Hole in the rock to the rincon trail and the chute

moab_cj5

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
If memory serves, it's 36ish miles one way from the trail head to the end, so 70+ miles round trip for just the HITR portion off Noki Dome Road. It is closer to 90 miles if you hit both ends of Lake Canyon wash out. My last trip out I tracked 91.8 miles of dirt from the start to finish and did a bit of extra exploring.
 

ellenov

New Member
Lots of info here. Rincon is closed to vehicle travel.
There are no signs when you get to the switchback portion that goes down to the lake that says closed to vehicle travel. There are no signs off the Grey Mesa where the Rincon begins that says closed to vehicle travel. I spoke to Glen Canyon officials last year and they said you could go as far as the trail that leads to the lake but again, there are no signs anywhere that it is closed to vehicle travel.
 

ellenov

New Member
We camp at Coil Camp which is just before you go into the wash, down the small waterfall and onto the dugway. Pretty long day to do it in one day. We do not break camp, on day 2 go to the overlook and back to camp and day 3 back out to pavement.
 

ellenov

New Member
There is zero debate that the managing agency closed it in 1979. The reason they closed it, The ethics of running it in its current status, and the options to get it reopened are where the debate lies.
No closed according to Glen Canyon Ranger station. Open to the overlook but said you can't continue and drive down to the lake. This was last year and they have no signs posted that motor vehicles are not allowed
 

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
No closed according to Glen Canyon Ranger station. Open to the overlook but said you can't continue and drive down to the lake. This was last year and they have no signs posted that motor vehicles are not allowed
Just to clarify, you're saying that a GCNRA ranger told you it was open to this point here?

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cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
No closed according to Glen Canyon Ranger station. Open to the overlook but said you can't continue and drive down to the lake. This was last year and they have no signs posted that motor vehicles are not allowed

Have a name of said person? Are they willing to document that on paper or an email? I'd love for them to legitimize even some of the route, that would be big!

That is contrary to their own maps, their own motorized travel plan and their own recreation travel planner who I spoke at length with.

1979 GCNRA map showing the then closure of the Rincon portion

IMG_4009.JPG

Current GCNRA OHV travel map (note end of HITR is shown as a non-motorized trail & they fail to show the Rincon altogether)

IMG_4010.jpg
 

ellenov

New Member
Have a name of said person? Are they willing to document that on paper or an email? I'd love for them to legitimize even some of the route, that would be big!

That is contrary to their own maps, their own motorized travel plan and their own recreation travel planner who I spoke at length with.

1979 GCNRA map showing the then closure of the Rincon portion

View attachment 169516

Current GCNRA OHV travel map (note end of HITR is shown as a non-motorized trail & they fail to show the Rincon altogether)

View attachment 169517
No, it was a ranger I spoke with. There is not one sign at the beginning of the trail on the Grey Mesa or the trail that leads to the lake. Pretty hard for them to claim it is closed to vehicle travel if the person on the trail has no sign to go by. I don't see anything on your maps that show any of the Rincon closed. Just past the overlook at Hole in the Rock that portion on the trail below is closed.
 

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
No, it was a ranger I spoke with. There is not one sign at the beginning of the trail on the Grey Mesa or the trail that leads to the lake. Pretty hard for them to claim it is closed to vehicle travel if the person on the trail has no sign to go by.

Unfortunately or fortunately, that simply isn't how it works on public lands. It is the users responsibility to 'Know Before You Go" and verify they are traveling on legal routes. The intersection has been signed in the past, they don't often last long at that location.


I don't see anything on your maps that show any of the Rincon closed. Just past the overlook at Hole in the Rock that portion on the trail below is closed.

??? The Rincon is this route. That map is from the NPS's document/planning when they were in fact closing it.

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This is their current map. You'll see the extension out to the rim and the drop from the rim to the Rincon proper are no longer on a their motorized travel map

1707783666928.png

Perhaps we are talking about something other than the Rincon?
 
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