The Colorado River, Canyonlands, and Arches National Monuments

The Colorado River, Canyonlands, and Arches National Monuments

This fall we will drive up to Moab, Utah and spend a week exploring some of the most beautiful landscape in the country.

ITINERARY:

Monday, Sept 21:
Drive to Moab, set up camp. I will host a Happy Hour. I'll provide beer, wine, margaritas, and snacks.

Tuesday Sept 22:
Kayak the Colorado River. We will paddle from Dewey Bridge to Hittle Bottom, a stretch of about 8 or 10 miles of flat water. Because it's an unfamiliar river and the water is really cold, kayaks are preferred over paddleboards, and life vests are REQUIRED TO BE WORN. There are shops in Moab that rent kayaks if you need one.

Wednesday, Sept 23:

We'll hike Arches National Park, leaving from the Devil's Garden Trailhead at the far end of the park. The trail passes by about half a dozen or more of the park’s most impressive natural arches. As we drive back through the park from this hike, we will pass a ton of small ¼ mile to 1-mile trails that lead out to other arches. If you have energy left, we can visit as many of these as we like, otherwise we can simply drive by and head back to camp.

Thursday, Sept 24:

Kayak the Colorado River again. We will either do the flat-water section from Take Out Beach to the Moab Bridge (about 10 or 11 miles) or the section with half a dozen rapids, from Hittle Bottom to Take Out Beach (this is known as The Daily), depending on water flow and the skill level of who attends. Sit on top kayaks are highly recommended for the rapids.

Friday, Sept 25:

We will drive the Schafer Canyon Road through Canyonlands National Park. This is a dirt road that stays just under the edge of the plateau and travels along it for a bit before switch-backing thousands of feet to the valley floor. It then travels along the bottom with red rock cliffs towering above. We hit a fork and turn onto the White Rim Road that will then take us out to amazing overlooks of the Colorado river as well as to some short trails to some natural arches. We can have a picnic lunch on a plateau overlooking a bend in the river. When it’s time to head back, we can rejoin the Schafer Road and continue on it out of the park, past the Potash mines. It lets out onto the paved road just a few miles from our campsite. If we haven't done so yet, we can take this opportunity to take a short hike out to Corona Arch as the trail head is directly across the road from the campsite.

Saturday, Sept 26:

Head home.

CAR CAMPING:

We will be camping at the Gold Bar Recreation Site. To get there you will drive through the town of Moab on Hwy #191 N. After passing through town, just after crossing the bridge over the Colorado river, you will turn left onto Potash Road (UT-279). About 10 miles down this road on the left is the Gold Bar Recreation Site. It is right across the road from the Corona Arch trail. If you drive to the Salt mines, you have gone a few miles too far. The price will be $20 per campsite per night. Share campsites to fit everyone in and save money. Each campsite has a pit toilet, a fire ring, and a picnic table but nothing else. You must bring all your own water and supplies, although we are not far from Moab if you need to run into town for anything.

The sites are not reservable. I will be getting there a day early to make sure that the weekend crowd clears out and there is room for everyone. If by any chance there is not (unlikely), I will make other arrangements and post them here.

As an added note, I am not going home after this but continuing my adventures into Utah. Some people have asked about continuing on with me, or even just joining me for the next part of my trip. Anyone who likes is more than welcome to join me, but I am designing the remainder of this trip in a fashion best suited for a person with a dog and large RV who just spent the last week boondocking, which might not be ideal for someone without a pet and camping in a tent. In any case, my remaining itinerary is:

Sat, Sept 26:
Drive to the KOA outside of Zion (Hurricane KOA in St. George)) and set up camp.

Sun, Sept 27 - Friday, Oct 2:
Explore Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Snow Canyon State Park.

Sat, Oct 3:
Drive to Capital Reef National Park and set up camp.

Sunday, Oct 4 - Wednesday, Oct 7:
Explore Capital Reef National Park and Goblin Valley State Park.

Thursday Oct 8:
Head Home