Headquarters Canyon Trail

Across the road from the Headquarters parking area, the path leads south across the Halls Creek valley as it heads toward a large, brown, rounded Entrada outcrop. A steep-sided wash is crossed early on before reaching the left flank of the monolith. Beyond the rock, the trail tops a low rise before heading into a wash with woody vegetation. It's worth turning around and marking this point to aide on the return navigation. As you follow the wash, the ground is littered with rippled rock fragments.At about three-quarters of a mile from the trailhead, the wash enters the Page Sandstone and a nice slot section is just a short distance ahead. The slot is deep, shoulder width wide, and stretches for a couple hundred feet. The way is sandy and easy going, likely making it the most accessible slot canyon in the park.Beyond the slot, the canyon remains highly scenic as the walls soar far overhead in vertical sweeps, often adorned with veils of desert varnish. The floor is just wide enough to sustain a sandy channel with heavily vegetated banks.Ahead, the canyon floor ends at a sandstone ramp that rises at a moderate gradient. A couple minutes of climbing leads to a small pour-off where the ramp itself is incised into the rock. This is the end of the trail. From this vantage, and during the return trip, the canyon's aspect is quite different, but remains impressive.This content was contributed by author Rick Stinchfield. For a comprehensive hiking guide to Capitol Reef National Park and to see more by Rick, click here.