White Rim Road 22-25 Sep 2015

Some work friends and I did a trip from Tucson AZ up to Moab UT and we went through Canyonlands NP on the White Rim Road. We spent two nights out on the trail and our final night in the mountains near Monticello UT. After 4 other guys backed out it was just 3 of us so we went in my Tacoma. I was a little apprehensive of doing the trip without another vehicle but everything went great. It was an amazing trip for sure. Below are a few pics of the trip.


We traveled through monument valley and the scenery was awesome.


First campsite was Labyrinth campground.


The views never end.



My little Tacoma did great out there. No issues.


This is Murphy's Hogback and it's a lot steeper than it looks. We drove the road counterclockwise due to camping permits availability. So I came down this side of Murphy's Hogback. But I ended up having to back up about 75% of this as some guy towing a trailer was coming up. We couldn't see him even though we stopped at the top to see if anyone was coming. It was a little tense backing up this steep and narrow part. Backup camera helped for sure as it can be hard to see behind when backing up a steep slope.


Second night was spent at Airport campground.




We had to walk across muscleman arch.



You can see the road below as seen from Schafer switchbacks.




Quick stop at Arches NP.



Final night spent at Buckboard Campground near Monticello UT in the Mountains. The fall colors, cool temps and roaming deer and turkeys were a nice change.

 

I was just there in late August. Awesome trip!

 

Beautiful pictures. I really enjoyed them. Thanks.

 

Looks like an awesome trip! Do you happen to know if permits are required to hit the trails?

 

Yes permits have always been required for overnight stays. And as of 1 October they require day use permits for the white rim. If you want to stay overnight keep in mind to book well in advance. Those spots fill up fast for peak season.

 

Noice! I can't wait to get back to that area with that specific trail/trip on the list.

 

Great pics, looks like quite the adventure. Were there a lot of switchbacks? Not too fond of heights but white rim trail seems worth it.

 

There are switchbacks when you start and finish the trail more or less. They are not bad at all and seem to be the most maintained section of the entire road. See below for the Shafer Switchbacks which are not bad at all during good dry weather.