Robbers Roost

Robbers Roost is more than just a geographic location; it is a natural fortress of staggering isolation. For over 30 years, this inhospitable terrain of steep-walled canyons and hidden draws provided a sanctuary for outlaws of every description. It was here, amidst the jagged ridges and secret springs, that Robert LeRoy Parker—better known as Butch Cassidy—and Elzy Lay officially formed the Wild Bunch. The Roost was considered so impregnable that no lawman of the era ever successfully penetrated its defenses, allowing outlaws to rest for months at a time between their notorious bank and train heists.

Today, the Roost remains one of the most remote and rugged areas in the lower 48 states. Managed by the BLM, it is a high-desert plateau bisected by deep, technical slot canyons that demand self-reliance and grit. While the outlaws and their fresh horses are long gone, the landscape remains largely unchanged since the late 1800s. Visitors can still find remnants of the past, from the original Wild Bunch corral to sun-bleached animal skulls on abandoned hearths, all sheltered by the same towering Wingate walls that once frustrated the law.