[Mile-marker 23]
Halfway down the hill to the south is a parking area on the left at the
head of Liberty Cap Trail, which goes eastward about 6 miles to Liberty
Cap—a prominent conical point atop the Wingate cliff just west of the
mouth of Ute Canyon, which appears on the left skyline of figure 38.
From there, the trail descends about 2 miles to a gate in the boundary
fence at the mouth of Ute Canyon. The roads connecting the gate with
South Camp Road (fig. 3) were reported (1979) to be closed to foot
travel by private landowners, so hikers reaching this point must either
retrace their steps to the parking area at the head of the Liberty Cap
trail, or return by a primitive trail up main Ute Canyon, turn right up
the west arm of the canyon, and regain Rim Rock Drive by a short
switchback trail noted on page 109. However, the Park Service hopes that
in the future some sort of corridor can be established to connect the
trailhead with the nearby roads. Most of the “trail” up Ute Canyon is
the normally dry channel of the creek, so hikers should watch out for
flash floods. The round trip by Liberty Cap Trail alone is about 16
miles, and if the return trip is made by Ute Canyon the total distance
is about 13 miles. Accordingly, hikers should allow a full day and carry
food and water.