Hole in the Rock Trail - Utah

Hi All,

Anyone done this trail ? As I understand it, it is a circa 50 mile trail. I've watched some videos, and there is a pretty steep chute, as well as one circa 25 foot section that is off camber (where you lean toward the edge of a cliff).

My neighbor/friend's group is planning a trip mid June and I am in, albeit a touch nervous. They are very experienced, I've been on circa 10 off roading trips, wouldn't call myself an expert but not a complete novice either.

My 4R is on 33"s with a 2.5 Icon lift all around. No armor aside from a hitch slider and TRD front skid plate. It's a TRDOR so I do have the rear locker and A-trac (for the chute going back up).

I'm sure it will be fine, but looking for some thoughts from anyone who has done the trail.

Thanks!

 

If the Mormon's did it, dragging their carts by hand, on foot, your 22 runner should be ok. (thats the joke we all tell each other) It, like most of southern Utah, is amazing. If you've never seen red rock, the formations, cliffs, all that with your own eyes,.... you are gonna shit a twinkie. Its long. Real long.

You'll be fine. Some good sliders would be my list, but, do you, and enjoy mate. Youll love it.
(from Utah here)

 

I did Hole in the Rock in 2018 in my Audi A4 Avant ("hey, it has all wheel drive, isn't that the same as 4 wheel drive?") at about 5 mph and lived to tell about it. Had to replace all four tires and tighten up a few bolts when I got home.

I came back in 2021 better equipped, with my new 4Runner ORP. Stock tires, shocks, no lift or sliders or any of that stuff. It was glorious! Flew down the road at 40 - 45 mph. No problems. (I did re-torque the suspension bolts when I got home. Just in case.) Its a rough road, but you'll be fine.

Here's a couple of pics from the road. My buddy in the Expedition was doing the 5 mph thing (yes, it actually has 4WD, but its not a 4Runner). The pic of my wife under the shade tree was when we where waiting for him to catch up!

 

Thanks for the reassurance ! Luckily I do have sliders, so that will be helpful I'm sure. Very excited to see the scenery, UT is truly a gorgeous state.

 

Thanks for the feedback. So there is the road, which I as understand it is simply a dirt road, but then there is a trail all the way to somewhere (I am terrible with geography etc..) which is far from a dirt road. Rock crawling, off camber corners off the side of a cliff, ledges where even lifted Rubicons are dragging their bumper, a very steep chute etc... That's the part I'm curious about. Sounds like you should maybe explore that section now that you have the 4R, an A4 or Expedition would not make it, that is a guarantee. I'll let you know how I fare when I return.

 

Good luck finding that trail (maybe drop a GPS pin when you get there), and getting back home!

 

Thanks ! Luckily my group is much better at navigation than I am. I can barely get home from the office.

 

Did you do this trail? I've did this trail 5 or 6 years ago with a bunch of jeep friends and I believe the trail would have been much more fun in a overland type setup. We all had big jeep setups so kinda boring .

 

Some photos

 

We are planning a 3 day trip in October to hole in the rock

 

My "friend" would say: Well, very long story, but yes, I did the trail. I'd be more comfortable in a Jeep as pictured, even though it might be more "boring". It was a bit much for my 4R (2.5" Icon lift, 33's, sliders). It did it, and it did it well, but there was some under bumper scrapes. You'll definitely need a hitch slider for obstacles like the "ledge" that you see on Youtube, there is no alternative but to rest the ass end of the 4R on some obstacles and just slide off. You'll definitely want rock sliders. My rear mud flaps survived, but barely. Also some minor scratching on the bottom of the front bumper (from the 5-6 foot tall vertical ledge (that is steeper in person than on Youtube). In our group were two new Broncos lifted on 35's, a Gladiator lifted on 35's, and two old 2 door 4R's with big lifts (they did amazingly). All the new cars had some sort of minor trail souveniers to speak of, mostly just a scratch or two and dents in under armor. All that said, not terrible. I was the most inexperienced one and I still made it in the least capable car, so it can be done.

Unfortunately for me I had an "incident" with my 4R circumstantially while there (my front tire sidewall basically hit an inanimate object at about 5mph and caught it just enough to rip the wheel out of my hands and bring the truck to a stop instantly). It blew the power steering rack, UCA, LCA, etc... Two months after it being towed around and finally to a dealer, I was able to pick it up this past week. It was not fixed correctly (thank you crappy CO Toyota dealer, ugh), and now it is at my local SoCal dealer. Turns out I have a bent frame. My dealer was shocked the CO dealer even released the car to me, let alone let me drive it 800 miles home.

So that incident was not a result of the trail at all, but still, it is a technical trail. I will not be returning to UT to say the least, and if any of my buddies want to do it again, or something like Moab, I'll co-pilot but will not be taking my 4R.

For the record, the off camber cliffside obstacle, some call it "poopy pants corner" towards Grey Mesa is not that big of a deal at all. What lies above in the couple miles to Grey Mesa is what you should be wary of. It is do-able, but lots of spotting needed. It was fun, but not a trail to be discounted.

@White Walker you will be fine with all of your experience. But, def recommend a hitch slider at the minimum!

 

Thank you so nuch for the advice brother. I was on the fence about getting skid plates right away but I will make it a priority do get them asap.

 

You bet !

For skid plates I just have the TRD front skid plate, but the rest is just what came with it from the factory and they did fine (did have some marks but they held up just fine). I did have some marks on the underside of my rock sliders, but not sure/don't recall what would have happened if they weren't there (ie if the rocks would have made contact with the body). I'd guess sliders would be ideal but not 100% necessary.

What is absolutely necessary in my opinion is a hitch slider, it saved my tow hitch/rear bumper about 10 times. This is the one I got, very happy with it:

Hitch Slider - 41.22 Inc. (41twentytwo.com)

It is nice because it is not very long so it can accommodate the spare tire (I have a 33" in my spare wheel well). There are also two holes for the pin so you can adjust it. Pricey, but lifetime warranty.

 

Just ordered one!!!