Gods. We would put in a total of 120 miles of dirt roads.

The road was often more dirt than gravel but for the most part decent.

    Granted Hell's Backbone had its share of washboard and potholes, but overall it was comfortable. The road was a feat of engineering and determination. It ascends along the edge of Box-Death Hollow Wilderness—the name might give you an idea of the terrain—from about 6,000 to 9,200 feet. We alternated between being in the woods and looking out to amazing vistas. 

The most amazing construction is the 109-foot-long bridge 1,500 feet above the canyon. 

Stopped at Hell's Backbone Bridge.

Looking across the bridge.

Hell's Backbone Bridge today. The original wood bridge was replaced in the 1960s with a steel/concrete bridge, which was replaced in 2005 (Photo Wikimedia Commons/Jason J Corneveaux).

    Hell's Backbone Bridge is about 1/2 way along the road. To construct the bridge 

"....the CCC felled two tall, straight pines. After leveling them off topside they placed them across this backbone of rock and secured them in place. When the bulldozer and compressor were needed on the south side of the chasm, a local man, Lorrel 'Sixty' McInelly, agreed to drive the bulldozer, pulling the compressor across the backbone on the two pine logs. With a safety rope tied around his mid-section, Sixty slowly inched the dozer out onto the logs and across the backbone while onlookers held their breath and silently prayed."

                                         —Sign at Hell's Backbone Bridge

Looking over the north side of the bridge. We weren't courageous enough to lean all the way over the guardrail to get a truly straight down shot. Even Doug, the retired Naval Aviator, is scared of heights.

Looking beyond one side of the bridge...

...& the other. Not exactly hospitable-looking terrain.

Looking over the south side.

Once across the bridge, we were back with terra firma on both sides. 

 

A few curves & steep climbs took us to the highest point of the road a bit over 9,200 feet.

The road had some deep ruts at the top caused by vehicles slogging along when the road was wet. You woudn't want a wheel to get caught in a muddy rut. Fortunately all was dry for us, but we still worked to stay out of the ruts, just in case.

    We'd read about Posey Lake Campground, but after turning off Hell's Backbone, we wondered at the signage. We finally reached it 2+ miles in.

It was so quiet at Posey Lake Campground!

    Being a federal campground, Posey Lake would have been 1/2 price for us. It wasn't officially open, but the restrooms (pit toilets) were open and stocked. The camp host had just arrived from Tennessee in his amazing bus conversion. He came to our site and explained that the campground opening was pending the  Forest Service inspection of the newly repaired water system the next day. 

Sunrise at Posey Lake.

    As we were leaving in the morning, we stopped to wish the host a good season, and all agreed that it was one of the quietest nights we had ever experienced. Once back on Hell's Backbone Rd, the final miles to Escalante were well groomed.

Turning from Hell's Backbone Rd onto Hwy 12.

Escalante

Typically stunning Utah country.

    The town of Escalante is a short drive from the western end of Hell's Backbone Rd.

There are many old brick houses in Escalante, making us wonder if wood had not been readily available.  

After a stop in Escalante at an amazing coffee shop—with a friendly dog, though he was aloof until our breakfast burritos arrived—we were back on Hwy 12 heading north toward Boulder.

We checked out Calf Creek Campground, where our kids had stayed & hiked in years past.

An exciting stretch of Hwy 12: the Hog's Back... 

...with steep drops on both sides & no guardrails.

    Soon we were turning off Highway 12 at Burr Trail Grill onto Burr Trail Rd and on to our next adventure.

Hooptedoodle

    Marilyn got to wondering about the size and boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument as in our travels we have crossed into and out of it numerous times at various locations.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is outlined in green. 

    At 1.9 million acres, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is the largest US land national monument. Only the 5 marine national monuments are larger: Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawaii; Marianas Trench Marine National Monument; Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, American Samoa; Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument; Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, Atlantic Ocean.

National Lands in SW Utah

                                                                    Acres              Sq miles
• Grand Staircase-Escalante Natl Mon      1.9 million      2,970
• Glen Canyon Natl Recreation Area         1.2 million      1,960 
        • Lake Powell at full pool                      160,000         250
• Capitol Reef National Park                         241,900         380 

• Zion National Park                                      146,957         229
• Bryce Canyon Naitional Park                        35,800          56 
• Cedar Breaks National Monument.                 6,155         10
    

    Grand Staircase-Escalante includes it all: palentology, archeology, wilderness, fauna, flora, topography from cliffs to canyons to plateaus to badlands, areas for all kinds of outdoor sports. 

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Next up: Miles & Miles of Dirt Road, Part 2: Burr Trail Rd & Switchbacks, Notom-Bullfrog Rd.