Coal Bench OHV Trail - Garfield CO Utah

The Coal Bench Trail is a beginner 36-mile trail traversing the back sides of Tropic, Cannonville and Henrieville. The trip takes advantage of using Highway 12 as a quick way back.

Because of the short length this trail (including all of its tangents), it only takes about two to three hours to complete. There are plenty of fun offshoots to explore and see what the undeveloped and historic areas of Tropic are like.

You can begin the trail by staging in Tropic and city roads out to the dirt. The unpaved sections of this trail are maintained dirt roads and should accommodate most machines.

The town of Tropic also works as a wonderful hub to several other areas including Kodachrome State Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and a plethora of other exciting offroad experiences.

Because of the nature of this desert area, inclement weather can cause flash flooding and washing out of trails. Keep an eye on the weather during colder months and bring extra water during the summer.

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Directions From the North
Directions from the South
Facilities:Lodging, restaurants, fuel and groceries can all be found in the town of Tropic. Similar services can be found east in Escalante, and to the west in Bryce. There are no facilities on the trail.
OHVs: All sizes. No width limits. ATVs, MCs, UTVs, 4x4s on most trails.
Terrain: Mostly dirt and gravel roads. Wash crossing at a few points.
Signage: Trail is well signed including signs for offshoot trails and wilderness areas.
KML File for Google Maps
GPX File for your Garmin GPS or other Apps
Emergencies: Garfield Memorial Hospital Emergency Department at 200 N 400 E St, Panguitch, UT 84759 (435) 676-8811. Open 24 hours
Garfield County Sheriff: Dial 9-1-1 for emergencies or Non-Emergency (435) 676-2678; Utah Highway Patrol: Dial 9-1-1 We highly recommend you purchase a Utah Search and Rescue Assistant Card (USARA) learn more: https://secure.utah.gov/rescue/

GAIA

We highly recommend you get GAIA GPS for your mobile device. GAIA GPS will allow you to download this trail complete with the photos you see here so you can be sure where you are at all times. Simply install the GAIA GPS app and save this trail from the button below.

Would you like to see the trail in an animated 3D flyover map? If it appears to pause, that is likely a place I stopped for a while. It will continue, just wait a few moments. Link to 3D flyover.

Here is the 360 view at the trailhead. Feel free to tour around a bit inside Google Street Views. We have recorded the trail in 360 and it is now part of Google Street Views so you can take a virtual tour of the trail to see if it is for you. We’ve made it a bit easier to navigate, scroll down and you will see more 360 embedded tours as we encounter intersections, trail markers or interesting places along the trail.

On any image, you can click the ‘X’ in the upper right corner and the view will change to an overview map showing the Google Street View blue lines. You can click anywhere on that blue line and drop down to the 360 ground-level views at that point.

You can move the image 360 degrees, click the arrow to move further down the trail and zoom in and out to take a closer look. Clicking the box in the upper right-hand corner will enlarge to full screen for a better view.

If you start your journey from the town park, you can take Center Street all the way east until you hit the dirt. Heading over the cattle guards past the farm land will get you into back canyon areas and up to Coal Bench. One of the tangents you can take will take you up Pasture Canyon. Another tangent will take you out to the Shakespeare Mine. Turnout and register for the Henderson Canyon area. Turn here and cross the wash to head up the hill towards Coal Bench. This trail borders and crosses through several wilderness study areas. Stay on the trail and protect our access!

This trail borders and crosses through several wilderness study areas. Stay on the trail and protect our access. You'll be rewarded with incredible vantage points from the top of Coal Bench! Another viewing area from Coal Bench looking off into Henrieville. Head back onto Highway 12 to get back to Tropic.