Heading to CO/ Zion/ Moab tomorrow from Minnesota

I will second Ouray while you are out there...it is completely different than Moab but still very beautiful. I'm not sure if it is open with pandemic stuff but there is a great bar on main street.

 

We were literally on the trail on Christmas, with risk of snow... There was only one other camp reservation (total) per the website for the whole WR when we were out there, so there was no problem getting White Crack... I do end up going to places when it is least crowded..

We didn't hike too much off the White Rim. Normally we enjoy day hikes, but I didn't want to go too far from the truck on this trip, with the lack of any other people around and the weather it felt too risky.

On the White Rim
We drove out to the Taylor Campground (to see Moses and Zeus), I would say that probably isn't worth it (unless you are burning some time), although we didn't hike all the way up to it.
White Crack is beautiful and worth the drive and walk out to it, (but it was scary walking all the way out to the tip.)
The slot canyon at the end of Wilhite Trail is cool, but we didn't go too far. (be careful not to drop down anything you can't climb back up).
The drive down Lanthrop Canyon is worth it (spouse loved it).
If you have never been on the mesa at Canyonland, I would go AFTER you do the rim road, and see where you were at.

We had previously hiked quite a bit in Arches, but the Fiery Furnace in Arches is worth getting a pass and is definitely my favorite for Arches. Even on Christmas day in the snow, that was busy.

 

Appreciate the breakdown of recs! Was on the fence about Lathrop, but will make sure we do that one. I've been up to the mesa once before and it was so cool seeing that little ribbon of dirt down below snaking around. Excited to see it from down there. I've been to Moab twice before, but both only for a night so I'm looking forward to the longer visit.

 

Any camping recommendations? Someone told me to check out Onion Creek near Moab. It’s one of the BLM campsites. Sounds like the drive is nice out there.

We are about as mobile as it gets. We have a camper shell w/ sleeping platform, and we brought a tent. We don’t mind some extra driving if the site is worth it. With that being said, I’m not trying to do anything too gnarly. We’re in a long box double cab and we have to drive back to MN.

I’m really just trying to avoid the show up and campground is full situation! That happened to us in yellowstone last year. What a nightmare that was. Ended up leaving the park to find a spot.

 

Free BLM land camping is everywhere in UT so should be easy to find or just drive and setup camp

 

Yes, but Moab is a bit more restrictive in that regard than most of the state with the level of use/overuse they get. Stop by the ranger station in town to get a map and learn where you can and can't dispersed camp. They have some rules regarding how close to town you can be, but if you're down to go 15-20 min out, you'll be fine.

 

Main road into MOAB is full of BLM campsites.

 

not moab, but check out colorado national monument when youre passing by gunnison. went for the first time a couple weeks ago and thought it was awesome. the america the beautiful pass should get you in there along with the federal parks in utah. you can drive straight through in a couple hours if you don't want to stop. fun little detour along i70

 

If you're not scared of heights, Angel's Landing is the best hike Zion offers.

 

For CO

I suggest black bear pass and lunch in telluride and hit Imogene pass. Beautiful..

 

Sounds like a great trip! I'm going to be in that area next week, but on my motorcycle, not the Tacoma. 2200 miles over 7 days starting from Los Angeles, then up through southern UT, over to western CO, down into AZ, and then back to LA.

 

Yes, hit up Ouray, quite the gorgeous area. They call it the alps of the Rockies. You’ll see why.

If you do find yourself in Ouray head south up highway 550(million dollar highway) and then just about 4 miles from the center of town there is an off-road trail off to your left (I forget what it’s called. But Take it. It’s such an awesome drive.
The last time I was up there there had been a couple of small landslides, so be careful for sure, but it’s full of views. When you get to the top you can hike even further up into the hills if you want.

 

Also black bear, yes.

 

Don't miss arches near moab, and if you are in zion, you need to visit bryce canyon up the highway a bit, go to inspiration or bryce point

 

Fyi fiery furnace and the last part of angels landing are covid closed. Leaving in the morning, excited

 

At zion now..

Hells revenge was great!
Arches was a let down.
Did the whole white rim trail in six hours.
Zion is amazing but crowded. I loved capitol reef. The cathedral valley drive was great and capital gorge is stunning, and nobody was there!
The peekaboo/navajo loop hikes in Bryce are worth it.

 

Here’s how our trip went.

Night 1 and 2. Zion cabins. Hiked up to Angels Landing and Hiked the Narrows. Angels Landing is crazy and we really enjoyed the hike. My girlfriend liked the narrows, I thought it was alright. There had to have been thousands of people up in there. We didn’t rent any equipment, just rocked our keens and wool socks. If anyone plans to Zion I would recommend staying up in the park. If you can’t, rent an E-Bike in town. Those things look like a blast! The line for the shuttle to get out of the narrows was crazy long. We hiked a mile down to big bend and got picked up within 5 minutes!

Night 3 camped at Zion Wright Ranch. Check it out, really cool isolated place to camp. Found the spot on Hipcamp.com

Night 4 camped at Ruby’s outside of Bryce Canyon. We took the scenic route through Dixie National forest on our way there from Zion. The drive was awesome! We were gonna hike Bryce in the morning before Moab but I picked up a screw in my tire at some point and got it patched at the shop across the street from Ruby’s. Only $24!

Night 5 and 6 camped at Upper Onion Creek in Moab. Moab was my favorite part of the trip. We did the Onion Creek trail in the Tacoma after setting up camp. It’s really cool back there. Nice and mellow, 27 stream crossings, awesome scenery. We had a Jeep the following day. Drove through arches, did some off-roading in the park on Willow Springs trail. We left the park and hit Gemini Bridges and Long Canyon. I’d recommend Gemini Bridges and Long Canyon to anyone. I’m glad I had the Jeep. My loaded down double cab long bed wouldn’t have been as fun. We also hiked Fisher Towers on the last day in Moab, it was one of the highlights of the trip as well!

 

I'm glad you guys enjoyed your time up there! I'm spending a week in Moab next month and can't wait! Thanks for the heads-up about Zion; we normally drive-through the park en-route to or from Moab but this year we're going to by-pass it and catch Hwy 89 from the south. Onion Creek will be one of the trails my friends and I plan on running, although my Taco won't be going (this time). We've got a group with two side-by-sides, one dual-sport MC and me in my heavily-modified VW Thing. Should be a good time

 

I got home saturday evening from the same area. Amazing scenery. For me it was a bike trip, but at times I wished I'd had my truck with me instead...