The Hole-in-the-Rock Pioneers' Route, Parowan to Bluff, last update June 3, 2025.kmz
Accuracy - At or near major trail sites (place names), the trail’s position is known and quite accurate. In between place names where there is little if any known trail evidence, the position of the trail is assumed and may not be accurate.
Click on the darker waypoints to see the associated images.
Created by Lamont Crabtree, December 20, 2013. Last update June 3, 2025.

Hole-in-the-Rock Trail

Hile-in-the-Rock Route Place Names
Hole-in-the-Rock Pioneers' Route Place Names, Parowan to Bluff.
Lamont Crabtree December 20, 2013. Last update June 3, 2025.

Clay Hills Spring

Salvation Knoll

Long Flat

Navajo Springs
One of the few sites where Comb Ridge could be crossed by the early inhabitants of the region is located here at Navajo Spring. In the evening of December 27, 1879 Mormon scouts George Sevey, George Morrill, Lemuel Redd, and George Hobbs came across this trail as they were searching for a route for Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers to follow between the Colorado River and Montezuma Fort. The scouts, who had run out of food three days earlier, were desperate to reach a source of food. George Hobbs: “We came to the brink of the cliff where cliff dwellers had done a vast amount of work in making a trail leading up the side to the top. After repairing the trail in places and pushing and pulling our animals up jump offs that spanned the trail we arrived at the top towards night.”

Comb Wash

Death Valley

Hermit Lake / Lake Pagahrit
Here a natural dam formed a small lake, which the pioneers initially called Hermit Lake. After learning the Native American name for it, most referred to it as Lake Pagahrit. The pioneers crossed the canyon by driving their wagons over the dam. After the pioneers established Bluff, Platte D. Lyman and others kept cattle herds at the lake. On the left remanent of the dam is a black area. This is a thick layer of decomposed manure from those cattle operations. In 1915 the dam washed out.

Gray Mesa

Great Bend of the San Ruan River

Hole-in-the-Rock
The pioneers’ initial descent at the top of the crevice. Note the drill hole for blasting in the upper left portion of the photo.

Jack Ass Bench

Fifty Mile Spring (original)
USGS topographical maps identify the spring to the north as Fifty Mile Spring. However, most local ranchers believe this is the pioneers’ Fifty Mile Spring due to its size / water volume. The pioneers likely utilized all of the springs in the area.

Fifty Mille Point

Fifty Mile Spring - Per USGS Topo Maps

Dance Hall Rock

Forty Mile Spring (original)
Due to its proximity to Dance Hall Rock, this is likely the pioneers’ Forty Mile Spring versus the Forty Mile Spring two miles east of here as designated on USGS topographical maps. However, due to the size of their encampment, they likely utilized all water sources in the area.

Forty Mile Spring - Per USGS Topo Maps

Soda Spring

Carcass Wash

Forty Mile Camp
This area was likely used by the pioneers for camping while in the Forty Mile Spring / Dance Hall Rock area. Due to the size of the encampment, camping was likely spread out a considerable distance in all directions from the spring and Dance Hall Rock.

Coyote Hole Spring

Twenty Mile Spring

Ten Mile Spring

Devils Garden

Harris Wash

Silver Falls Creek

Halls Crossing

Muley Twist Canyon

Widsoe

Escalante Mountain

Escalante

Red Canyon

Panguitch

Dripping Springs

Green Water Spring

Castle Ruin

Castle Wash

Bear Creek

Bear Valley

Little Creek

Parowan Meeting House
Where many of the calls to the San Juan Mission were issued.

Harmony Flat

Grand Flat

Mormon Flat

Bluff

Butler Crossing

San Juan Hill

The Twist
Photo of the lower portion of the pioneers' rout down the Twist.

Clay Hill Pass
The dotted line is the pioneer's path. The other path/road was built by the Skelly Oil company in 1951 to access the potential Nokia Dome oil field in 1951. It was this road that made it possible to take jeeps as far as Slick Rocks.

Slick Rocks upper blasted path

The Chute

The Little Hole-in-the-Rock

The Dugway

The Sand Hill

Register Rocks
The pioneers' names were destroyed by high lake level.

Cheese Camp

Cottonwood Canyon

Last Major Dugway
The last dugway / cribbing built by the puioneers'.

Tree Chop Pioneers' Path

Pioneer Dugway
HIR Dugway, nicknamed Emly's Dugway by Bluff Fort / trail maintenance volunteers. Emily, a teenager at the time, helped locate / re-discover this section of the HIR trail.

Slick Rocks - lower blasted path

Cow Tank Spring

Uncle Bens Dugway

Hole-in-the-Rock - pre Lake Powell

River Crossing - pre Lake Powell

Juniper Forest - Chopped Path

Cribbing
This is the beginning of the pioneers’ ascent out of Cottonwood Canyon. Today highway engineers refer to this as cribbing. The pioneers referred to this road work as a dugway. Numerous dugways were built throughout their route, requiring the hauling and placement of thousands of rocks. Some were of considerable size and weight.

Pioneer Dugway