Canyoneering Route Description

The Old Airstrip Route into Halls Creek
The Kingdom portion of
Halls Creek area, Utah.

Quick Facts

 

Time Required to travel sown Halls Creek to the junction with Millers Creek - About 6 hours
Distance - 9.2 miles down to the junction of Halls Creek and Millers Creek (ONE WAY).  18.4 miles round-trip.
Rappels - Non - technical hiking / approach route.
Elevation Range - 5030 - 3840 Feet
Vehicle - High Clearance recommended  Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

No special gear needed since this is a non technical hiking route also used as an approach for some technical canyons.

General Comments

The old airstrip route down into Halls Creek is a route that has been used for years as an alternate way to get down into Halls Creek.  This route has been the standard overland route used to access The Kingdom area of Halls Creek.  The name of "The Kingdom" was coined for the area that has canyoneering routes named after animals as in animal kingdom.  Smiling Cricket (aka Poe Canyon), Happy Dog and Baboon Laughs are some of the technical canyoneering routes in The Kingdom.

There is a shortcut route into The Kingdom that is shorter, has less elevation change and does not need a high clearance vehicle.  The shortcut route is the preferred route and is described in the route description pages for the canyons in The Kingdom.  However some people may want the information for this long time standard route, which is why I created this separate page for the route.

The old airstrip route described here goes from the old airstrip down to the junction of Millers Creek where it dumps into Halls Creek.  If you are using this route to access canyons in The Kingdom, you will also need to refer to the route description for the desired canyon to get the directions from the junction of Millers and Halls Creek.

The Old Airstrip Route to the junction of Millers and Halls Creek:
Is 9.2 miles long, has an elevation range of 5030 - 3840 and may need a high clearance vehicle.

The Shortcut Route to the junction of Millers and Halls Creek:
Is 5.9 miles long, has an elevation range of 4400 - 3840 feet and requires only a passenger vehicle.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

The junction of highways 95 and 276 is about 26 miles south on highway 95 from Hanksville Utah. 

From the junction of highways 95 and 276, drive south on highway 276 for 35 miles to the turn off on the right (west) for the south end of the Burr Trail (extBurrTairlS).  Turn right (west) to drive down the Burr Trail which is paved here.

About 2.25 miles from Highway 276 the Burr Trail is still paved but crosses a major drainage (wBurrTrailDP01) and may be washed out or flooded at times.

About 2.8 miles farther the Burr Trail crosses over Bullfrog Creek (wBurrTrailDP02) and may be washed out or flooded at times.

About 1.25 miles farther the Burr Trail goes up a couple switch backs to climb up onto the mesa.

After the switch backs and getting up onto the mesa, continue on the paved Burr Trail for 5.6 miles to a turn off (extHallsCrk01) onto a dirt road on the left (west).

Note:
This dirt road is a loop road that leaves the Burr Trail here then reconnects with the Burr Trail about 6 miles north of here.  Along this loop road is where you can access routes down into the Halls Creek Area from the standard trailhead or via the airstrip.  This route description will cover the route in from the airstrip.

The Halls Creek Loop road you should be aware there are multiple dirt side roads and very little if any signage.  This can make it easy to get confused.  A GPS can be helpful but a watchful eye on the map and some descent navigation skills will get you there.

After turning left (west) onto the Halls Creek Loop Road (extHallsCrk01) drive 3.4 miles to a side road (extLwHalsVwPt) on the left (south).  This side road leads out to a view point where you can look over the lower portion of Halls Creek but is NOT the road you want to take.  Pass this turn off and continue west.

About 0.9 miles farther and a couple turns will be turn off (extHallAirStrp ) onto a faint, not so well used side road on the left (west) side of the road.  This side road leads out toward an old airstrip and IS the side road you want to take.

Note:
There is another side road about 450 feet north of the airstrip exit and it may be easy to confuse the two.  The side road farther north (the one you do not want) travels west.  The side road out to the airstrip (the one you DO want) travels southwest then within a few hundred feet turns to go south. 

The final side road used to go out to the airstrip area is not very well used and high clearance is recommended although I have had a Toyota Yaris out to the TH with some careful driving.

Drive on the road out toward the airstrip for about 0.9 miles to where the road goes into a wide open area (tHalls-AS-Rte) where multiple cars can park.  The parking area is only a couple hundred feet from the top of the cliff band.  Park here.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle is needed.  You will eventually hike back to this point after your visit to Halls Creek.

Maps

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

Map Link Icon
Click the links for maps of the route.
Map of the entire Old Airstrip Route.
Map comparing the Old Airstrip Route and Shortcut Route.

Details

The Approach  to The Kingdom Via the Airstrip:
From where you parked (tHalls-AS-Rte) walk about 275 feet southwest over to the top (wHalls-AS-RP01) of a wide ravine like area leading west down into Halls Creek.  Route find your way west down the rocky slope.

About 550 feet farther you will be on the next lower shelf and at the top (wHalls-AS-RP02) of the next downward drop in the wide ravine like area.  Begin scrambling down the slope as it begins to get steeper and more like scrambling in and around sandstone boulders.

About 150 feet farther is a major drop (wHalls-AS-RP03) in the water course which needs to be bypassed.  Bypass the drop on the LDC side and begin traversing down the left (south) side of the wide ravine like area.

About 0.3 miles farther you will be out of the ravine like area and out onto the wide open spaces of Halls Creek on a trail (wHalls-AS-RP04) that is about 500 feet before you get down to the actual watercourse.  Turn left and head south down Halls Creek.

Note:
Continuing south down Halls Creek a pretty well used trail that allows easy travel mostly out of the actual water course most of the time but does crossing the water course in places.  In some places there are multiple paths but they all end up going the same place.  It would be impractical to give fine detail on the hike down Halls Creek, so be prepared to track your progress on a map or GPS and use some navigation skills.

About 3 miles south down Halls Creek after getting to the bottom of the airstrip access ravine the trail goes up out of the wash (jHalsNrwBypsN) on the LDC (east) side.  This is the north end of a 2.5 miles bypass trail to go up and bypass the Halls Creek Narrows.  The Halls Creek Narrows are a scenic destination for hikers but can add significant time to a through hike.  The bypass trail bypasses the Halls Creek Narrows saving significant time.

About 1.2 miles up the bypass trail is the top out on the Halls Divide where you may find a USGS survey marker just off to the east side of the trail (wHalsDividUSGS).

Between the top out of the bypass trail at the Halls Divide and the south end of the bypass trail is section where the trail navigates the top of a short cliffy section as it skirts around the head of a side drainage.

About 1.2 miles south of the top out at Halls Divide the trail drops back down into Halls Creek (jHalsNrwBypsS) just below the Halls Creek Narrows.

Note:
Water is flowing out of the bottom the Halls Creek Narrows and continuing down Halls Creek.

About 3.1 miles south down from the Halls Creek Narrows the trail crosses over Millers Creek (wHalsCrsMilers).

This route description stops here.  Welcome to Millers Creek and Halls Creek confluence.  The Kingdom area canyons are just south of here.   Enjoy a canyon, more wondering around in Halls Creek or turn around and head back to the cars.

GPS Waypoint Information

Downloadable GPX files available at BG-Gear Store (easier than manual entry and a great way to support Bluugnome).
Waypoint naming convention and map symbol information can be found on the Glossary page.  Elevations are approximate.
BEFORE
manually entering coordinates set your system to WGS84 datum and Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° coordinate format
Inconsistent datum's and coordinate formats will result in location errors.

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........
Old Airstrip Route - The drive in.
  1. extBurrTairlS          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57554   W -110.71199        Elev: 3,990 Feet
    Exit off of Highway 276 to start onto the south end of the Burr Trail. The Burr Trail is paved here and leaves the highway going west.
  2. wBurrTrailDP01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57949   W -110.74897        Elev: NaN Feet
    Burr Trail is paved here but crosses over a draiange and may be washed out or flooded at times.
  3. wBurrTrailDP02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59983   W -110.78411        Elev: NaN Feet
    Burr Trail is paved here but crosses over Bullfrog Creek and may be washed out or flooded at times.
  4. pkKingdomSrtCt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.61615   W -110.79873        Elev: 4,150 Feet
    A large dirt turn-out on the west side of the road. This is where you park if using the shortcut route into "The Kingdom". The Kingdom is the area with the animal named canyons (Smiling Cricket, Babbon Laughs and Happy Dog). To start on the route walk slightly north of due west from the parking area and cross over a small drianage about 450 feet away.
  5. extHallsCrk01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.67946   W -110.85078        Elev: 5,081 Feet
    Exit from the Burr Trail to a side road that leads over to the Halls Creek area then reconnects with the Burr Trail about 6 miles north.
  6. extLwHalsVwPt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.68645   W -110.90230        Elev: NaN Feet
    Exit to a side road leading toward a view point where you can look down at Lower Halls Creek.
  7. extHallAirStrp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.68806   W -110.91191        Elev: NaN Feet
    Turn onto the side road here goiong west / southwest toward an old airstrip to get to the start of the route down into Halls Creek using the Airstrip route. Of note there is another side road about 450 north of this point and the two may be easily confused. This airstrip road goes southwest for a few hundred feet then turns to go south. The road farther north travels west.
  8. tHalls-AS-Rte          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.67812   W -110.91473        Elev: 5,030 Feet
    This is the start of the Airstrip route down into Halls Creek. To Start the route walk about 200 feet over toward a ravine like area dropping down to Halls Creek.
Old Airstrip Route - The Hike down to Millers and Halls Creek Conf.
  1. tHalls-AS-Rte          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.67812   W -110.91473        Elev: 5,030 Feet
    This is the start of the Airstrip route down into Halls Creek. To Start the route walk about 200 feet over toward a ravine like area dropping down to Halls Creek.
  2. wHalls-AS-RP01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.67744   W -110.91517        Elev: 5,010 Feet
    Top of a wide ravine like area leading down into Halls Creek.
  3. wHalls-AS-RP02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.67659   W -110.91675        Elev: NaN Feet
    This is the start of the second dropping section in the wide ravine like area. Route find your way down about 150 feet to a major drop in the water course which can be bypassed on the left (south).
  4. wHalls-AS-RP03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.67653   W -110.91727        Elev: 4,703 Feet
    Very definite drop in the water course that needs to be bypassed. Traverse left (south) and route find your way down to the bottom of the ravine like area.
  5. wHalls-AS-RP04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.67386   W -110.92055        Elev: 4,271 Feet
    On a trail about 500 feet east of the actual water course.
  6. jHalsNrwBypsN          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.63926   W -110.89669        Elev: 4,170 Feet
    This is the North end of a 2.4 mile bypass trail to go up and around the Halls Creek Narrows. The trail leaves the wash here and goes up on the LDC (east) side to bypass the Halls Creek Narrows. The bypass trail saves a lot of time if you want to get up or down halls Creek quickly.
  7. wHalsDividUSGS          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.62757   W -110.88145        Elev: 4,200 Feet
    USGS Survey Marker near the top out of the Halls Divide.
  8. jHalsNrwBypsS          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.61517   W -110.87116        Elev: 3,935 Feet
    This is the South end of a 2.4 mile bypass trail to go up and around the Halls Creek Narrows. The trail leaves the wash here and goes up on the LDC (east) side to bypass the Halls Creek Narrows. The bypass trail saves a lot of time if you want to get up or down halls Creek quickly. Of note there is year round water flowing out of the bottom (south) end of the Halls Creek Narrows.
  9. wHalsCrsMilers          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57711   W -110.86952        Elev: 3,840 Feet
    The trail down Halls Creek crosses over Millers Creek here.