3/22 Porcupine Rim 5/10
The trail begins at a spring fed water tank beside the Sand Flats road about 9-1/2 miles from Moab and drops down to a ledge above Negro Bill Canyon. It follows the narrow terraces along the upper slopes of the canyon. It then drops down into a small drainage and begins the rocky ascent to the top of the rim and some of the best scenic vista we have to offer. Lunch usually is planned for "Picture Rock", a slab of rock that juts out over Castle Valley. The trip then retraces the route back to Sand Flats Road. Be advised that the majority of this trail is continuously bumpy. Approximate mileages 32 total, 6 of four wheeling.
Scenery:
There are canyon's edge views into Negro Bill and Rill Canyons. Along Porcupine Rim, elevations are as high as 6,800 feet. 1,500 feet below is Castle Valley with its prominent buttes: Castle Rock, Priest and the Nuns, Perriott Mesa and Round Mountain. The LaSal mountains to the southeast make a great backdrop for pictures.
Surface:
Although there is some slickrock, most encounters are with bedrock poking through in knobs and ledges that may spill your soda on the carpet. Because of it's elevation the trail ocassionally has some snow or residual mud at Easter.
Trail Details:
There are some off camber ledges near the head of Negro Bill Canyon that can test your vehicle's articulation. As the rim is approached, the rocks protruding from the roadbed get larger and more frequent. Between the first and second overlooks are some large rock ledges that could hold up traffic going each direction, particularly on the return trip. Picture Rock can cause the driver some anxious moments getting into position, but the picture can be spectacular.
Minimum Requirements:
Lockers: one
Tire size: 33
Winch required: recommended
Tow points front and rear yes
Working low range in T-case yes
Muffler: mandatory on all trails
Three-point (at least) seat belts: mandatory on all trails
3/23 Cliffhanger Rated 8/10
This trail is the only vehicle route onto the Amasa Back, a high isolated area surrounded by Kane Springs Canyon, Hurrah Pass, and a big loop of the Colorado River. If Kane Creek is full, the crossing can become impassable. The views are spectacular all the way up the side of Kane Springs Canyon. Farther along the trail is high above the canyon of the Colorado River. At various places along the trail there are petroglyphs and other evidence of early visitation.
Approximate mileages: 20 total, 12 off pavement.
Scenery:
This trail goes to an overlook of the Colorado River that is spectacular. Since it retraces the route on the way back, much of the scenery is on the way back, because the struggle to climb up from Kane Creek demands so much attention early in the day. The cliff edge look into Jackson Hole is inspiring, and the afternoon view of the La Sal Mountains and the Behind the Rocks area is one of our best. Road Surface: Most of the road surface is rock. It crosses various sandstone layers that create difficult stair step ledges. There is some sand, some dirt amid rock layers, and even some fairly level slickrock.
Highlights:
The trail grabs your attention immediately as it descends a cascade of rock ledges from the Kane Creek Road to the creek bottom. The creek crossing can range from dry sand through quicksand to deep water depending upon recent weather. A difficult ledge waits immediately after the creek crossing. From here on up the trail seems to consist of an endless series of steep, irregular ledges that require good ground clearance and maneuverability. The actual Cliff hanger obstacle is a big ledge on a narrow shelf trail overlooking Jackson Hole. The correct line at this obstacle seems to change constantly, and also varies for different wheelbases.
Minimum Requirements
Lockers: one
Tire size: 33
Winch required: recommended
Tow points front and rear yes
Working low range in T-case yes
Muffler: mandatory on all trails
Three-point (at least) seat belts. mandatory on all trails
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9/17 - 3D "Pickle" Rated 4/10
The 3-D Trail tours the vicinity of colorful Hidden Canyon and Bink Spring, northwest of Moab. It visits the canyon bottom and canyon rim, and finally, a high overlook of the area (hence the name 3-D). A few of the hills have been known to challenge stock vehicles, but most of the tour is pleasant, scenic, family 4-wheeling.
Approximate mileages: 59 total, 28 off highway.
Scenery:
This canyon country is unlike the Moab valley with its sheer Windgate Sandstone rimmed cliff s; instead 3-D visits canyons that are a few hundred feet deep in the smooth, red and white layers of the Entrada Sandstone. The slickrock areas are made up of the white layer that caps the Entrada. Vistas are to the north toward the Book Cliff s. Road Surface: There are some two track dirt sections, a little slickrock, a sandy and maybe wet wash bottom, and some rock/dirt mixtures with a few ledges.
Highlights:
Not far from the beginning is “Airport View Hill” where a few stock vehicles with highway tire pressure may have to try more than once. Hidden Canyon bottom is very sandy but is usually not difficult. The climb out of the upper canyon first encounters “The Wall”, which looks like a rock wall to the uninitiated, but is usually climbed easily by stock vehicles. Just past this is “Mean Hill”, which climbs about 200 feet in two steep sections. The first section begins with a shelf followed by a loose red dirt hill. The final climb looks worse than it is because it is on a “hogback” with a drop off on both sides.
Minimum Requirements:
Lockers: one
Tire size: 33
Winch required: recommended
Tow points front and rear yes
Working low range in T-case yes
Muffler: mandatory on all trails
Three-point (at least) seat belts: mandatory on all trails
3/26 - Steel Bender Rated 6/10
This trail's difficulty rating keeps moving around as the conflicting forces of erosion and trail repair modify the obstacles. The trail lies between Moab and the La Sal Mountains in the vicinity of Mill Creek, a major drainage from the mountains. It crosses the creek a few times and travels a lovely part of Mill Creek Canyon. It overlooks the North Fork of Mill Creek as it climbs to the base of South Mesa on the skirts of the La Sals. It is yet another variation of our canyonlands landscape. Approximate mileages: 30 total, 15 off highway.
Scenery:
Portions of the trail are in two beautiful, but different looking, parts of Mill Creek Canyon. Other portions ride the higher country toward the mountains and overlook canyonlands vistas to the west from a 6,000-foot elevation..
Highlights:
The initial section offers a gentle, sandy trip through creek crossings until encountering an extended hill of shelves with multiple approaches. Beyond this hill lie hills with many shelves. Next up is a loop offering "The Wall" and a fun slickrock fin. After a long bumpy but scenic section, a cattleguard is crossed to approach a rocky descent. Much volunteer labor has been expended to make this section safer to travel, yet it continues to defy those efforts. Extreme caution must be used here for a safe descent. Once past here more scenic vistas and rocky shelves await, finally descending a slickrock section that ends with a crossing of South Mill Creek. As the sand erodes and the rock shelf protrudes this ascent is becoming more difficult.
Minimum Requirements
Lockers: one
Tire size: 33
Winch required: recommended
Tow points front and rear yes
Working low range in T-case yes
Muffler: mandatory on all trails
Three-point (at least) seat belts. mandatory on all trails
3/28 - Flat Iron Mesal Rated 6/10
Flat Iron Mesa is south of Moab and is bounded by Kane Springs Canyon on the north, Hatch Wash Canyon on the west, West Coyote Canyon on the south, and Highway 191 on the east. A main road has a BLM sign, but our trail leaves the highway earlier and it quickly gets 4WD status on numerous old trails that reach fine canyon overlooks and provide some interesting four-wheeling. There are multiple obstacles that provide the rating number, some have bypasses, some don't. If the Easter Egg Rock section is elected, once the excitement of squeezing past the rock has subsided, there is a harrowingly narrow section on a cliff edge that must be negotiated. Approximate mileages: 55 total. 17 off road.
Scenery:
There are views of the La Sal Mountains, local cliffs, and different canyons throughout the trail. The cliffs and canyon walls near Kane Springs and Muleshoe Canyon are especially beautiful. Hatch Canyon is about 700 feet deep at the overlook where West Coyote Creek joins it in a series of cascades.
Highlights:
This trail offers such a wide variety of scenery and four wheeling challenges that it is difficult to pinpoint individual spots. Of course the "Tilt-A Whirl" and "Easter Egg Rock" obviously earned names for the four wheeling excitement, but there are many more unnamed spots sprinkled along the trail that always keep it interesting.
Minimum Requirements
Lockers: one
Tire size: 33
Winch required: recommended
Tow points front and rear yes
Working low range in T-case yes
Muffler mandatory on all trails
Three-point (at least) seat belts. mandatory on all trails
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