Toroweap Overlook

[jstaffon]

We're currently staying in Kanab, UT and have enjoyed places such as Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP and the Grand Staircase-Escalante. We aren't able to see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon due to snow conditions. That part of the Grand Canyon opens in mid-May. I noticed a place on the map called "Toroweap Overlook". Temperatures seem to be very close to the temperatures in Kanab. I'm thinking it may be open this time of year (March). The road into it is gravel/dirt and it looks like it's a long ride...40 - 50 miles one way. We would like to take a day trip from Kanab to visit. It's an unpaved road that heads south of highway 389 between Colorado City and Fredonia, AZ. Has anyone taken that trip? Are there any surprises such as bad road conditions, possible snow, etc? Thanks in advance!

[jstaffon]

Ok... Wow...didn't realize I butchered that last line! Looks like a bad translation from some other language! 🙂

[LenSatic]

jstaffon wrote:
I hope you some now post your experience at Toroweap.

We will but this is not a trip for the near future. We are just planning places that we can meet up with our son who lives in CO.

[jstaffon]

Google would be great to check. I think you'll find out the only places are the place we unloaded our ATVs and next to the highway on 389. If you notice in the video, there are deep trenches of sorts on both sides of the road for drainage. It would make it difficult to turn around. Good luck. I hope you some now post your experience at Toroweap.

[LenSatic]

jstaffon wrote:

LenSatic wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
After seeing your comments I watched a couple of YouTube videos of that last section. To be honest it doesn't -look- that extreme: YT.

I agree. We live in the SE corner of AZ and our quarter-mile driveway resembles that last part. 😄

Jeff: are there places before the last 3 miles to drop off our Casita? We'll be going with a Tahoe pulling it and our son will be in his Tacoma. Both are high clearance 4x4 with AT tires. It looks like the Casita would be fine but it doesn't have AT tires so I wouldn't want to risk it.

LS

I wouldn't take the camper (if that's what a Casita is) in to the Ranger Station at mile mark 55 mostly because of the length restriction into the Park of 22 feet which includes vehicle and trailer. There's no parking that I could see at the Ranger Station except for a small area where I saw someone letting air out of their tires. There's a small pull off area about 5 miles from the rim but I think it's too small for your camper and you'd have to go past the Ranger Station. The Ranger Station is right on the boundary of BLM and National Park land....as I recall. There's a big parking area right as you enter onto the 61 mile gravel road...highway 389, 8 miles or so west of Fredonia. You can see that in the early part of my video. Only risk there is leaving your camper unattended along highway 389. The other option is to park where we did which is mile mark 40 at the junction where the Colorado City access road joins the Pipe Spring road. Lots of room to turn around. I think you can see the size of it from my video. That however would be 40 miles of dragging your camper down a gravel road. I didn't see any other good areas before that junction. By the way, the vehicle that shows up in your signature looks a lot like the Yukon that passed us in the video. They made it ok but it was moving very slowly and bouncing a lot.

Yeah, I wasn't even considering taking the Casita that far, just saying that we have taken it to worse places but they were very isolated (no other people) and the rough parts were not as long, usually less than 100 yards. I was just looking for a wide spot close to drop it for a few hours. I'll check Google Earth and call the ranger's station. Thanks!

LS

[jstaffon]

LenSatic wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
After seeing your comments I watched a couple of YouTube videos of that last section. To be honest it doesn't -look- that extreme: YT.

I agree. We live in the SE corner of AZ and our quarter-mile driveway resembles that last part. 😄

Jeff: are there places before the last 3 miles to drop off our Casita? We'll be going with a Tahoe pulling it and our son will be in his Tacoma. Both are high clearance 4x4 with AT tires. It looks like the Casita would be fine but it doesn't have AT tires so I wouldn't want to risk it.

LS

I wouldn't take the camper (if that's what a Casita is) in to the Ranger Station at mile mark 55 mostly because of the length restriction into the Park of 22 feet which includes vehicle and trailer. There's no parking that I could see at the Ranger Station except for a small area where I saw someone letting air out of their tires. There's a small pull off area about 5 miles from the rim but I think it's too small for your camper and you'd have to go past the Ranger Station. The Ranger Station is right on the boundary of BLM and National Park land....as I recall. There's a big parking area right as you enter onto the 61 mile gravel road...highway 389, 8 miles or so west of Fredonia. You can see that in the early part of my video. Only risk there is leaving your camper unattended along highway 389. The other option is to park where we did which is mile mark 40 at the junction where the Colorado City access road joins the Pipe Spring road. Lots of room to turn around. I think you can see the size of it from my video. That however would be 40 miles of dragging your camper down a gravel road. I didn't see any other good areas before that junction. By the way, the vehicle that shows up in your signature looks a lot like the Yukon that passed us in the video. They made it ok but it was moving very slowly and bouncing a lot.

[LenSatic]

agesilaus wrote:
After seeing your comments I watched a couple of YouTube videos of that last section. To be honest it doesn't -look- that extreme: YT.

I agree. We live in the SE corner of AZ and our quarter-mile driveway resembles that last part. 😄

Jeff: are there places before the last 3 miles to drop off our Casita? We'll be going with a Tahoe pulling it and our son will be in his Tacoma. Both are high clearance 4x4 with AT tires. It looks like the Casita would be fine but it doesn't have AT tires so I wouldn't want to risk it.

LS

[jstaffon]

Good plan! Two foot step may be a slight exaggeration but not much of one. Do you remember which video you watched? If you send me the link, I can tell you how accurate or representative it is based on what I saw and experienced.

[agesilaus]

OK I didn't see any steps in that video so that would change my opinion of the road considerably. We did hit some in Canyonlands and after going up a few I turned around and went back. I got out and built a ramp over one on the way back with loose rocks. Long vehicles with their unfavorable approach angles don't handle high steps well. 1 foot would be the most that I would consider and I would not like that...heh. When we get to a bad section my practice is to get out and walk ahead to scout the upcoming track.

[jstaffon]

Yeah...it's all relative I guess. I haven't done much of that with my truck so I don't have a lot to compare with. We went through that section with our ATV Quads and it was a breeze. I also don't recall any tight turns except maybe the first right hand turn entering that section. Since I was on a Quad, I could see the rocks and steps (1 - 2 feet high) pretty clearly. I noticed from time to time scrap marks on the rocks where vehicles have bottomed out. I would hate to have someone get to that point and have to turn around. On our way out, we saw two vehicles parked just before the big right hand turn. In talking to the people, they had hoped to get to the rim but didn't want to risk hurting their vehicle. They had a Honda Accord or Civic and a Dodge Caravan. Smart on their part I think.

[agesilaus]

After seeing your comments I watched a couple of YouTube videos of that last section. To be honest it doesn't -look- that extreme: YT.

We've been down worse in out F350 4WD. That pickup in front of the camera doesn't seem to be a 4WD in this case and the rocks are mainly all flat. And there were no rock steps which are killers for a long vehicle like some Canyonland trails. And there were no several hundred foot drop offs a foot from each side of the vehicle either, like one trail in Capitol Reef. Try the Colorado Rocky trails which have sharp angular rocks, much worse on your tires.

[jstaffon]

Thanks all for your comments! What a good group of people! I wish I'd shown the rough part of the trip (last 2.5 - 3 miles). That would have made my video complete. Although that part of the trip is well documented, don't use my video to assume that stretch of road is just "a little rougher than the first part". It is extreme! If you don't have a high clearance vehicle, you must be very, very careful when picking your route through the rocks and high areas. The vehicle that surprised me the most was the Yukon that passed me in the video. I was surprised it was able to get past the obstacles. I also saw a standard F150 pickup at the rim. I would NOT drive my 2500 HD through that area but I'm pretty conservative with my vehicles. To all planning to make the trip...be careful, be safe and enjoy the fantastic view!

[huachuca]

Jeff, thanks for posting the video. It gives me a pretty good idea of what to expect when we get out there in a few weeks. Also glad you ran into one of the 'good guy rangers'. It would have been a shame to get turned back or ticketed after all the time and planning you'd done.

[cruiserjs]

agesilaus wrote:
1669?! Wow I'm impressed!

Boy I am getting old!! Obviously I meant 1969!!
John H. Riffey died in 1980. Googling his name leads to a biography written by a long-time friend and neighbor!!

[agesilaus]

1669?! Wow I'm impressed!