Backpacking Grand Gulch - Collins to Kane Gulch

April 9, 2026

🏷️ #100DaysToOffload #travel

Julie and I joined Jim and Mike for 5 days of backpacking in Cedar Mesa in April 2026.

Our route through Grand Gulch

Logistics

We booked our backpacking permits via rec.gov in Bears Ears National Monument. You don’t need to specify where you are camping, just where and when you will enter and exit.
- We also booked a visit to Moon House the day before we started the trip.
Given our route was a one-way path, we had to drop a car (Jim and Mike’s) at Kane Gulch ranger station then pile into our van and drive to the trailhead. We did that the night before and camped at the trailhead. This is allowed without a permit and the Collin parking area is well suited for this.
The road to Collin is about 45 minutes from Kane Gulch ranger station, 25 minutes of that being off-road with some rocky ledge climbs. It wasn’t hard but it isn’t trivial either.
Our biggest concern going in was water supply so we each carried 5-6 liters of water at the start. It rained most of the first night and following morning so water was never really an issue, other than forcing us to bushwhack most of day 2 because of the flooded gulch. Every night we were able to camp near a water supply and use boiled, untreated water for cooking.

Side trips are the norm in Cedar Mesa. You’ll be scanning the canyon walls continually for ruins and rock art, often dropping your packs to go explore. So if your normal pace is 2 miles per hour when backpacking, factor in more stops and diversion than you would normally plan for. You might only make a pace of 1 mile per hour.
Likewise, weather and conditions can change your routing significantly. These trails are not maintained and usually not marked. You’ll follow deer trails and human trails; sometimes they are the same.
Bring binoculars to scan the canyon walls. And look for birds.
Purchase Kelsey’s book for accurate but imprecise guides to finding the cool stuff in Cedar Mesa (and surrounding areas).