North Fork Cutoff (Silverton, CO)

The North Fork Cutoff trail is a quick and easy one. This trail follows the North Fork of the Animas River from the ghost town of Animas Forks to the start of the Engineer Pass trail. This route is mainly used as a quick connector to get from Animas Forks to Engineer Pass. This is also a good route if you would prefer to skip the rougher Mineral Creek trail but would like to get to the start of the Engineer Pass trail.

Even though this section of trail is just under 3 miles long, the scenery is great!

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from the North Fork Cutoff trail below.

GPS Tracks for the North Fork Cutoff

North Fork Cutoff KML Track

 North Fork Cutoff GPX Track

(Right click and ‘Save Target As’)

  

This page last updated: 7/8/2009

Escalante Canyon (Delta, CO)

Escalante Canyon is a nice easy drive that takes off from US 50 just north of Delta, CO. The scope of this trail writeup starts at the highway and ends at Escalante Forks, where there is a Y-intersection to the Love Mesa and Palmer Gulch trails.

The entire length of this section of road is maintained and easily traveled by any vehicle. From the highway the road quickly drops down and crosses the Gunnison River. After crossing the bridge, the road crosses private property for a few miles before finally reaching public lands. There are a number of marked campsites along this section of the road.

While this trail offers no obstacles, the scenery in the canyon is great and there are a few old historical houses to check out. The first one is the Walker Cabin which was built in 1911 by Harry Walker. A little further up the road you will reach the cabin built by Captain Henry A. Smith against a large rock slab. Take your time to explore these structures.

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from Escalante Canyon below.

GPS Tracks for Escalante Canyon

Escalante Canyon KML Track

 Escalante Canyon GPX Track

(Right click and ‘Save Target As’)

This page last updated: 6/19/2009

Eye of the Whale (Moab, UT)

The Eye of the Whale Arch trail in Arches National Park is one of the few off-pavement routes located in the park. The trail travels between the Tower Arch trail and the Willow Springs Road. The park recommends you drive this route from north to south as there are a few steep sections with deep sand, but I feel most 4×4’s could drive this route in either direction. This trail has been closed in the past due to washouts, so you may want to check with Arches before planning your trip to make sure it is open.

The highlight of this trail is the Eye of the Whale Arch. While you can kind of see the arch from the trail, I recommend the short hike to get up close and personal with the arch. As I stated above, there are a number of sandy sections along this trail, and there is one steep slickrock ledge that needs to be driven. Other than that, most of the trail is pretty easy for a stock 4×4 and it follows the bottom of a wash for a ways. There are no spur trails or intersections along this trail, so route-finding is easy.

If you are looking for a way to checkout Arches National Park and avoid the crowds, combining Salt Valley Road, Tower Arch, Eye of the Whale and Willow Springs Road is a nice little loop that can help you do just that.

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from the Eye of the Whale trail below.

GPS Tracks for Eye of the Whale

Eye of the Whale KML Track

 Eye of the Whale Track

(Right click and ‘Save Target As’)

This page last updated: 6/19/2009

One of the most common questions that I am asked is to recommend a route off the pavement to get from Grand Junction to Moab. I have decided to put together this little post with information about all of the routes that I am familiar with.

Gateway-Castleton Road
This route is the quickest and easiest way to get to Moab from Grand Junction. About half the route is paved and the other half is off-pavement. The start of this route follows the Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway (Colorado 141) to Gateway and then follows the Gateway-Castleton Road the rest of the way.

Kokopelli 4×4 Trail
The Kokopelli Trail created by COPMOBA in 1989 has long been a popular route to mountain bike from Grand Junction to Moab. In the past few years, off-road enthusiasts looking for an alternate route to Moab have began following the Kokopelli Trail as well. I worked with a group from ExpeditionUtah to map out what we believe is the most accurate route that follows the bike trail as closely as possible.

Dolores Triangle Route
Another route that has recently gained a lot of interest is the Dolores Triangle Route. This route heads out of the Colorado National Monument and across the remote Dolores Triangle region. One issue with this route is that the Dolores River needs to be crossed to make it to Moab so it is only drivable by most vehicles in the late summer and the fall.

Sheep Creek Route
An alternate option to the Dolores Triangle Route above during the spring and early summer is the Sheep Creek Route. This one starts out the same way, but instead of heading towards the Dolores River crossing, it turns towards Gateway and descends the steep and narrow Sheep Creek switchbacks. It is possible that these switchbacks could be washed out and not drivable (they were repaired in early 2009) so make sure to do your research ahead of time. Once you reach Gateway, you will follow the Gateway-Castleton Road towards Moab.

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions please feel free to post them below.

This page last updated on: 12/19/09

Interest in the Dolores Triangle route from Grand Junction to Moab is becoming very popular with people wanting an alternate route to Moab instead of staying on I-70. Before planning to take this route to Moab, be sure to do your research on the Dolores River crossing. During the spring and early summer, chances are good that this crossing is not drivable. Your best bet to make it across the river crossing is the late summer and the fall. For real-time water data for the Dolores River near the crossing, check out this USGS website. If you would like to travel part of this route when the river is flowing too much to cross, you could also look into the Sheep Creek Route as another option.

This route starts out in the Colorado National Monument on Ds Road which you will follow to the Utah state line. From this point you will be following the maintained Dolores Triangle Road all the way to the Dolores River. There will be a couple of intersections in the road, but the main ones are marked and easy to follow. Just make sure to follow the markings to the Dolores River ford.

Once across the Dolores River you will meet up with the Entrada Bluffs Road. From this point you have a couple of options. If you want to head straight to Moab, take a right hand turn and make your way to Highway 128. The track provided below takes a left turn onto Entrada Bluffs Road and follows the Kokopelli Trail to the La Sal Loop Road. If you are planning to head this way, beware that you will need to descend Rose Garden Hill, which can be difficult for stock vehicles.

Once past Rose Garden Hill, you have one more choice. You can take a left onto Onion Creek and head back down to Highway 128, or you can turn left and continue following the Kokopelli through Thompson Canyon and on to the La Sal Loop Road.

The tracks below are a long version of the possible routes you can take once crossing the Dolores River. In the future I may be adding some alternate routes to help you plan, but in the mean time you can use my other trail specific pages for Onion Creek, Polar Mesa, Sand Flats Road and Thompson Canyon.

GPS Tracks for the Dolores Triangle Route

  Google Earth Track (Version 1)

    GPX Track (Version 1)

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments about the Dolores Triangle Route from Grand Junction to Moab, please feel free to post them below.

This page was last updated on: 12/19/2009

Salt Valley Road (Moab, UT)

Salt Valley Road is an easy maintained road that can be travelled by just about any vehicle in good weather. This road can be used as another alternate entrance or exit to Arches National Park if you would like to stay off of the park’s main paved roads.

This road also gives you access to the Tower Arch and the Eye of the Whale Arch trails. The connecting trail from Klondike Bluffs also connects to the Salt Valley Road. There are a few campsites located just outside of Arches along this road as well.

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from Salt Valley Road below.

GPS Tracks for Salt Valley Road

Salt Valley Road KML Track

 Salt Valley Road GPX Track

(Right click and ‘Save Target As’)

This page last updated: 6/19/2009

Sevenmile Rim (Moab, UT)

Sevenmile Rim is an excellent trail with great scenery that starts out by following the rim of Sevenmile Canyon. The start of the trail off of Cotter Mine Road quickly ascends to the rim and offers great views down onto US 191 and across into the Arches National Park area, as well as into Sevenmile Canyon. There are a few short spur trails that lead to some overlooks as well.

After the tippy section, you have your choice, you can turn left and head down Wipeout Hill and then exit the trail to Highway 313, or you can turn right and follow the Sevenmile Rim trail past the Determination Towers and then into Tusher Canyon (You could also drop down Wipeout Hill and then climb back up to finish the trail if you want to hit that obstacle). Towards the end of the trail, there are a few optional trails you can follow that will take you to Tusher Tunnel and some dinosaur tracks in Mill Canyon. I have included all of these tracks in the GPS files below.

As if the views from the rim are not enough, the trail also travels between the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes and then past the Determination Towers. The scenery along the Sevenmile Rim trail is great, but this trail also offers some challenges to keep it fun. The start of the trail is rocky with a few smaller ledges. Once you travel away from the rim towards the Monitor and Merrimac buttes, the trail gets soft and sandy for a while. When driving between the buttes, you are back on an expanse of slickrock, that leads to one very tippy section. While this section of the trail looks intimidating, it is really not as back as it looks when you drive through it.

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from the Sevenmile Rim trail below.

GPS Tracks for Sevenmile Rim

Sevenmile Rim KML Track

 Sevenmile Rim GPX Track

(Right click and ‘Save Target As’)

This page last updated: 6/18/2009

3-D (Moab, UT)

The 3-D trail is easily one of my favorite trails near Moab. Much of the route is easy, but there are enough rough sections to keep it interesting. The trail was given the name 3-D because of the way it tours Hidden Canyon. First you drive through the canyon itself. Then you loop around to an overlook from the rim of Hidden Canyon. Finally you climb to an even higher overlook of the whole area, including Hidden Canyon.

The trail starts out on the Cotter Mine Road off of US 191 and makes it’s way past Tusher Tuneel to Bartlett Wash. From here you drop down into the spectacular Hidden Canyon and drive along a fun and sandy wash. After exiting Hidden Canyon, you will loop around through Lunar Canyon and some expanses of slickrock to the Hidden Canyon Overlook. You will pass an arch at ground level near the overlook, so keep on the lookout for that. Once you leave the overlook you will make your way over to Mean Hill. While this is not a difficult obstacle, it can be intimidating, as you are riding a narrow ‘hogback’ with dropoffs on each side of your vehicle. Soon you will reach Bartlett Overlook, which will offer outstanding views of Hidden Canyon and the area surrounding it.

I highly recommend anyone heading to Moab to check out this trail!

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from the 3-D trail below.

GPS Tracks for the 3-D trail

3-D KML Track

 3-D GPX Track

(Right click and ‘Save Target As’)

This page last updated: 6/18/2009

There are a couple of possible routes to get from Grand Junction to Moab by staying off of the highway. I know a number of people are interested in taking Ds Road out of Grand Junction and across the Dolores Triangle to end up on Entrada Bluffs Road near the Dewey Bridge. While this is an excellent route between GJ and Moab, there is one huge problem with it; the crossing of the Dolores River is usually not crossable by most vehicles until later in the year. That means if you are heading to Moab in the spring or early summer, chances are that it is not a viable route for you.

There is another option that will take you across part of the Dolores Triangle, though. I call this the Sheep Creek Route. This route starts out the same way, by following Ds Road out of GJ and onto the Dolores Triangle. However, instead of taking the right turn towards the Dolores River ford, you will take the left fork and head towards Granite Creek. After dropping down to the Granite Creek crossing and then climbing back up the other side, this road will get narrow and rocky. It will be slower going from this point and hopefully you aren’t too concerned about your paint job, as the brush on this trail does get up close and personal to your vehicle.

After a right turn off of this trail comes the fun part. Descending the Sheep Creek switchbacks to Gateway. This section of trail is very steep and has a number of pretty tight switchbacks at the top. It is also prone to washing out, so you might want to check with the Grand Junction BLM office (970- 244-3000) before heading out this way. As a matter of fact, the switchbacks were just recently repaired by the BLM (May 2009) after having been washed out since the end of last summer (2008).

Once you reach the bottom of the Sheep Creek switchbacks, you will soon meet up and then parallel the Dolores River for a few miles to Gateway, CO. Back in Gateway you can stop and fuel up or grab a snack if needed. Cross the bridge over the Dolores and take a right into John Brown Canyon. From this point on, you can follow the Gateway-Castleton Road to the La Sal Loop Road, which will take you to Moab.

GPS Tracks for the Sheep Creek Route

  Google Earth Track (Version 1)

    GPX Track (Version 1)

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments about the Sheep Creek Route from Grand Junction to Moab, please feel free to post them below.

This page was last updated on: 12/19/2009

The Grand Loop 4×4 Trail is a 454 mile route that covers remote terrain in western Colorado and eastern Utah. This trail combines the Kokopelli, Tabeguache and Paradox 4×4 trails to form one large loop. While there are some short sections of driving on the pavement, much of this route is off of the pavement on backroads and includes some rough trails, too.

This loop is usually started at the Kokopelli trailhead in Loma and driven in a counter-clockwise direction, but it can be driven in either direction. Not only is there the oportunity to get into the backcountry for a number of days, but there are enough towns around the loop that a stop for fuel or food is not far out of your way. To enjoy each of the trails in the loop, I would suggest at least two days each, though each trail can be driven in one long day, if you push it. There are plenty of campsites located along each trail as they travel through mostly National Forest and BLM land.

For specific information about each trail in the Grand Loop, follow the links below for each section.

Just one note about this loop is that it is still a work in progress to perfect it. The route as it currenly is routed works great, however I feel there are some sections that might be changed in the future to follow these trails as closely as possible. As I do more research and scouting of the trails, it is possible for these routes to change a little. So before you head out to check then out on your own, make sure to check each trail’s webpage for the latest updates.

Kokopelli 4×4 Trail Information (140 miles)
Loma to Moab

Paradox 4×4 Trail Information (127 miles)
Moab to Montrose

Tabeguche 4×4 Trail Information (154 miles)
Montrose to Grand Junction

Colorado National Monument Connector (33 miles)
Grand Junction to Loma

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments about The Grand Loop 4×4 Trail, please feel free to post them below.

This page was last updated on: 06/16/2009