Off road trips Utah, Idaho, Arizona

Ventura Dogman wrote:
Burr Trail is very easy. Hell's Backbone is also easy when there is no snow, but I think the Burr has more photogenic opps. Do both if you are there in the right season. The Wolverine loop off the Burr trail has some nice scenery along it and is also reasonably good dirt road.

I agree. I watched some youtube videos and and the Burr trail looks perfect for what the type of trip I would like. I assumed it was a much rougher road with more difficult terrain. I think it will be my starting point and perhaps I'll add a couple more that are on route.

Burr Trail is very easy. Hell's Backbone is also easy when there is no snow, but I think the Burr has more photogenic opps. Do both if you are there in the right season. The Wolverine loop off the Burr trail has some nice scenery along it and is also reasonably good dirt road.

Excellent info. Thanks to all.

Valley Of The Gods might be worth considering.

Drive to The Wedge Overlook. This is located near Castle Dale, Utah. It is accessed by a good dirt road; high clearance 4wd not required.
The Wedge Overlook

From there, you could head North back to the main road, then continue East to the Buckhorn Draw Rd. Turn South on the Buckhorn Draw. Along this road, there are a few Petroglyph Walls (with parking spots), one Dinosaur Footprint (not marked, but can be found on Google Earth, I can get you coordinates if needed), a shallow cave that you can camp in, and plenty of short spurs that you can drive/hike down.

Camping is plentiful at the Wedge or along Buckhorn Draw. If the weather is bad, get off the cliff at the Wedge and get down in the canyon along Buckhorn Draw. There is more camping available at the river as you continue South.

Continue your journey toward I-70, but just cross underneath and continue South along the dirt on Temple Mtn Rd. This will take you all the way to the entrance of Goblin Valley State Park.

Go by highway to Hanksville, and fill supplies.

Option 1:
Head West out of Hanksville for 18 miles to the Cathedral Rd turnoff (to the North). Drive this dirt road all the way toward Lyman.

Option 2:
Or take Hwy-24 from Hanksville to Torrey, then Hwy-12 and drive to Escalante. Now you drive Hole In The Rock Road (down and back). You can also go South out of Escaelante toward Smokey Mountain (on BLM 330 "Smokey Mountain Rd") and drive to Alstrom Point overlooking Lake Powell. You would return to pavement at Big Water, Utah. From here, head South to Page, Az, then to Kayenta, then North to Monument Valley, drive the Moki Dugway (North of Mexican Hat), then back toward Hanksville or to Moab.

Option 2A:
After Escalante, continue West to Bryce Canyon. From there yo can go South out of Cannonville (near Kodachrome Basin) and continue South along the Cottonwood Canyon Rd and return to pavement near Paria approximately 30mi NW of Page, Az. A quick drive West on the highway to Houserock Valley Rd and continue by dirt to Hwy-89A, then go West to Jacob Lake, then South to the North Rim of The Grand Canyon.

Option 3:
Or South out of Hanksville to Monument Valley, then turn around and go toward Moab.

All of the above roads I've mentioned are 'maintained' dirt roads. You may encounter a severe set of washboards but you can run near highway speeds in sections. Washouts are common after a good rainstorm but are usually repaired quickly. Most can be traveled by a car (wouldn't do it in my car), but there are sections of soft sand on all roads, and a shallow water crossing (Cottonwood Canyon Rd). I would travel all with a 4wd vehicle, and probably never engage the front axle.

DO NOT travel the Smokey Mountain Rd and Cotton Canyon Rd areas after a recent rain storm. These areas are clay and nearly impassable after a storm.

The possibilities are endless for the Southern Utah offroad adventures! Spend a day with Google Earth following roads and looking at pictures, and get an idea of where you want to go.

Check out the Hell's Backbone Road in southern Utah, Monument Valley in northern Arizona, and the Apache Trail in central Arizona. All are fairly easy and very scenic. Google the locations with the word "truck camper" and you should come up with some informative hits.

PM me if you need or want more info.

Searching_Ut wrote:
Are you looking for roads to drive with your camper, or off road type driving to practice off roading on? Myself, I think the white Rim trail would easily qualify as a "Learner" route. I only remember one spot there that you might find difficult where you have a drop on one side and might tend to hug and possibly kiss the ledge on the other side. If you feel uncomfortable here just use a spotter. Other areas with similar scenery are the San Rafael Swell with roads varying in degree of difficulty and good boondocking spots being plentiful. The Grand Staircase Escalante Area has a lot of well documented roads where you can read up and get the thoughts of a wide variety of folks who have driven it.

For off roading with an unloaded truck, Moab is hard to beat. There are a lot of good trail guides for the area with a pretty good rating system so that you'll be able to slowly progress as to capability. For some of the tougher routes in Moab you need a truck modified far beyond stock to hope to make it through, or at least make it through without tearing things up.

I'm looking for routes to go with my truck and camper. My son is into photography so the more scenic, the better.

Some good leads so far, thanks.

Are you looking for roads to drive with your camper, or off road type driving to practice off roading on? Myself, I think the white Rim trail would easily qualify as a "Learner" route. I only remember one spot there that you might find difficult where you have a drop on one side and might tend to hug and possibly kiss the ledge on the other side. If you feel uncomfortable here just use a spotter. Other areas with similar scenery are the San Rafael Swell with roads varying in degree of difficulty and good boondocking spots being plentiful. The Grand Staircase Escalante Area has a lot of well documented roads where you can read up and get the thoughts of a wide variety of folks who have driven it.

For off roading with an unloaded truck, Moab is hard to beat. There are a lot of good trail guides for the area with a pretty good rating system so that you'll be able to slowly progress as to capability. For some of the tougher routes in Moab you need a truck modified far beyond stock to hope to make it through, or at least make it through without tearing things up.

I'd start in Moab. There are many trails ranging from beginner to expert in the area. The Burr trail was well liked by our grandkids.

Check Google / uTube about the Gemini Bridges Trail, in the Canyonlands area (North of Moab). It's considered a beginner / easy off-road trail. There are some dispersed BLM campsites accessible from the trail, more for tent camping, but a TC could work too.

I felt out of place on the trail with my long heavy 1500 Outdoorsman, all the other vehicles were Jeep-like, very short wheelbase (compared to PU) with much better approach and departure. I don't think I'd take my even longer and heavier 2500 on it, but I'm pretty chicken when it comes to risky maneuvers with my expensive toys :)