Hike Fortitude Trail - Red Cliffs National Conservartion Area, Utah

Trip Stats
Overview: From a road that accesses upscale Kayenta community backed by towering red Navajo Sandstone cliffs, hike toward Hell Hole and then diverge to ascend an alluvial fan to a boulder-strewn, steep canyon and an incredible view of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve to the east, and Ivins City to the south.
Location: Red Mountain Wilderness - Red Cliffs National Conservation Area - Ivins, Utah
Distance/Elevation gain: 2.3 miles out and back/1,400'. Trailhead = 3,200'. Top of Fortitude = 4,600'
Grade: Class 1 on marked trail - Class 4 with use of fixed rope.
Maps/Apps: AllTrails, Topo Maps US (Apple), USGS Utah/Washington County Santa Clara 7.5 min quad map.
Hell Hole Trailhead on Taviawk Drive: -113.6968, 37.1938
Considerations: Two parts on this hike require climbing a short, steep stacked-boulder face with the aid of a rope. A fall from these areas could result in serious injury or even death. Experience with using a rope-assist on a class 4 maneuver is recommended.
Date Hiked: July 26,2025
Geology: Hell Hole Trail is in Kayenta Formation (Early Jurassic) deposited in a braided river and playa environment. The Fortitude Trail diverges off of Hell Hole Trail and climbs an alluvial fan to arrive at more Kayenta sandstone at entrance to a steep canyon, where it suddenly confronts the sheer cliffs of Navajo Sandstone deposited in a huge sand-sea environment ~ 190 million years ago.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion with one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

This trail is aptly named, for it takes a bit of courage to rely on a thin anchored rope to complete Class 4 moves at two short but exposed boulder ledges. Climbing up these ledges wasn't very intimidating, but descending, not being able to see where to place your feet was a challenge, with the rope anchored high on a wall. Fred went down first on this exposed section where he guided Robin and I.

We had heard this hike was scary and risky, but afterward realized it wasn't that bad, however, we have a fair amount of experience scrambling and climbing in precarious places. Experience with scrambling using your hands to climb up large rocks and doing short Class 4 maneuvers is a must for this hike/climb.

Fortitude begins as a spur to the east off of Hell Hole Trail that treks up Dry Wash in Kayenta Sandstone on the outskirts of Kayenta Community. From Hell Hole Trailhead on North Taviawk Drive, hike 0.2 miles to the intersection with Fortitude trail and head northeast toward the cliffs. Hike/climb Fortitude Trail another ~ 1.0 mile where you reach an amazing view - standing above the deep canyon of Hell Hole. We then scrambled east up a faint trail to the very top for a great view of the terrain on top of Red Mountain.

Right away we could see a large, deep pothole below us that was currently dry but would be a great water hole in the wet season. Looking to the east, I tried to locate the north-south-running Red Mountain Trail, one of our favorites. It's a beautiful world up on top of Red Mountain, with vast Navajo Sandstone pinnacles and petrified sand dunes, slick rock and rugged boulder-filled slopes. I won't forget the morning we got up there early from the Ivins trailhead and saw a large buck. The pinyons and junipers are fragrant. And the view of Snow Canyon State Park with its black lava flows lapping over much older orange sandstone is magnificent.

We may have seen Snow Benchmark, the highest point in Red Mountain Wilderness at 5,568', to the northeast. It's fun to make your own cross-country tracks on this fantastic mountain, but experience with route-finding and use of gps is needed.

There's been many search and rescue operations completed on Red Mountain for lost hikers. There are no marked trails up there!

If you decide to hike Fortitude and perhaps continue across the top of Red Mountain, please be prepared. Know how to use your gps, carry a map, extra clothes, water and shelter and have experience doing this kind of travel first.

Fred made the rope down-climb less nerve-wracking because he went down first without any problems, then guided Robin and I down the boulder faces. We texted our friends Jeff and Lindy, telling them we had done Fortitude. They replied, "We want to do that!"

Looking forward to our next trip up this beautiful canyon! Keep on exploring!

Categories
Petroglyphs/Pictographs
Southern Utah Hikes
California Desert Hikes
Nevada Hikes
Arizona Hikes
Idaho Hikes

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Sue and Fred
Exploration documentaries – "explorumentaries" list trip stats and highlights of each hike or bike ride, and add interesting history or geology. Years ago, I wrote these for friends and family to let them know what my husband, Fred and I were up to on weekends, and also to showcase the incredible land of the west.

On Fortitude Trail - we'll be going up that break in the cliffs - the steep shaded canyon!

Fortitude Trail goes along this fence. Headed to canyon to the left of large alluvial fan on the right.

Trail lower left - heading up this rocky hillside to canyon opening.

Reaching the canyon - a passage to the top!

Fred and Robin pausing before the boulder scrambling, with view of Ivins below.

Layers of Navajo Sandstone and their cross-bedding on the canyon wall.

Scrambling up-canyon - looking for the rope!

Interesting weathering patterns on the sandstone; the rope is on the right, ready to help us ascend those boulders.

Fred ascending.

Robin ascending.

Above the rope, the route becomes less steep, with fun boulder scrambling.

Reach a small saddle with an amazing view of Hell Hole.

From the saddle, scramble up a faint path to the east to see this great view of the top of Red Mountain.
Hell Hole in deep canyon to the left.

Google Earth images of our Fortitude Trail tracks, showing ascent up alluvial fan to cliff wall passage to top out on Red Mountain.
The track illustrates aberrations caused by signal blockage during my gps device attempting to find a satellite. These are the extra lines that shoot sidewards away from the trail.