Help me pick some trails in Moab, UT?

[MilesTeg]

Hey folks,

Bought my Bronco in the winter, so I had plenty of time to break her in before heading offroad, hah.

Next week I am headed to Moab, UT for 3 days, including a day of the Off-Roadeo. I'm looking for some good off-road trails in and around Moab and Arches (not just dirt roads) that are beginner friendly/low technical. It'll be just me and my partner with basic gear and a mechanically stock 2DR manual Badlands so won't be doing anything that will get us too far from help if we find ourselves in trouble.

I've done some googling but there's just so much to pick from (and I have analysis paralysis issues) so I was hoping to get some more direct recommendations here. We love good views and hope to find some short hiking opportunities along the trail. A roughly half day adventure is what we would like. Anyone have a favorite trail that fits that?

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[Scott R Nelson]

It takes all day, but I would suggest the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. It's 100 miles, very scenic, and can easily be done in 10 hours. You need a permit to go there, but they're free at the visitor center that is close to where you start the trail. Just be there at 8:00 when they open (check the actual time). Bring along food and water.

 

[Tricky Mike]

It takes all day, but I would suggest the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. It's 100 miles, very scenic, and can easily be done in 10 hours. You need a permit to go there, but they're free at the visitor center that is close to where you start the trail. Just be there at 8:00 when they open (check the actual time). Bring along food and water.

Best to take 2-3 days though to really take in the sights. I've only done the first 1/3, we were taking our time and ended up having to double back before it got too late. It's on my bucket list to go back and have a campsite halfway.

Hells Revenge and Top of the World are musts IMO. Both are easily done in a stock Sasquatch.

 

[DGE1993]

I'm in the same boat! Taking my 2-door west for the first time. Following for some good ideas!

 

[contented]

If this is your first time doing this kind of thing, I’d suggest Willow Springs 3/3, Eye of the whale 3/3, Tower Arch 3/3. These are all connected and will get you into Arches NP the back way and you’ll exit through the main park entrance. Long Canyon 3/3 is another nice trail and some great views. From Long Canyon take Gemini Bridges 2/2 back out to the main road into Moab. Another would be Potash Road 3/3 (site of Thelma and Louse Point) and continuing on, if your not afraid of heights, take Shaffer Trail 2/2 up the hill and into Canyonlands NP And back to Moab. Another w/ great scenery would be Onion Creek 2/2.

Don’t get in over your head. Start out slow and then, as you build your skill and confidence, try Fins and Things 4/6. The numbers are TrailsOffroad’s rating system on a scale of 1 - 10.

Enjoy your bronco.

Tower Arch
Edited yet again to add a view from top of Long Canyon.

 

[MikeOU]

We just got back from a couple days in Moab at the end of a 6200 mile trip. For 2 fairly easy trails we did Eye of the Whale Arch trail and Shafer Road into Potash road. Neither were very technical but scenery was great. Both benefit from airing more for comfort than grip.

Eye of the Whale was fun. Had some sandy spots and a few very small ledges to go over. Arches was packed on a Thursday so this was nice in that we only saw a group of 4 at the arch. You can start this one outside the park but you still need to pay a fee once you get into the park.

Shafer into Potash was very fun. We started inside Canyonlands just past the Island in the Sky entry. This was not technical but greatly benefitted from airing down. We started at the top and was amazing how far down you go into the canyon on the shelf wall switchbacks. We did see some passenger cars here coming up from Potash once we got almost to the end. No idea if they continued on or proceeded to bottom out in the lower half of the trail. Views are amazing here. Ran into a group of 4Runners on this one and met another Oklahoman.

We did more technical trails in Joshua Tree. We did Old Dale Road and started inside the park. So got into Baja Mode and ran 60 mph across the desert and then up the mining shelf road with some pretty rocky parts to go through.

 

[Num Num]

Boomer! Looks like those all will go on the list of trails to do when we get back out that way. Moab doesn’t spare to be just a one day stop!! We passed thru last summer and planned to try fins& things or hell’s revenge but didn’t have enough time. Did stop and talk with the folks at trail mater. Rory gave us a. Few tips and suggestions as well. Neat folks very good ambassadors for the Moab area!

 

[Scoop]

Agree with the above suggestion of Fins N Things. A great all-around trail that is good for beginners even though it's considered a moderate trail. It has a bit of everything: Sand, slick rock climbs, fins. Enjoy!

 

[MikeOU]

Boomer! Looks like those all will go on the list of trails to do when we get back out that way. Moab doesn’t spare to be just a one day stop!!

Agreed on needing more than a day. This trip was about seeing 10 National Parks, 3 State Parks, and a few National Monuments while working in some trails. All that over 15 days. We'll be back again soon.

Sooner!

 

[P52Ranch]

I agree with a couple other posts that Fins and Things is a great starter trail. Can be done in a few hours / half day and offers several bail out points if you run short of time or nerve.
Also my favorite is Elephant Hill in the Needles District
of Canyonlands NP. That would be a full day with round trip from Moab. Here’s my stock 2 door manual Badlands going through the Squeeze on the Elephant Hill trail.
Watch some Trail Mater recovery videos to get an idea of the different trails and their difficulty.

 

[Scoop]

I agree with a couple other posts that Fins and Things is a great starter trail. Can be done in a few hours / half day and offers several bail out points if you run short of time or nerve.
Also my favorite is Elephant Hill in the Needles District
of Canyonlands NP. That would be a full day with round trip from Moab. Here’s my stock 2 door manual Badlands going through the Squeeze on the Elephant Hill trail.
Watch some Trail Mater recovery videos to get an idea of the different trails and their difficulty.

We're heading to Moab in a couple weeks and Elephant Hill was high on our list of new trails to try. But the "no pets" rule has nixed that! We have 6 vehicles going - 3 Gen6 Broncos and 3 JK/JL Rubicons - and we all have 1 or 2 dogs! Can't leave them back at the rent house for the whole day it takes to do Elephant Hill.

 

[Mjasi3]

We're heading to Moab in a couple weeks and Elephant Hill was high on our list of new trails to try. But the "no pets" rule has nixed that!

Hi. We’ll be doing Moab in September, how do I find out which areas are no pet?

 

[Scoop]

Hi. We’ll be doing Moab in September, how do I find out which areas are no pet?

I believe it's just Canyonlands that has a no pet policy on all off road and hiking trails. And Arches NP on the hiking trails.

 

[WR1]

Moab is a very special place - there are trail guides you can pick up while there that are helpful

 

[WR1]

Trail guide books that is

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