RIDING IN MOAB CANYON UTAH
Americas Off-road playground...
4×4 COUNTRY
RIDING IN MOAB UTAH
To subscribe to Dirt Wheels Magazine in print or digital form click here https://hi-torque.com/product/dirtwheels.
Jeeps and every other type of 4x4s flock to Moab to meet the challenge of these undeveloped roads. This is the ultimate test for the machine and driver. In ’98, Moab will host its 32nd Annual Easter Jeep Safari. This weeklong event will register more than 2000 Jeeps and other sport utility vehicles for daylong trips on 30 outrageous trails.
MULTI-USE TRAILS
These roads and trails around Moab are multi-use and managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM). My wife, Laura, and I always wanted to check out the Jeep and mountain bike trails around Moab to see if they are good places to ride our quads.
I wrote to the BLM office for the Moab area (82 E. Dogwood, Moab, UT 84532) to obtain information on where to ride our ATVs. I was told you may also call the Moab Information Center ([800] 635-MOAB) to find out more about off-road riding in this area.
IT CAME IN THE MAIL
RIDING IN MOAB UTAH
The BLM sent me a pamphlet on Moab-area four-wheel-drive trails. It featured detailed information on Chicken Corners Trail, Gemini Bridges Trail, Poison Spider Mesa Trail, and Moab Rim Trail. It also contained tips for precautions and essentials. First and foremost, the BLM recommends that you carry an adequate supply of water. This is an arid environment with little protection from the sun. The best times of year to ride Moab are April, May, June, September, and October when average temperatures range between 40 degrees (night) and 85 degrees (day).
To satisfy our curiosity about the area, Laura and I and a few of our friends made two trips to Moab, one in September ’96 and the other in September ’97. Here’s what we found.
On both trips, Laura and I headed to Salt Lake City, where we met up with our favorite Utah guide, Paul Smith. Paul led us to Moab, where he rides each year with the Utah ATV Association.
DETERMINATION TOWERS
Our adventure started in Mill Canyon, 15 miles north of Moab, south of Canyonlands Airport. We crossed the railroad tracks west of the highway and located the trailhead in a small grove of trees. Paul led us southwest to the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail. This self-guided quarter-mile hiking trail has 15 marked sites of interest along a canyon wall. You can visit it in about 20 minutes. Across the small canyon is the site of an old copper mill. During the late 1800s copper was mined along the Moab Fault and processed here.
RIDING IN MOAB UTAH
STAYING DETERMINED…
We continued up the trail through Courthouse Pasture until we spotted Determination Towers. The towers form a wall of balanced rock of different heights, stemming out of the desert floor. Our group attacked the towers from different directions, looking for a shady spot to break out the water bottles.
After quenching our thirst at the tower, we rode south to Merrimac and Monitor Buttes and the appropriately named Wipe Out Hill. Looping back east of Courthouse Rock, we played on a sandhill climb before returning to the trailhead. We tightened up the brakes on one machine and had some lunch in the shade. That afternoon we rode another loop to the backside of Determination Towers, where we enjoyed playing in some sandy washes.
SPRING CANYON
We loaded our quads and headed up Hwy. 313 from Hwy. 191, toward Dead Horse Point State Park. This park has an awesome Grand Canyon-type view. We turned off of Hwy. 313 at milepost 14 to locate a campsite on Spring Canyon Rd. This gravel road does not have a sign, but it is directly across from a view area with a toilet facility. We camped just off of Spring Canyon Rd., where we had a view of the sunrise over Arches National Park.
The next morning we headed west on Spring Canyon Rd. to the first road on the left. Down this road, Paul showed us a pictograph mural on an alcove wall. These seven painted figures are disappearing as the base of the rock continues to fall away.
We continued west for several miles until Spring Canyon Rd. started winding downhill. We ended up at a rocky area, more typical for this country. Paul took us to our left to show us the entrance to Spring Canyon.
SPRING CLEANING…
It is a boulder-strewn trail angling downhill that took us to a cliff with a dropoff of 600 feet. The descending road followed a cliff to the right. As we traveled into the canyon, the road improved. The acoustics there are phenomenal; at the bottom, we could clearly talk to a member of our group who had stayed on the cliff 600 feet above us.
RIDING IN MOAB UTAH
At the bottom were rocky points that protruded like teeth from both sides of the canyon walls, and we rode around them. This narrow canyon took us to the Green River, where kayakers waved as they paddled downstream to Colorado. Nearby roads went both upstream and downstream. We rode downstream, and I explored a couple of side roads that went uphill into mazes of fallen rock. These roads used to lead to mines. We cut our exploration short, hopefully, to return to do more discovery on another trip.
This was Laura’s favorite ride. She even found a grove of trees at the bottom where she would like to camp someday.
GEMINI BRIDGES
That afternoon we hauled our machines farther up Hwy. 313 to the access to Bull Canyon and Crips Hole. This road, on the left, is the back way into Gemini Bridges rock formation. Paul took us to these bridges, which are two strips of rock across a deep hole at the top of a cliff 200 feet high. Jeeps drive across these bridges, which are actually twin arches. We parked on top for photographs and looked down into Bull Canyon below.
TEN-MILE WASH
Our next area to discover was Dubinkys Well, where we turned west and headed to Tombstone Rock (part of this rock looks like a lion from the west side). We turned right onto Dripping Springs Rd. and headed northwest, ending up in the middle of Ten-Mile Canyon. Paul took us into what is known as Ten-Mile Wash. This is the lower part of the canyon where all of the sediment is deposited. This wash winds its way through a shallow canyon for 16 miles to the Green River.
I enjoyed this ride the most, because the trail constantly split and came back together. It meandered between the wash and the bank on either side. We felt like we were riding a roller coaster, making jumps and riding a slalom. It was also a safe place to practice wheelies. Steve, Paul, and I had fun racing each other on this smooth, sandy track.
RIDING IN MOAB UTAH
In places, the rocky cliff overhung the wash, so we steered under it and found some comfort in the shade there. In a couple of places, there were small sand dunes to play on. The rocky walls confined us to the wash, so there was no way out on either side. I wouldn’t want to be there in heavy rain; a flash flood could be fatal. As we continued down the wash, it narrowed. I noticed a large doe that we herded ahead of us. When we got to a wide, brushy area, the doe circled around behind us and disappeared.
Paul tried to lead me into a mud bog trap at the end of the wash. He got mired in it once before. To his surprise it had dried up, forming huge cracks in the smelly dirt. This afforded us easy access to the Green River, around the next corner.
RIVER CROSSINGS…
The river water was too tempting on this hot sunny day, so the guys stripped down to their shorts to go for a swim. With a Tarzan yell that the womenfolk did not understand (it’s a guy thing), we ran for the river and dove in. The river was muddy but not very deep. We could touch bottom for three-quarters of the way across. The opposite bank was too steep and rocky to ascend, so after that refreshing dip, we had the pleasure of the 16-mile ride back out of the wash.
That was the extent of our ’96 Moab visit. All year we talked and thought about ATVing in Moab. What a wonderful time we had riding there. We wanted to explore new trails there in ’97, yet we also wanted to ride these same trails again. Paul had the burden of deciding where to take us.
TOP OF THE WORLD
I often heard of a Moab Jeep trail called “Top of the World.” I figured with a name like that, it had to have an awesome panoramic view. I told Paul we needed to ride that trail on the way to Moab when we returned in ’97. On the return trip, from I-70, we took Hwy. 128 south to the Colorado River and the Dewey Bridge Campground. This campground was named after the historic Dewey Bridge, built-in 1916, which is Utah’s longest suspension bridge. The bridge is now used as part of Kokopelli’s Bike Trail. It is 30 miles east of Moab at the end of Cataract Canyon.
When Laura and I arrived at the campground, Doug and Angie Silkwood of Fort Myers, FL, were waiting for us. We had met them at the Rocky Mountain ATV Jamboree. Doug and Angie were traveling the U.S. in their motorhome, searching out new places to ride their ATVs. They were using Dirt Wheels as their riding guide. Doug said he was in an early retirement, between jobs, and he wanted to see the country while he and Angie were young enough to enjoy it. They rode with us the following day to the Top of the World.
RIDING IN MOAB UTAH
From the campground, we rode north under the Dewey Bridge and headed up Entrada Bluffs Rd. About four miles up that road there are two roads that come together on the right. The road on the right goes to the Top of the World. The other road is Kokopelli’s Trail.
TOP OF WORLD TO YA…
The road to the Top of the World is rocky and pretty rough in places. I only thought one spot was challenging. My map showed it to be five miles to the top, but Laura’s odometer said it was only 3.5 miles. It was pretty rough but well worth the climb. Proceed with extreme caution at the top, because the road ends at the ledge and it is 1500 feet down to the base of The Mystery Towers below. You can see all of Fisher Valley, Professor Valley and into The Arches National Park.
That was such a short jaunt, we decided to do more exploring. I was elected to take the lead. First I tried Kokopelli’s Trail, which took us into a steep canyon. On the way out the other side, Angie almost got bucked off of her Suzuki 230 on a steep rock. She recovered but ended up skidding backward downhill for about 40 feet, stopping two feet before going over the embankment. That girl is tough.
Checking the map, I decided to take us to the Dolores River Overlook. I found that all of the roads are not listed on the map, so we ended up on one less traveled, which the cacti were trying to reclaim. Our tires gathered a few spines, but no flats. On the way back, I missed the turn again (strike three), so Laura fired me as the leader.
ONION CREEK
Between Fisher Towers and Castle Valley Rd. on Hwy. 128 is the Onion Creek Rd. This area, known as Professor Valley, is famous for its movie history; countless westerns were shot here over the years. To me, Onion Creek is just a fun place to ride ATVs. There are about 30 water crossings in the first six miles of the road. It also traverses some of the richest red soil and rocks in the area. To the southwest you can see the rock formations in Castle Valley and to the northeast you can see the cliffs below “Top of the World.”
RIDING IN MOAB UTAH
As we rode southeast, we came out in Fisher Valley and found Kokopelli’s Trail. We rode up Cottonwood Canyon on that trail to Rose Garden Hill and decided not to climb it because no one in our group was riding a Banshee.
Doubling back through Fisher Valley, we took Kokopelli’s Trail up Thompson Canyon. We found a place called Hideout Campsite with a picnic area and toilet facilities. It is a beautiful wooded location that apparently doesn’t get a lot of use. We had lunch and relaxed there. Paul showed us a wood-and-mud shack built into a hillside. We also discovered that there are rattlesnakes inhabiting this hideout, so we didn’t stay long. I wonder if that’s why this place looks so good?
Continuing on up the trail, we skirted Cowhead Hill, where we passed some mountain bikers who were racing downhill. We stopped at the top at Hideout Canyon Viewpoint. This viewpoint directs north over Fisher Valley. After getting all of our favorite photographs, we returned the way we had come through Onion Creek.
BULL CANYON
That night we returned to our favorite camping spot, off Spring Canyon Rd. The next morning Paul took us to the Gemini Bridges Trailhead. The trailhead is located off of Hwy. 191, just south of Hwy. 313, on the west side of the road. The trail heads south and climbs to the top of the bluff, affording a view into Arches National Park. Paul took us past Gooney Bird Rock and down Trigger Rd. to Bull Canyon. I saw a snake in the road but did not attempt to verify its species.
RIDING IN MOAB UTAH
Bull Canyon dead-ended at the base of Gemini Bridges. There was a shady alcove there that would be a good spot to have lunch. Paul and I hiked as high as we could up the rock face, but we couldn’t get near the bottom of the opening below the bridges.
Laura volunteered to stay down below to take pictures, while Jeff, Paul, and I rode to the top of Gemini Bridges. We parked on top of the front bridge so Laura could get a picture, but she needed a higher-power zoom lens because we were too far away.
ROUGH TRAIL
When we met Laura back on Trigger Rd. and had lunch. We explored some of the Gold Bar Rim Trail near Monticello Rock. The trails in that area were too rough, so we played around near Gooney Bird Rock before returning to town early.
That night we relaxed with a Canyonlands By Night boat trip up Cataract Canyon. This is a sound and light show on the canyon walls, while we slowly floated downstream under the stars.
RUBY RANCH DUNES
The next morning, Paul took us back to Ten-Mile Canyon the same way we traveled before. This time, instead of going left into the wash, we went across a creek to the right. Because the area looked so different from all of the heavy rain, we missed our immediate left turn up the hill.
We continued up the wrong wash until Laura got high-centered on her 300 Honda. We were in big open country, but Paul had his eagle eyes and keen instincts to get us back on track. He led us northeast to a fence and a gate. Through the gate, we rode to the left and eventually came to a monster-size wash called White Wash. We had great fun in this wash. We were able to ride wide open and blow out the carbon. Another way into this area from I-70, is to take exit 173 and follow Ruby Ranch Rd. south.
MORE BEAUTY…
Near the east end of the wash are the Ruby Ranch Dunes. Their beauty is set off by the contrast in colors and vegetation. The dunes are similar to the Coral Pink Dunes in color, but I found them to be more treacherous. They are mixed in with huge red sandstone formations and both are very steep. We had to ride them very carefully, but I still enjoyed them a lot.
We rode east up White Wash, which skirted the dunes until it turned into a narrow canyon. One fork of the canyon ended in a solid rock bowl, where we had lunch. This bowl is about 50 feet in diameter. During the rainy season, water pours into it on two sides from about 20 feet up. That would be amazing to watch. After lunch, we rode on some of the bigger rocks before racing back down White Wash.
Paul took us to two different locations to view the Green River from the top of the cliffs. We watched rafters with their sun umbrellas floating by 600 feet below us. On our way back to camp, two huge deer streaked across the road in front of us—a pleasant ending to a full 90-mile day of riding.
EPILOGUE
These were sure awe-inspiring adventures in red rock country. Moab is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. As you can tell, there is much to do in and around Moab, in the southeastern part of Utah. For Laura and myself, it is a dream come true every year that we are able to explore this part of the country.
Enjoying the stories of the Old West, we can picture them in some of the locations that we visited. John Wayne once said, “On TV you can make up a lot, but for the big screen, for the real outdoor dramas, you have to do it where God put the West . . . and there is no better example of this than around Moab.”
To subscribe to Dirt Wheels Magazine in print or digital form click here https://hi-torque.com/product/dirtwheels.
RIDING IN MOAB UTAH
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.