Hole-in-the-Wall Road

This backcountry route follows the same canyons and mesas where Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch operated from their Hole-in-the-Wall hideout in the 1890s. The road winds 25 miles through the Red Wall, a dramatic red sandstone escarpment in Johnson County, passing the actual cave complex where outlaws cached supplies and planned their next heist. You’ll navigate through narrow slot canyons with names like Outlaw Cave and Buffalo Creek, where the rock walls close in tight enough to scrape your mirrors if you’re not careful.

This is rough, technical 4WD country requiring high clearance and low-range gearing for the rocky creek crossings and steep canyon exits. Summer can be brutally hot in the exposed red rock, making spring and fall the prime seasons. There’s no cell service and the nearest fuel is 40 miles away in Kaycee. But you get authentic outlaw country with petroglyphs, wild horses, and the same sense of isolation that made this perfect bandit territory over a century ago.