Off Roading in Arches National Park
One thing you need to know about my husband Sam, is that he loves cars, specifically his 2014 Toyota 4Runner SR5. And since Moab is what he describes as the "off roading capital of the world" he couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a little off roading himself! Since he wanted to go in his own vehicle, he decided to off road right inside Arches National Park. Of course he didn't exactly give me all the details, so I went into this adventure thinking we would be doing some driving on sand or gravel roads. Boy was I wrong! There were A lot of HUGE rocks I did not think we'd make it over without flipping our vehicle! But I must admit I had a good time, as the views were incredible and it was pretty remarkable watching Sam make it over, around, and through some of the things he did! Sam had a BLAST and we managed to get out alive without any casualties!
Since Sam knows much more about this adventure and I was just along for the ride (literally), I had him write up his thoughts and tips on the off roading in Arches! Keep reading for Sam's review and his video that really says more than words!
The trail we chose to do was inside Arches National Park and we started on Salt Valley Road and finished at Balanced Rock. We did the trail north to south. It is recommended to do it this way because it is easier and mostly downhill. I have a 2014 Toyota 4Runner SR5 with all season road tires. I also used A-TRAC and had a spotter (my wife) help. I couldn't have done it with anything less.
Below is a map of the route we did. The solid line is a dirt/sand road that any car can drive on. If you take the first left, you will hit the dotted line as shown on the map. The dotted line is for 4X4 high clearance off road vehicles only (Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota 4Runners, or similar vehicles). Stock 4Runners can make it, but you have to go slow and take the easiest paths.
The map below, focuses on just 1 section of the off roading we did. The circled area is a section we did not do. Many people do this part so they can pull over and hike to Tower Arch and Marching Men, as designated by the green dot trail. Instead, we turned south at the red arrow and didn't do the additional section. The most difficult section is the beginning first 2 miles before you turn south. The trail becomes a lot easier once you start heading south and is more like a dirt road with random large boulders. *Note: If you are in a car and want to do the hike to Marching Men or Tower Arch, make sure you take the second left. DO NOT take the first left! Follow the blue arrow on the map!
It is important to know that there is no cell service anywhere on this route. We saw a few other vehicles, 2 tours and 2 other jeeps/trucks on their own. So if you do get stuck you may have to wait a while for help! It took us about 3-4 hours to complete this route and we didn't do the extra section to Tower Arch.
The views are amazing and this is one of the less popular off roading trails in Moab. We were there during Easter weekend, which is a popular time for jeeps in Moab, but still didn't see many people. If you have a built up vehicle for off roading then this trail is still fun because there are more difficult lines you can take. If you want to make it even harder you can go counter clockwise, south to north, to make it more difficult. Overall, this is a great off roading adventure for anyone up for the challenge!
Since Sam knows much more about this adventure and I was just along for the ride (literally), I had him write up his thoughts and tips on the off roading in Arches! Keep reading for Sam's review and his video that really says more than words!
Sam's Review Off Roading in Arches
Below is a map of the route we did. The solid line is a dirt/sand road that any car can drive on. If you take the first left, you will hit the dotted line as shown on the map. The dotted line is for 4X4 high clearance off road vehicles only (Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota 4Runners, or similar vehicles). Stock 4Runners can make it, but you have to go slow and take the easiest paths.
It is important to know that there is no cell service anywhere on this route. We saw a few other vehicles, 2 tours and 2 other jeeps/trucks on their own. So if you do get stuck you may have to wait a while for help! It took us about 3-4 hours to complete this route and we didn't do the extra section to Tower Arch.
The views are amazing and this is one of the less popular off roading trails in Moab. We were there during Easter weekend, which is a popular time for jeeps in Moab, but still didn't see many people. If you have a built up vehicle for off roading then this trail is still fun because there are more difficult lines you can take. If you want to make it even harder you can go counter clockwise, south to north, to make it more difficult. Overall, this is a great off roading adventure for anyone up for the challenge!
Kewl! Be doing this in 2 weeks!
ReplyDeleteThat is great! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
ReplyDelete