Moab in October

[NWJeepr]

Headed to Moab for two weeks in October.

Trails I've done before -

Shafer / exit via Canyonlands, although I think we'll run it the opposite direction for a different perspective.
Fins
Hell's Revenge
Chicken Corners
Arches 4x4 trails - Eye of the Whale, Marching Men, Tower Arch, and the old park entrance.

This trip - open to suggestions. We have two weeks to play with.

Poison Spider?
Top of the World?
Onion Creek (or is that too tame/ not enough scenery?)

Looking for intermediate trail suggestions and any recent trip reports after the big rains... Really prefer trails that won't tear the fake rock rails off my completely stock Rubicon XR (4-door).

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[fastguy]

Consider steel bender.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Headed to Moab for two weeks in October.

Trails I've done before -

Shafer / exit via Canyonlands, although I think we'll run it the opposite direction for a different perspective.
Fins
Hell's Revenge
Chicken Corners
Arches 4x4 trails - Eye of the Whale, Marching Men, Tower Arch, and the old park entrance.

This trip - open to suggestions. We have two weeks to play with.

Poison Spider?
Top of the World?
Onion Creek (or is that too tame/ not enough scenery?)

Looking for intermediate trail suggestions and any recent trip reports after the big rains... Really prefer trails that won't tear the fake rock rails off my completely stock Rubicon XR (4-door).

Poison Spider is extremely fun and very scenic.
I actually think Top of the World is a bit boring in terms of the driving, and not that scenic except for the very top.
Flat Iron Mesa is fun and scenic. Remote; not much traffic out there.
Elephant Hill is extremely worthwhile; gorgeous and fun driving.
Sevenmile Rim is super scenic, mostly very manageable, and if you haven't had enough excitement, take a quick side detour out at the far end and drive down and back up Wipeout Hill.
Metal Masher is fun, very scenic, and more manageable than you might think (Steelbender is more stout than MM imho).
Incidentally, I have pretty extensive videos of all these in my sig (except Sevenmile)

 

[Ratbert]

As others have said, Elephant Hill is beautiful. They only allow a few rigs in per day, so you have to grab a reservation at 8am the day before.

Absolutely do the Trifecta. It's a full day, but worth it.

The views from Top of the World are pretty damn amazing. Make sure you jump over the stupidly crack to the left. Nice bump of adrenaline there.

 

[Murphydog]

Poison Spider is extremely fun and very scenic.
I actually think Top of the World is a bit boring in terms of the driving, and not that scenic except for the very top.
Flat Iron Mesa is fun and scenic. Remote; not much traffic out there.
Elephant Hill is extremely worthwhile; gorgeous and fun driving.
Sevenmile Rim is super scenic, mostly very manageable, and if you haven't had enough excitement, take a quick side detour out at the far end and drive down and back up Wipeout Hill.
Metal Masher is fun, very scenic, and more manageable than you might think (Steelbender is more stout than MM imho).
Incidentally, I have pretty extensive videos of all these in my sig (except Sevenmile)

what Mike said - I too have an XR and just completed Poison Spider with no problems, other than a very poor line when I launched into Sand Hill.

Top of the World is....fun, and the view at the top is amazing, but it is 2 miles each way of crawling....again fun, but can be tedious. The gate keeper obstacle is an exciting challenge

Sevenmile is an adventure with a lot to see

Elephant Hill is still my favorite, off the beaten path, amazing scenery. A permit is required (easy to get in my experience) and we didn't see another person the entire day after check in at the ranger station

White Rim road to Lathrop Canyon will take you all the way down to the Colorado river. Not difficult in the jeep, but a great slice of CanyonLands NP, with plenty of wildlife

If you are there that long save some time to visit the parks too. The foot trails in both Canyonlands and Arches are lovely

 

[ColoradoMike]

As others have said, Elephant Hill is beautiful. They only allow a few rigs in per day, so you have to grab a reservation at 8am the day before.

Absolutely do the Trifecta. It's a full day, but worth it.

The views from Top of the World are pretty damn amazing. Make sure you jump over the stupidly crack to the left. Nice bump of adrenaline there.

The Wells book (which is sometimes full of sh!t) says something to the effect of "breakdowns are common" on Golden Spike/Trifecta. Did you see reason for that? Do you think I should shy away from Golden Spike on my 35s with the stock XR mini lift?

 

[NWJeepr]

The Wells book (which is sometimes full of sh!t) says something to the effect of "breakdowns are common" on Golden Spike/Trifecta. Did you see reason for that? Do you think I should shy away from Golden Spike on my 35s with the stock XR mini lift?

Is that the FunTreks Fourth Ed, Guide to Moab, UT Backfoads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails by Charles Wells & Matt Peterson?

No joke, my mom gave me the book recently because I mentioned I was going to Moab. She's never wheeled in her life, and she was like here, Happy Birthday, I got you this book.

It makes me squeal that they pictured a Toyota for "easy" trails and a Jeep for everything else.

https://funtreks.com/product/guide-to-moab-utah-backroads-4-wheel-drive-trails-4th-edition/

 

[Murphydog]

Is that the FunTreks Fourth Ed, Guide to Moab, UT Backfoads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails by Charles Wells & Matt Peterson?

No joke, my mom gave me the book recently because I mentioned I was going to Moab. She's never wheeled in her life, and she was like here, Happy Birthday, I got you this book.

It’s a very good guide, though i frequently forget to reset the trip odometer

 

[ColoradoMike]

Is that the FunTreks Fourth Ed, Guide to Moab, UT Backfoads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails by Charles Wells & Matt Peterson?

No joke, my mom gave me the book recently because I mentioned I was going to Moab. She's never wheeled in her life, and she was like here, Happy Birthday, I got you this book.

Yep, that's the book. It's good. But use it in combination with some kind of app, like OnX or Trails Offroad. And take everything the book says with a grain of salt; his ranking by difficulty is pretty damn subjective and sometimes really head-scratching. He's not a good photographer, and sometimes the photos really don't do an obstacle justice.

 

[ColoradoMike]

It’s a very good guide, though i frequently forget to reset the trip odometer

Yep, me too, and then Wells' nav instrux aren't super useful. Hence the need for OnX or similar.

 

[Murphydog]

Yep, me too, and then Wells' nav instrux aren't super useful. Hence the need for OnX or similar.

I used Trails off road on my iPad for Poison Spider and really liked it. The follow me mode worked well, and each numbered obstacle popped up as I was approaching them.

Agree on Wells, it is good for research and planning, gives you the bigger picture before you go, but one of the apps while on trails is better. Using Wells on Seven Mile was tough with all the side roads up there

 

[blackwater]

Headed to Moab for two weeks in October.

Trails I've done before -

Shafer / exit via Canyonlands, although I think we'll run it the opposite direction for a different perspective.
Fins
Hell's Revenge
Chicken Corners
Arches 4x4 trails - Eye of the Whale, Marching Men, Tower Arch, and the old park entrance.

This trip - open to suggestions. We have two weeks to play with.

Poison Spider?
Top of the World?
Onion Creek (or is that too tame/ not enough scenery?)

Looking for intermediate trail suggestions and any recent trip reports after the big rains... Really prefer trails that won't tear the fake rock rails off my completely stock Rubicon XR (4-door).

PWN, I assume you have driven Idaho trails, any recommendations for a total newbe? I’ve been to Moab several times , great lodging at Red Cliffs Lodge. Also, a two hour backcountry road to Gateway Canyon Resort.

 

[Ratbert]

The Wells book (which is sometimes full of sh!t) says something to the effect of "breakdowns are common" on Golden Spike/Trifecta. Did you see reason for that? Do you think I should shy away from Golden Spike on my 35s with the stock XR mini lift?

Sorry, I'm not sure what the minimums would be for that group of trails. I've done it in both directions. The Waterfall is, by far, the most memorable part of it for me.

 

[Ratbert]

Is that the FunTreks Fourth Ed, Guide to Moab, UT Backfoads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails by Charles Wells & Matt Peterson?

No joke, my mom gave me the book recently because I mentioned I was going to Moab. She's never wheeled in her life, and she was like here, Happy Birthday, I got you this book.

It makes me squeal that they pictured a Toyota for "easy" trails and a Jeep for everything else.

https://funtreks.com/product/guide-to-moab-utah-backroads-4-wheel-drive-trails-4th-edition/

Yeah, it's published locally out of Monument CO.

 

[Murphydog]

Almost forgot the most important tip! Pick up your favorite booze before you cross into Utah. Their liquor laws are...different

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