UT/park city/moab in Oct.
Apr 10th, 2006, 09:33 AM
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UT/park city/moab in Oct.
Will be spending 9 days in Utah the first two weeks in October. Two days in Salt Lake City/Park city (Washington school inn) and 6 nights in Moa
2 in Sunflower Inn and 4 at Red Cliffs Lodge). What is the weather like at this time? Will there be time to stop in Capitol Reef National Park on drive from Park City to Moab? How many days should be allotted to Arhes National Park? Canyonlands National Park? What else is there to do in the Moab area and are there any good restaurants? Which hiking trails shouldn't be missed?
2 in Sunflower Inn and 4 at Red Cliffs Lodge). What is the weather like at this time? Will there be time to stop in Capitol Reef National Park on drive from Park City to Moab? How many days should be allotted to Arhes National Park? Canyonlands National Park? What else is there to do in the Moab area and are there any good restaurants? Which hiking trails shouldn't be missed?
Apr 10th, 2006, 11:56 AM
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I think early October should be a great time to visit. The weather should be cool enough to enjoy hiking.
Park City to Capitol Reef and on to Moab will be a long day. Plan on spending a little over 8 hours in the car. What about spending either the first night or last night in Torrey?
I was checking and it looks like the white water rafting trips end in September, so that is out.
One nice thing about Arches is it is so close to Moab. Lots of times we will be doing off some where else for the day and just drive into Arches for a short hike and watch the sunset in different locations.
There are so many wonderful 4 x 4 trails in Moab. If you don't have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, you can rent jeep wranglers in Moab. I highly recommend doing the Potash road, detour on the White Rim trail to Musselman Arch and then up the Shafter Trail in to Canyonlands, spend the day in Canyonlands, maybe even stop at Dead Horse State park and then take Long Canyon trail back to the Potash Road.
http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/pages...shafer2001.htm
Plan on one full day in Canyonlands and maybe two in Arches. Drive the paved part of the Potash Road (Hwy 279) which follows the Colorado River going west out of Moab and look for petroglphys along the cliffs. Also on the opposite side of the Colorado River is Kane Creek Road with more petroglyphs.
Hwy 128 to Fisher Towers is a must drive. There is hiking at Fisher Towers, but it's always been to hot in the summer for us to do much there. If you have the time, you might keep driving out hwy 128 to the old historic Dewey Bridge. This is where the road crosses the Colorado River on a new bridge and continues up to I-70. If you want to see Seco Canyon Petroglyphs then you can do a circle and continue up to I-70. At Thompson, exit and take the main road in town north 3miles to Seco Canyon. This has to be one of the best and easiest selection of petroglphys in the area. http://www.so-utah.com/green/segocny/homepage.html
Not to miss hiking trails:
Arches:
Delicate Arch 3 miles round trip
Landscape Arch and I like going on to Double O & Dark angel which is a 5 mile round trip.
Park Avenue - hiking both ways
The short hikes to Double Arch and the Windows.
We've never done Firery Furnace but I hear that's one not to miss.
Canyonlands:
Mesa Arches is unforgetable and very short hike. I think about 3/4 mile.
Grand View hike is 2 miles round trip.
(This isn't a hike, but don't miss the Green River overlook in Canyonlands!)
If you want more ideas, check out this website:
http://www.so-utah.com/archcany/homepage.html
Utahtea
Park City to Capitol Reef and on to Moab will be a long day. Plan on spending a little over 8 hours in the car. What about spending either the first night or last night in Torrey?
I was checking and it looks like the white water rafting trips end in September, so that is out.
One nice thing about Arches is it is so close to Moab. Lots of times we will be doing off some where else for the day and just drive into Arches for a short hike and watch the sunset in different locations.
There are so many wonderful 4 x 4 trails in Moab. If you don't have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, you can rent jeep wranglers in Moab. I highly recommend doing the Potash road, detour on the White Rim trail to Musselman Arch and then up the Shafter Trail in to Canyonlands, spend the day in Canyonlands, maybe even stop at Dead Horse State park and then take Long Canyon trail back to the Potash Road.
http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/pages...shafer2001.htm
Plan on one full day in Canyonlands and maybe two in Arches. Drive the paved part of the Potash Road (Hwy 279) which follows the Colorado River going west out of Moab and look for petroglphys along the cliffs. Also on the opposite side of the Colorado River is Kane Creek Road with more petroglyphs.
Hwy 128 to Fisher Towers is a must drive. There is hiking at Fisher Towers, but it's always been to hot in the summer for us to do much there. If you have the time, you might keep driving out hwy 128 to the old historic Dewey Bridge. This is where the road crosses the Colorado River on a new bridge and continues up to I-70. If you want to see Seco Canyon Petroglyphs then you can do a circle and continue up to I-70. At Thompson, exit and take the main road in town north 3miles to Seco Canyon. This has to be one of the best and easiest selection of petroglphys in the area. http://www.so-utah.com/green/segocny/homepage.html
Not to miss hiking trails:
Arches:
Delicate Arch 3 miles round trip
Landscape Arch and I like going on to Double O & Dark angel which is a 5 mile round trip.
Park Avenue - hiking both ways
The short hikes to Double Arch and the Windows.
We've never done Firery Furnace but I hear that's one not to miss.
Canyonlands:
Mesa Arches is unforgetable and very short hike. I think about 3/4 mile.
Grand View hike is 2 miles round trip.
(This isn't a hike, but don't miss the Green River overlook in Canyonlands!)
If you want more ideas, check out this website:
http://www.so-utah.com/archcany/homepage.html
Utahtea
Apr 10th, 2006, 12:28 PM
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Thank you Utahtea for your always thoughtful and detailed answers on Utah. How long would the drive be from Capital Reef to Moab of the 8 hours in the car? If we don't have a 4x4, are there still good drives at these parks and which of those would you recommend. Last year, my wife and I went to Bryce and Zion NPs and they were simply awesome. How will these compare?
Apr 10th, 2006, 02:01 PM
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You do not need 4 wheel drive to get around the Moab area. Moab is kind of the 4 wheel capitol of the area so I was just including things to do if wanted to go 4 wheeling. If you don't want to venture into this on your own, there are tour operators in Moab that do 4 wheel drive tours.
You can still drive the paved part of the Potash Road which is scenic and has the petroglphys. Just don't venture to far on the dirt road up to Canyonlands. You can drive Hwy 313 which is paved into Canyonlands and Dead Horse State park. Kane Creek Road is paved for a long way and scenic Hwy 128 is paved. The road up to Seco Canyon is also paved...even though most maps show it's not.
You know how different Zion and Bryce were but scenic, magical and beautiful in their own rights, well the parks in Moab are different from Zion & Bryce and from each other too. Again they are just as scenic, magical & beauitful. You're in for a treat! My favorite park in Utah...is the one I'm in at the time! LOL!!!!
From Park City you would probably the fastest route would be taking I-15 down to Exit 188, then take Hwy 50, 332 & 24 down to Capitol Reef National Park 225 miles and almost 5 hours drive time. You will want to at least drive the 10 mile scenic drive into Captiol Reef and back.
From Capitol Reef to Moab via hwy 24 to I-70 and Hwy 191 is 145 miles and will take about 3 1/2 hours.
Another day trip from Moab you might consider is down to the Needles District of Canyonlands. This is 75 miles south on Hwy 191 and then take hwy 211. Make sure you stop at Newspaper Rock State Park on Hwy 211.
Utahtea
You can still drive the paved part of the Potash Road which is scenic and has the petroglphys. Just don't venture to far on the dirt road up to Canyonlands. You can drive Hwy 313 which is paved into Canyonlands and Dead Horse State park. Kane Creek Road is paved for a long way and scenic Hwy 128 is paved. The road up to Seco Canyon is also paved...even though most maps show it's not.
You know how different Zion and Bryce were but scenic, magical and beautiful in their own rights, well the parks in Moab are different from Zion & Bryce and from each other too. Again they are just as scenic, magical & beauitful. You're in for a treat! My favorite park in Utah...is the one I'm in at the time! LOL!!!!
From Park City you would probably the fastest route would be taking I-15 down to Exit 188, then take Hwy 50, 332 & 24 down to Capitol Reef National Park 225 miles and almost 5 hours drive time. You will want to at least drive the 10 mile scenic drive into Captiol Reef and back.
From Capitol Reef to Moab via hwy 24 to I-70 and Hwy 191 is 145 miles and will take about 3 1/2 hours.
Another day trip from Moab you might consider is down to the Needles District of Canyonlands. This is 75 miles south on Hwy 191 and then take hwy 211. Make sure you stop at Newspaper Rock State Park on Hwy 211.
Utahtea
Apr 14th, 2006, 05:50 PM
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I recently purchased *Guide to Colorado Backroads and 4wd Trails*
which has wonderful helpful information.
However, I am led to believe a 4 WD
is also mostly needed in Moab,
and from many posts here,
and trip reports, it sounds
like the *outfitters* also use
them for the most part.
Any more information from anyone?
Utahtea, you have been very
helpful in our trip planning.
Thank you and to all who provide
assistance.
This forum enables me to plan
detailed trips often without
having to ask a question.
(except like this one LOL)
Thank you FODORS!
which has wonderful helpful information.
However, I am led to believe a 4 WD
is also mostly needed in Moab,
and from many posts here,
and trip reports, it sounds
like the *outfitters* also use
them for the most part.
Any more information from anyone?
Utahtea, you have been very
helpful in our trip planning.
Thank you and to all who provide
assistance.
This forum enables me to plan
detailed trips often without
having to ask a question.
(except like this one LOL)
Thank you FODORS!
Apr 15th, 2006, 10:32 AM
#7
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wanderluster,
I'm not that familar with 4 wheel roads of Colorado.
We've spent a lot of time in Moab without 4 wheel drive, infact we've gone in our motorhome many times.
We rented a jeep wrangler once in Moab and another time just outside the Needles district of Canyonlands (but I don't think they rent them there anymore). You can do a lot without 4 wheel drive, but there is even more you can do with 4 wheel drive. DH and I haven't even scratch the surface!
Moab has many levels of 4 wheel drive roads and not all roads are meant for stock vehicles!
http://www.4x4now.com/tr.htm
This list has 4 trails with a wide range of difficulty:
http://www.discovermoab.com/pdf/4wd.pdf
Here's a couple list of the harder 4 wheel roads in the Moab area:
http://www.4x4now.com/mu4wd.htm
http://www.rr4w.com/trails.html
The Shafer trail doesn't even make any list because for difficulty, it's not hard. You don't even need 4 wheel drive if you have a high clearance vehicle and are driving down the Shafer Trail. They do recommend 4 wheel for driving up the Shafer Trail.
Hope this helps.
Utahtea
I'm not that familar with 4 wheel roads of Colorado.
We've spent a lot of time in Moab without 4 wheel drive, infact we've gone in our motorhome many times.
We rented a jeep wrangler once in Moab and another time just outside the Needles district of Canyonlands (but I don't think they rent them there anymore). You can do a lot without 4 wheel drive, but there is even more you can do with 4 wheel drive. DH and I haven't even scratch the surface!
Moab has many levels of 4 wheel drive roads and not all roads are meant for stock vehicles!
http://www.4x4now.com/tr.htm
This list has 4 trails with a wide range of difficulty:
http://www.discovermoab.com/pdf/4wd.pdf
Here's a couple list of the harder 4 wheel roads in the Moab area:
http://www.4x4now.com/mu4wd.htm
http://www.rr4w.com/trails.html
The Shafer trail doesn't even make any list because for difficulty, it's not hard. You don't even need 4 wheel drive if you have a high clearance vehicle and are driving down the Shafer Trail. They do recommend 4 wheel for driving up the Shafer Trail.
Hope this helps.
Utahtea
Apr 15th, 2006, 12:40 PM
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There is no need for a 4WD drive in Moab unless, of course, you love off roading and go there specifically to do that (but as Utahtea points out, there are guided tours for that). I've taken 6 trips to the area, and done quite a bit of hiking off the beaten path (away from the more developed national parks and down unpaved roads) and I usually was driving a Toyota Corolla. The roads that the average tourist will travel on are all paved.
From talking to others that like to 4 wheel in the area, I get the impression that they do it more because they like to 4 wheel, not because they are trying to get to some place really great that you can only access by 4wd. There are some neat places you can only explore by 4WD, but a) you usually need permits which can be hard to obtain unless you plan well in advance, b) in recent years some of these tracks have been closed due to resource damage by 4 wheelers, and c) some of these tracks are VERY technical-you should have ample off roading experience if you're going to tackle them. A guided 4wd tour is the best bet for the average visitor.
From talking to others that like to 4 wheel in the area, I get the impression that they do it more because they like to 4 wheel, not because they are trying to get to some place really great that you can only access by 4wd. There are some neat places you can only explore by 4WD, but a) you usually need permits which can be hard to obtain unless you plan well in advance, b) in recent years some of these tracks have been closed due to resource damage by 4 wheelers, and c) some of these tracks are VERY technical-you should have ample off roading experience if you're going to tackle them. A guided 4wd tour is the best bet for the average visitor.
Apr 15th, 2006, 05:15 PM
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Hi Bayridge,
When I drive from Park City to Capitol Reef, it takes me about 4 hours. I never pay attend to the road numbers since I know where to go, but I drive down through Salina, then Loa and on to Torrey.
I think with 9 days total, 2 in Park City, you could spare 1 night to stay in Capital Reef. I think you would be very glad you did. Do it either on the way down or back. Then do the shorter route between Moab and SLC through Spanish Fork Canyon on Hwy 6.
The drive between Capital Reef and Moab is 2 1/2 hours without stops.
No, a 4 x 4 is not necessary in the Moab area. But as Utahtea says, it all depends where you want to go. There are some wonderful places that require a 4 x 4, but you could go there with a guide.
If you see some of the places the off roaders take their highly customized "rock crawlers", you would NOT want to go there!
Have fun, you'll love Moab! Any - early Oct is a great time to go. I usually go in Oct and early in the month it can be in the low 80s daytime, much cooler at night. End of Oct you will see some snow on the La Sal Mtns east of Moab. If you do, it makes a fantastic picture at sunset from the Petrified Sandunes viewpoint in Arches.
When I drive from Park City to Capitol Reef, it takes me about 4 hours. I never pay attend to the road numbers since I know where to go, but I drive down through Salina, then Loa and on to Torrey.
I think with 9 days total, 2 in Park City, you could spare 1 night to stay in Capital Reef. I think you would be very glad you did. Do it either on the way down or back. Then do the shorter route between Moab and SLC through Spanish Fork Canyon on Hwy 6.
The drive between Capital Reef and Moab is 2 1/2 hours without stops.
No, a 4 x 4 is not necessary in the Moab area. But as Utahtea says, it all depends where you want to go. There are some wonderful places that require a 4 x 4, but you could go there with a guide.
If you see some of the places the off roaders take their highly customized "rock crawlers", you would NOT want to go there!
Have fun, you'll love Moab! Any - early Oct is a great time to go. I usually go in Oct and early in the month it can be in the low 80s daytime, much cooler at night. End of Oct you will see some snow on the La Sal Mtns east of Moab. If you do, it makes a fantastic picture at sunset from the Petrified Sandunes viewpoint in Arches.
