4 Corners Overlanding Trip - Trail, Hikes, Camping, and the"must-see" Sights Suggestions

Ahh! Sounds good! I am planning on making my voyage early September so i will keep you posted.

 

Sounds good I can take off work about anytime

 

The Four Corners area is fantastic! I very recently took a spin through the area and documented some of it in a thread here on TW. Check it out:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hobbs’-four-corners-whirl-wind-road-trip-2018.549438/

 

Great write-up! Looks like you had a blast!

 

It was great! I'm ready to go back!

 

All great suggestions. You really can’t go wrong anywhere in the Four Corners region.
Looking at your route..on way to Moab get off 70 and take 128 in back way.

Goblin Valley very nice too for a quick stop if not already mentioned.
Waterpocket fold in cap reef. I would skip ABQ and go to the Jemez mtns in NM.
But to each his own.I lived in Santa Fe for a few years. Traveled all over place. Best 4 years of my life.

 

Just got home. 14 days and 4500+ miles and came home a better person. The trip with my daughter was amazing and I probably didn't see 1/18 of what there is to see out there. We weren't looking to do much 4-wheeling but took a couple adventures while we were out. We started with the South side Hitting AR and then I-40 West and took I-70 on the North side back to Chattanooga and then home.

Blanchard Springs Caverns, AR ( Camping )

-We left N. Ga. and stayed on the back roads into N. Arkansas to get to Blanchard Springs, passing through N. Alabama and Mississippi before passing through Memphis for some BBQ and into AR.
- The Cave there is pretty impressive and if you need a stop it's a good one although we decided to venture closer to I-40 to stay the night and camped at Fairfield Bay Marina camp ground. They were nice and the lake was a good place to spend the night and cool off in the lake. During the drive we came across a baby doe which my daughter got 5 feet from for some pictures and also drove upon a healthy sized bald eagle eating road kill which flew in front of our truck for 1/4 mile.

Palo Duro Canyon ( Camping )
- Palo Duro was nice and definitely worth a stop over if you're passing through the area. It was extremely hot and with my 9 yr old, and my 44 yr old self, we weren't doing excessive hiking. We took a 1.5 hour drive to Caprock Canyon which had some awesome views as well as some Bison and prairie dogs. Also stopped at the Big Texan Steak Ranch for a touristy steak when we reached Amarillo and it was well worth it. We came across a couple healthy diamond backs at the campsite, a couple deer as well as some road runners and plenty of lizards. During a night bicycle ride with head lamps on we found a ton of what my daughter named "Glitter Spiders". No idea what type of spider they were but you could only see them under the light and they were everywhere. Florescent green speckles all over them.

Cadillac Ranch
- Stopped and spray painted a bit although it was starting to storm.

Petrified Forest
- Worth adding the extra hour to our trip. It was pretty amazing scenery with petroglyphs visible from the vantage points.

South Rim Grand Canyon
- Disney World for sure. Lots of tourists. We checked out the visitor centers and stopped at a few of the photo areas before heading down one of the forest roads and picked a free camping spot here https://goo.gl/maps/AqRH3burzNA2 away from the tourists. Felt remote for sure. At lest a couple miles beyond any other campers that night.

North Rim Grand Canyon ( Camping )
- Camped at the North Rim Campground. Much nicer than the South Rim but be sure it's open depending on the season. The views were amazing and right at the campsite. Descent amenities available including showers at $1.50 for 6 minutes. One off-road excursion we did was to Point Sublime Trail. Take the road just North of the campground and expect minimally an hour+ to the point. It's easily doable with 2 wheel drive and the views of the canyon from the point are "Sublime". Google Maps directions got us most of the way there but once you're on the trail keep following it until you find the point with picnic tables. There was one point earlier we stopped at with pretty awesome views along the way. Follow the same route back. We took an alternate route out and spent an extra hour in the woods and found ourself a good distance outside of the Grand Canyon NP and coming back through the entrance. Also seemed like a back door to avoid the admission price in the opposite direction. I guess they suspect if you took that route you deserve skipping the fee.

As for NP fees, I bought the $80 annual pass during my first NP. It seemed worth it for me.

Zion National Park ( Camping )
- We camped at Zion West outside of the park. Great views although other than some porta potties on site it is primitive. We were also doing horseback riding with them which was great and well worth it. Got to see a new born calf ( born that morning ) and a coyote running the land. Zion is crowded and although parking was a challenge to find the shuttles within Springfield were easy to catch and the waits for the shuttles within Zion did not have significant waits. The Narrows was worth all of the effort in my opinion. It's touristy but for good reason.

- My daughter and I made it 2.5 miles into The Narrows and was amazed by the experience. We made it to Orderville Gulch and then some up the Bulloch Gulch. Lots of fun but be prepared for the cold water and don't twist your ankles on the rocks helicopters are not coming in here to lift you out. We brought neoprene socks and our walking sticks but they also rent them at the entrance if you want. We didn't hike Angel's Landing but that's also a popular hike that I hear is awesome.

Capitol Reef National Park ( Camping )
- They are an International Dark Park so if you're into star gazing it's a great location. The night sky is unsurpassed. There are also great hikes. Once again we did the Narrows but not quite what we saw in Zion but we didn't have the same expectations either.

Baby Doe Campground, SW of Denver ( Camping )
- Turquoise Lake was beautiful and my daughter caught a nice rainbow trout on night-crawlers that we grilled for dinner. If you're going to trout fish here Power bait is a good choice. We fished near the inlet tunnels but folks were doing just as well right outside our campsite. The views were amazing getting to the campsite as well as on the lake. Eagles flying around were pretty awesome. We opted to skip our second night here because we had reason to get home early and it was also 30 degrees at night which we could handle but weren't completely prepared for.

Nothing much to speak of after Baby Doe. Stopped off at Rolling Hills Zoo and stayed the night in Salina where we also watched Solo. Visited the Butterfly House oustide of St. Louis. Don't judge me, I'm traveling with my 9 yr old daughter who was equally impressed by finding Diamond Backs in Palo Duro Canyon, the bloated dead beaver in AR and catching a good sized crawdad in the same river with her bare hands. Stayed the night in Paducah KY where although I was born in KY definitely underestimated this place before getting there. Visited the Tennessee Aquarium after stopping in to the CVT show room to work out an upgrade to my tent to fit the remainder of my family for future trips.

This was my first camping trip into the Arizona/Utah/CO area and definitely will not be my last. The views driving through New Mexico were like a constant moving post card and they didn't change much until I got into eastern CO and Kansas.

 

Anyone planning to camp at Palo Duro Canyon in Amarillo should reserve a camp spot a good amount ahead of time. These are my home trails and they are normally booked up every weekend and during the summer most every night. I would hate someone to show up and have to miss out on a great camp area. If you do go in the summer, take LOTS of water and drink it. People die out there every year because they underestimate the heat on the trails. Happy Camping.