From 1879 to 1880, more than 200 pioneering Mormons followed this route on their way to settle southeastern Utah. When the precipitous walls of Glen Canyon on the Colorado River blocked their path, they blasted and hammered through the cliff, creating a hole wide enough to lower their 80 wagons through – a feat honored by the road's name today. The final part of their trail lies submerged beneath Lake Powell. History buffs should pick up Stewart Aitchison's Hole-in-the-Rock Trail for a detailed account.
The history is often wilder than the scenery along much of this 57-mile, dusty washboard of a road, but it does have several sights and trailheads. The road is passable to ordinary passenger cars when dry, except for the last, extremely rugged 7 miles, which always require 4WD. The road stops short of the actual Hole-in-the-Rock , but hikers can trek out and scramble down past the 'hole' to Lake Powell in less than an hour. Sorry, no elevators for the climb back up.
