Rating: 6/10

Lockhart Basin is a wonderfully long trail. It parallels the White Rim Road, which lies a few miles off to the west. From Hurrah Pass to Scenic Byway 211, the route is 48 miles in length. The turnoff for Lockhart Basin is 6.7 miles from the pass. It is similar to what you encounter along White Rim, in that there are multiple side canyons along the way. This road is much slower, though, as most of it is a bumpy road filled with small, embedded rocks which makes for a chatty ride, even when aired down. It would probably take all day to run if you ran this at street pressure! The real fun in the trail lies within the first mile after the turnoff from the Chicken Corners road, in that there are a few rocky sections which earn it the 6-rating that I give it, which is using Colorado's 10-scale. After that, it is pretty mellow, though there are few more short sections along the way which are somewhat rocky and steep. As you approach the Lockhart Canyon turnoff, the road becomes a fast track, and remains such until the highway.

The spur road to the end of Lockhart Canyon is five miles and definitely worth the trip. It took me about 3.5 hours, as I recall, to get to the turnoff from the start of the trail. Being late afternoon, I figured I'd go ahead and camp at the end, and was hoping it would be a nice area. Without a doubt, I wasn't disappointed. The end of the road is lined with wonderful green trees which are full of life and signal the Colorado River must be near. This makes for a wonderful contrast to the all the red rock that has been dominating the views. And indeed, the river can be seen by walking a few steps from the parking area where I chose to set camp. And what a view it was! A typical southwest river canyon looking off to the northwest. A group of four kayakers drifted by as sunset was approaching. I really wondered how long they had been at it and where they started from, as the waters aren't exactly rapids around here. But boy, what a way to really experience the canyons and the river! I'd surely love to see their trip report!

After a good night's rest, I departed at sunrise and took the remaining portion of the road out. It was relatively uneventful after that and Indian Creek (not pictured) was just a little brook crossing the road on this April morning. I didn't stop by Newspaper Rock on the way out, but instead headed straight for home, some 350 miles away. Perhaps I'll catch it some other time, which will no doubt be soon enough.

I thoroughly enjoyed this drive. It had a nice little challenge at the beginning, then was filled with nice views for the remainder. The length of it was great and I only saw two bicyclists the whole way until I reached the Indian Creek area. This made for a great sense of remoteness, and more importantly, the ever-wonderful feeling of solitude. Not much more a guy could ask for.