Hayduke Trail #13

The Hayduke Trail is an unofficial, roughly 800-mile backcountry route strung across the canyon country of Utah and Arizona, named for the wilderness-defending antihero of Edward Abbey's novels. Its final stretch crosses into Zion National Park through the park's quieter east side, climbing out of the Arizona Strip and the Virgin River's East Fork before picking up Zion's own East Rim Trail on the approach toward Zion Canyon.

This is backcountry hiking, not a maintained day trip: the route crosses slickrock, gulches, and exposed rim country reached by dirt roads, and thru-hikers plan for a multi-day carry with water scarce until known springs along the rim. Current conditions matter here more than on most trails. The section of the East Rim Trail that once carried the route down to Zion Canyon near Echo Canyon and Weeping Rock has been closed since a 2019 rockfall, so hikers following the Hayduke through Zion should check current park closures before counting on that connection.