Burr Trail
Around Hanksville - Utah
Note: On dirt roads, road conditions can change constantly. Therefore, we strongly recommend that everyone check the road conditions before each trip. The most current information is usually available on the BLM website in Escalante.
GSENM-Road-Condition-Report
Our visits: So far 3 visits in November 2009, February 2016, October 2018
Burr Trail
Description: The Burr Trail is a 67.7mi Scenic Backway between Boulder to the west and Bullfrog to the southeast. A mile after leaving Boulder you reach the Grand Stairecase National Monument. The first scenic highlight is the 6.8mi long Long Canyon. Here you drive between huge rock walls hoping that none of the boulders on the left or right will break loose. Shortly thereafter you reach Capitol Reef NP. From here on the Burr Trail is unpaved. The landscape offers again and again great views of canyons, mountains and of course the Waterpocket Fold, an earth fault which pulls here through the national park. After leaving the Burr Trail Switchbacks behind, the dirt road meets the Nottom Bullfrog Rd. The Burr Trail turns right to the south and ends after a total of 109 km in Bullfrog.
The road conditions on the unpaved part of the road can vary a lot. Normally the conditions are good, but especially after a longer rain period this can change quickly. Before starting the long drive, you may want to check the road conditions at the Visitor Center in Escalante or here .
Our rating: Scenically a beautiful route. After Long Canyon at the latest, you can stop every few feet to take photos, because the scenery is so breathtaking. In any southwest vacation we could drive along here without ever getting bored. We definitely consider the route more spectacular to look at when driving from Boulder in the direction of Bullfrog.
