Icebox Foot Trail

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 7167 - 7189 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: Swasey Cabin
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic setting

The Icebox Foot trail is located near Swasey's Cabin at the head of Eagle Canyon in the San Rafael Swell west of Green River, Utah. The Icebox is a small cave or grotto where melting snow on the cliffs above would surely have formed columns of ice as the runoff found its way into its frigid confines. Judging from its affectionate name we can only assume that it was indeed used, at least part of the year, as an icebox. We have seen other caves hold ice well into the summer at altitudes lower than these.

Swasey Cabin

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 7156 - 7177 feet
Cellphone: 0-2 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: Swasey Cabin
Fee: none
Attractions: Historic cabin

The Swasey Cabin is located in the San Rafael Swell west of Green River, Utah. The cabin was built in 1921 and belonged to the Joseph Swasey family who according to the information at the trailhead farmed and ran livestock in the 'heart of Sinbad Country'. The Sinbad Country has a rich history that includes Butch Cassidy and 'The Wild Bunch', ancient Indians and the Old Spanish Trail from which wild burros can still be seen grazing in the area to this day.

Lonely Dell Ranch

Rating:
Round Trip Distance: 0.25 - 1.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 3105 - 3150 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: Lonely Dell Ranch
Fee: $20/vehicle
Attractions: Historic pioneer ranch

The Lonely Dell Ranch is located in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area at Lees Ferry, Arizona. The ranch served as the homesites for those that worked on the ferry. Lonely Dell sits a short distance from the Paria River near its confluence with the Colorado River. The ranch was built in 1871 by Mormon pioneer John D. Lee, a practicing polygamist, who built cabins there for two of his families. Lee was executed in 1877 for his role in the Mountain Meadows Massacre whereupon the Mormon Church bought the rights to the ferry and granted them to Warren Marshall Johnson and his families who took up residence at Lonely Dell.

Lees Ferry

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.25 - 1.4 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 3142 - 3167 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 45 mins.
Trailhead: Lee's Ferry
Fee: $20/vehicle
Attractions: Historic fort and river crossing

Lees Ferry is located in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area near Marble Canyon, Arizona. The site gets its name from a Mormon pioneer named John D. Lee who was sent by his church to build and operate a ferryboat here. The crossing was the only spot along a 500 mile stretch of the Colorado River where the canyon walls weren't so deep as to prevent a crossing. The ferry operated for 55 years from 1873 to 1928 when it was replaced by the Navajo Bridge in 1929. Today Lees Ferry is the put in spot for rafters going through the Grand Canyon and the take out location for those coming down the Glen Canyon from Page, Arizona. It is also popular with anglers that fish the upstream waters.

Gunnison Bluffs West

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 7.7 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 4608 - 4854 feet
Cellphone: 1-4 bars
Time: 4 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: East Creek
Fee: none
Attractions: Homestead, petroglyphs

The Gunnison Bluffs West trail is located along the Gunnison River just south of Grand Junction, Colorado. The trail begins off of Highway 141 where it follows the route to the lower end of Bangs Canyon before taking off on its own along what appears to be an ancient trail above the west banks of the Gunnison. That said, this isn't an official trail and it doesn't start from an official trailhead. We posted it here for the historical nature of the trail and because of an interesting archaic period petroglyph we found along the way. CAUTION: This hike is probably not for the casual hiker.