by Ellen Heyn, Communications Associate
Butch Cassidy, born Robert LeRoy Parker, grew up in a Mormon family of 15 in Beaver, Utah. As a teenager, he worked as a ranch hand near Dixie National Forest where he met his cattle-rustling mentor, Mike Cassidy. Assuming both his surname and lifestyle, Butch Cassidy drifted across Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming in the late 1800s, rounding up his own gang of bandits called "The Wild Bunch," whose exploits included robbing banks, holding up trains, and pulling heists.
Southern Utah, with its intricate maze of canyons, served as the perfect hideout for the Wild Bunch. They were always fleeing the law, but authorities never discovered their elusive cache located east of Hanksville, Utah in an area called Robbers Roost. See some of Cassidy's alleged escape routes on the trails below:
Capitol Reef's rugged slickrock landscape harbored Mormon polygamists, as well as Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang. Follow their footsteps as you hike past sandstone knobs, domes, and ridges to the namesake arch. Hike details ›
According to western lore, Cassidy used sections of this trail to escape the law after getting in a fight in nearby Panguitch, Utah. Hike through history on this easy loop trail through the rolling hills of Red Canyon. Check it out ›
Sharing a name with Cassidy's right-hand man "the Sundance Kid," this trail leads into Dark Canyon. Don't expect to be found in this remote hideout suitable for 19th century train robbers and modern-day hikers alike. Find your hideaway ›
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