Road Trip!

[br14n]

My wife and I will be going on a road trip, starting tomorrow!

The trip:
July 21 - Leave Portland
July 22, 23, 24 - Moab, UT (Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Sand Flats)
July 25 - Steamboat Springs, CO
July 26, 27 - Estes Park (Rocky Mountain NP)
July 28 - Snowmass, CO
July 29 - Ouray, CO
July 30 - Mesa Verde, CO
July 31 - Portland, OR


These are all new places to us, we haven't been before. Any advice/recommendations are more than welcome!

The vehicle:
2015 Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium. Bilstein/OME ~ 3in lift, BF Goodrich A/T KO2's (285/70/17), stock skid plate, N-FAB Steps, custom roof rack.


The plans:
In Moab, I'm planning on dedicating a day each to Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, and Sand Flats. We will be tent camping while here, any cool campgrounds we should try to camp at?

In Canyonlands. I'd like to do the White Rim Trail, as well as the Top of the World. How doable are these with a slightly modified 4Runner like mine?

In Sand Flats, I've heard Fin's N Things is a fun trail that's not too difficult. Any other recommendations?

In Arches, NP we are planning mostly on hiking around to some of the arches. Are there any cool trails I should check out here?


That's about it for the Moab area, as far as the other locations, we haven't planned any specific things, we'll just figure it out as we go. It will be just us two in the Moab area, once we get to Colorado, we are meeting up with some friends and will be with them for the rest of the trip.

If you guys have recommendations or "must see" places along the route, please do feel free to let me know, we want to make the most out of this trip!

 

[TeamLord]

I'm going to clutter up this thread with no real information. I just want to say I'm jealous. Have fun!

 

[Keep 'Em Flying]

I used to ride the entire White Rim Trail in 6 hours on a motorcycle back in the 90's, nowadays the NPS requires you to get a permit just to drive on it :wacko:

 

[Keep 'Em Flying]

Oh yeah the worst (hairy)part of White Rim Trail is an area called "Murphy's Hogback" there's a bunch of videos on Youtube with people going up/down it.

Your 4Runner should have no problem in 4-Lo just make sure there's nobody coming in the opposite direction because there's no way to pass unless you want to go off a 1000 foot cliff.

 

[RonJR]

My wife and I will be going on a road trip, starting tomorrow!

The trip:
July 21 - Leave Portland
July 22, 23, 24 - Moab, UT (Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Sand Flats)
July 25 - Steamboat Springs, CO
July 26, 27 - Estes Park (Rocky Mountain NP)
July 28 - Snowmass, CO
July 29 - Ouray, CO
July 30 - Mesa Verde, CO
July 31 - Portland, OR


These are all new places to us, we haven't been before. Any advice/recommendations are more than welcome!

The vehicle:
2015 Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium. Bilstein/OME ~ 3in lift, BF Goodrich A/T KO2's (285/70/17), stock skid plate, N-FAB Steps, custom roof rack.


The plans:
In Moab, I'm planning on dedicating a day each to Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, and Sand Flats. We will be tent camping while here, any cool campgrounds we should try to camp at?

In Canyonlands. I'd like to do the White Rim Trail, as well as the Top of the World. How doable are these with a slightly modified 4Runner like mine?

In Sand Flats, I've heard Fin's N Things is a fun trail that's not too difficult. Any other recommendations?

In Arches, NP we are planning mostly on hiking around to some of the arches. Are there any cool trails I should check out here?


That's about it for the Moab area, as far as the other locations, we haven't planned any specific things, we'll just figure it out as we go. It will be just us two in the Moab area, once we get to Colorado, we are meeting up with some friends and will be with them for the rest of the trip.

If you guys have recommendations or "must see" places along the route, please do feel free to let me know, we want to make the most out of this trip!

It's going to be hot in the Utah desert. Take plenty of water. I'd keep at least one (maybe two) 5 gallon container(s) full of water in the vehicle when in the backcountry. Take at least two liters/person whenever you go hiking.

A good 4wd trail resource for Colorado and Utah is TrailDamage.com

You can do the White Rim trail in a day, but it's a long day, especially if you stop and look at stuff and go hiking. You need a permit, but for a day trip it's free and easy to get. If you want to camp along the road, you'll need to arrange that with the park service ahead of time. The road is no problem for a stock 4runner. I've not been on Top of the World, but I think it's more challenging.

A great hiking trail in Arches is the Devil's Garden trail, way at the north end of the paved road. The Salt Valley Road is a nice easy gravel off-pavement trip as well, with a nice hike to Tower arch at the end. The hike up to Delicate Arch is steep, but also worthwhile.

You can spend days on the backroads around Ouray. Most of the roads are fairly easy for a stock 4runner, and the scenery is spectacular - the best in Colorado. Any outdoor or jeep shop in Ouray or Silverton can give you advice as to where to go. I'd recommend the Engineer/Cinnamon Pass loop, or the Ophir/Imogene loop. You can also do the Black Bear/Imogene loop, but Black Bear can be intimidating for some folks. It's not technically hard, but requires 3-5 point turns on the edge of a cliff in a couple of places, while looking straight down at Telluride 2000 feet below. Check out some Youtube videos before you make a decision to tackle it.

Lots of good hiking in RMNP, but no 4-wheeling in the park. There are some good 4wd roads around the Estes Park area, but it's hard to describe to a newcomer, and nothing is anywhere near as good as what you'll find in Ouray or Moab.

Sounds like a great trip. Have fun and post some pictures!

 

[Engineer]

My wife and I will be going on a road trip, starting tomorrow!

The trip:
July 21 - Leave Portland
July 22, 23, 24 - Moab, UT (Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Sand Flats)
July 25 - Steamboat Springs, CO
July 26, 27 - Estes Park (Rocky Mountain NP)
July 28 - Snowmass, CO
July 29 - Ouray, CO
July 30 - Mesa Verde, CO
July 31 - Portland, OR


These are all new places to us, we haven't been before. Any advice/recommendations are more than welcome!
You are going to have a blast, my wife and I did a similar trip but coming from the other direction and went more north (Yellowstone) instead of Ouray. It will be lot of seat time, you will wish you had more time in each place but its a blast for the high level experiance
The vehicle:
2015 Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium. Bilstein/OME ~ 3in lift, BF Goodrich A/T KO2's (285/70/17), stock skid plate, N-FAB Steps, custom roof rack.


The plans:
In Moab, I'm planning on dedicating a day each to Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, and Sand Flats. We will be tent camping while here, any cool campgrounds we should try to camp at?
I cant not remember the name of the campground in Canyonlands but we stayed there for a couple nights and 1 night in a Moab hotel. A lot of the camping is 1st come 1st serve and I have no idea if its crowded or not this time of year, I would think heat would drive some away.

In Canyonlands. I'd like to do the White Rim Trail, as well as the Top of the World. How doable are these with a slightly modified 4Runner like mine?
From the couple miles I was on it/what I saw coming off and what I read its completely fine in a stock 4runner however I think it would be to long/a dreadful trip for a single day. I would recommend Musselman arch and then some of the shorter "shortcut" trails/roads to the different parks/Moab. I did not run Top of the world due to time/weather but wanted to. I do think there is a single ledge near the top that will give you issues with your N-fabs so you will either have to stop there and hike to the top, accept the damage , or stack rocks and find a killer line. This is coming from a book , not personal knowledge.
In Sand Flats, I've heard Fin's N Things is a fun trail that's not too difficult. Any other recommendations?

In Arches, NP we are planning mostly on hiking around to some of the arches. Are there any cool trails I should check out here?
We took a trail towards tower arch (NW side of park) that looped back towards the middle of the park. Very doable in your 4runner but does have several areas of creek crossing or creek bed driving so if its raining I would avoid.

That's about it for the Moab area, as far as the other locations, we haven't planned any specific things, we'll just figure it out as we go. It will be just us two in the Moab area, once we get to Colorado, we are meeting up with some friends and will be with them for the rest of the trip.
No idea on the rest but I will be in the Telluride/Ouray area in early September and wouldn't miss Black Bear Pass
If you guys have recommendations or "must see" places along the route, please do feel free to let me know, we want to make the most out of this trip!

Red Text, If you do not have one get a air compressor so you can air down your tires. Your wife and back will thank you, it made a word of difference during the off-road time in Moab/Arches/Canyon lands.

Safety/Common Sense Note: As always bring lots of water, make sure your fuel is topped off (a must if you are not taking extra) and by far the most important thing. Have a couple people that know what you are doing for the day and that you will be checking in with that evening and that have the local ranger contacts. It seems trivial as I doubt you will be that many miles from someone(unless you do White Rim) but even on the shorter routes it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere and if something happens and you are not 100% with it you can certainly wonder off. Which btw if someone knows you are supposed to check in do not leave the vehicle its much easier for a crew to spot a truck on the trail then a person who has wondered miles from it.

 

[NVSteve]

My wife and I will be going on a road trip, starting tomorrow!

July 22, 23, 24 - Moab, UT (Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Sand Flats)

Best hike at Arches is the Devil's Garden loop (a little over 8 miles).

July 29 - Ouray, CO
July 30 - Mesa Verde, CO
July 31 - Portland, OR

When do you expect to arrive and depart Mesa Verde? That one requires at least a full day, and that's camping on site. If you stay in a motel, it will be a fairly long drive into and out of the park. If you get going at a decent time, Imogene Pass trail into Telluride is super scenic & slow going. You could have lunch in Telluride & continue on to Mesa Verde from there.

 

[3wbdriver]

In Arches, NP we are planning mostly on hiking around to some of the arches. Are there any cool trails I should check out here?

I don't remember the name of the trail, but there is a trail that will let you run some 30 miles out of the park on the highway side. It goes by the Tower arch and the Whale Arch. It requires 4 lo for maybe the first half mile up but it is easy silty trail for the rest of the trail. Maybe 2 hours on the trail allowing for walks up to the 2 arches. I did it in this rig with 265's and fully loaded. The trail actually exits back on to the main road just above the entry gate. You'll enjoy the park regardless, but this will allow you to get in another trail ride. Have fun.

 

[Herculean T4R]

Alpine loop in Ouray is pretty scenic. Consider spending 2 days in Ouray. There are lots of scenic trails you can explore while in Ouray. I will be in Ouray July 27 -30 with Nissan Offroad Association of Colorado. A bunch of us are staying at KOA campground. If time permits you can come and hang out with us on 29th evening.

 

[RonJR]

Plus the Ouray hot springs are awesome after a hard day on the trails.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Best advice I can give you having lived my whole life in this beautiful state:

Get out of your vehicle. Hike a bit. Get a bottle of wine, some sandwiches and fruit and do a hike a few miles into the back country.

There are so many beautiful high alpine lakes and trails that so many people never see because they just stay in their cars.

Don't pass that by.

Oh yeah: Start early and be back down the mountain early (1:00 - 1:30 PM you should be heading down if weather is iffy).

We have wicked lightning/thunderstorms here this time of year on the divide and you do not want to be on the side of a mountain when Mother Nature says "Time for you all to go home".

Most of all - enjoy.

I'll leave you with this. It summarizes my home:

NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND LYRICS - Colorado Christmas

 

[mnofpeace]

I'm going to clutter up this thread with no real information. I just want to say I'm jealous. Have fun!

See, how is this fair. Here in the east, Nat'l Parks barely allow people to be able to walk the trails and back woods. But out west they set up 'hundreds of miles' (as i just read on one web site) of 4x4 roads to explore...
SUMMMUVVAABBYYTCH!!!!!

Who do i blame for this???!!! :wtf:

Enjoy that sir...it sounds like a great way to spend some summertime days.

 

[internski]

Top of the world might be a challenge. Ran it in my lifted two door jeep on 35s with no problems but near the tops there are some ledges that you could get caught up on or require you to stack rocks. I still recommend doing it since the view is worth it. Just know your limits and be ready to hike the last bit .25-.5 mi.

Everything else you and others mentioned here are great trails and doable in a stock 4Runner.

Enjoy your adventure!

 

[br14n]

I'm going to clutter up this thread with no real information. I just want to say I'm jealous. Have fun!

haha thanks! ill be posting pictures here as i go, feel free to keep checking in!

I used to ride the entire White Rim Trail in 6 hours on a motorcycle back in the 90's, nowadays the NPS requires you to get a permit just to drive on it. Oh yeah the worst (hairy)part of White Rim Trail is an area called "Murphy's Hogback" there's a bunch of videos on Youtube with people going up/down it.

Your 4Runner should have no problem in 4-Lo just make sure there's nobody coming in the opposite direction because there's no way to pass unless you want to go off a 1000 foot cliff.

That sounds awesome! My wife isn't too fond of steep drop-off's, but i'm sure we'll manage! I'll be sure to check out some videos of that section. Thanks!

It's going to be hot in the Utah desert. Take plenty of water. I'd keep at least one (maybe two) 5 gallon container(s) full of water in the vehicle when in the backcountry. Take at least two liters/person whenever you go hiking.

A good 4wd trail resource for Colorado and Utah is TrailDamage.com

You can do the White Rim trail in a day, but it's a long day, especially if you stop and look at stuff and go hiking. You need a permit, but for a day trip it's free and easy to get. If you want to camp along the road, you'll need to arrange that with the park service ahead of time. The road is no problem for a stock 4runner. I've not been on Top of the World, but I think it's more challenging.

A great hiking trail in Arches is the Devil's Garden trail, way at the north end of the paved road. The Salt Valley Road is a nice easy gravel off-pavement trip as well, with a nice hike to Tower arch at the end. The hike up to Delicate Arch is steep, but also worthwhile.

You can spend days on the backroads around Ouray. Most of the roads are fairly easy for a stock 4runner, and the scenery is spectacular - the best in Colorado. Any outdoor or jeep shop in Ouray or Silverton can give you advice as to where to go. I'd recommend the Engineer/Cinnamon Pass loop, or the Ophir/Imogene loop. You can also do the Black Bear/Imogene loop, but Black Bear can be intimidating for some folks. It's not technically hard, but requires 3-5 point turns on the edge of a cliff in a couple of places, while looking straight down at Telluride 2000 feet below. Check out some Youtube videos before you make a decision to tackle it.

Lots of good hiking in RMNP, but no 4-wheeling in the park. There are some good 4wd roads around the Estes Park area, but it's hard to describe to a newcomer, and nothing is anywhere near as good as what you'll find in Ouray or Moab.

Sounds like a great trip. Have fun and post some pictures!

We are planning to try to do the White Rim Trail in 1 day, wake up early in the morning and go explore. From what i can tell, it's roughly 70ish miles long?
I'll definitely look up some of the trails you mentioned in Ouray. For the rest of the trip after Moab, we are meeting up with some friends and they are all in mini van's, so they aren't too inclined to go on trails. We may have to ditch them for a bit. Thanks for all the tips!

Red Text, If you do not have one get a air compressor so you can air down your tires. Your wife and back will thank you, it made a word of difference during the off-road time in Moab/Arches/Canyon lands.

Safety/Common Sense Note: As always bring lots of water, make sure your fuel is topped off (a must if you are not taking extra) and by far the most important thing. Have a couple people that know what you are doing for the day and that you will be checking in with that evening and that have the local ranger contacts. It seems trivial as I doubt you will be that many miles from someone(unless you do White Rim) but even on the shorter routes it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere and if something happens and you are not 100% with it you can certainly wonder off. Which btw if someone knows you are supposed to check in do not leave the vehicle its much easier for a crew to spot a truck on the trail then a person who has wondered miles from it.

Thanks for the advice, i do have an air compressor with me. I just bought it before the trip. What PSI do you guys recommend? I've gone down to 15 for sand, but do i need to go that low for Moab area?
We'll make sure to have plenty of water and we can check in with our parents back home, or maybe even with you guys on this thread! (as long as i have cell service)

When do you expect to arrive and depart Mesa Verde? That one requires at least a full day, and that's camping on site. If you stay in a motel, it will be a fairly long drive into and out of the park. If you get going at a decent time, Imogene Pass trail into Telluride is super scenic & slow going. You could have lunch in Telluride & continue on to Mesa Verde from there.

I'm not 100% sure yet. The way this whole thing started was some friends of ours planned the trip and invited us to come. We decided to leave earlier than them and go check out Moab first. We will be with them after Moab and through the rest of the trip. They all have small cars and mini vans, so they aren't exactly inclined to do the same things as us. But we may ditch them at certain parts and explore on our own.

I don't remember the name of the trail, but there is a trail that will let you run some 30 miles out of the park on the highway side. It goes by the Tower arch and the Whale Arch. It requires 4 lo for maybe the first half mile up but it is easy silty trail for the rest of the trail. Maybe 2 hours on the trail allowing for walks up to the 2 arches. I did it in this rig with 265's and fully loaded. The trail actually exits back on to the main road just above the entry gate. You'll enjoy the park regardless, but this will allow you to get in another trail ride. Have fun.

That's good to know, i'll add it to the list of possible trails, thanks!

Alpine loop in Ouray is pretty scenic. Consider spending 2 days in Ouray. There are lots of scenic trails you can explore while in Ouray. I will be in Ouray July 27 -30 with Nissan Offroad Association of Colorado. A bunch of us are staying at KOA campground. If time permits you can come and hang out with us on 29th evening.

Thanks for the invite! We'll have to see how the schedule lines up, if we're in the area we might stop by.

Plus the Ouray hot springs are awesome after a hard day on the trails.

That sounds like a great way to end the day!

Best advice I can give you having lived my whole life in this beautiful state:
Get out of your vehicle. Hike a bit. Get a bottle of wine, some sandwiches and fruit and do a hike a few miles into the back country.
There are so many beautiful high alpine lakes and trails that so many people never see because they just stay in their cars.
Don't pass that by.
Oh yeah: Start early and be back down the mountain early (1:00 - 1:30 PM you should be heading down if weather is iffy).
We have wicked lightning/thunderstorms here this time of year on the divide and you do not want to be on the side of a mountain when Mother Nature says "Time for you all to go home".
Most of all - enjoy.

That sounds like good advice, thank you! Only 1 issue with hiking...i've had 2 knee surgeries on the same knee, i've blown out my ACL twice and meniscus once. I can do most of the shorter hikes, but once it gets too long my knee starts acting up and it'll be sore for a while. I'm definitely going to get our of the car and explore though!

Enjoy that sir...it sounds like a great way to spend some summertime days.

:thanks:

Top of the world might be a challenge. Ran it in my lifted two door jeep on 35s with no problems but near the tops there are some ledges that you could get caught up on or require you to stack rocks. I still recommend doing it since the view is worth it. Just know your limits and be ready to hike the last bit .25-.5 mi.

I think we will give it a try, the viewpoint at the end seems amazing! I've been in offroading situations where i've had to stack rocks or logs in order to get through, it just takes time and patience. Luckily, we have both! haha


I'm at work now, just waiting to get through the work day! We are planning to leave around 8PM tonight and drive through the night. Should be in Moab tomorrow morning/afternoon sometime.
I'll try to post pictures of the 4Runner set up before we leave. I am putting some stuff on the roof rack to make more room for a makeshift bed in the cabin, in case either of us wants to sleep more comfortably while the other is driving.

 

[RonJR]

Thanks for the advice, i do have an air compressor with me. I just bought it before the trip. What PSI do you guys recommend?

I like about 20 psi. The White Rim doesn't have deep sand; it's just rocky and bumpy with some washboards, so 20 psi will smooth out the ride a lot without having to worry about breaking a bead, or occasionally getting up to 30 mph on the smoother sections.

There is a side trip down a canyon to the river about 1/4 of the way around, which I have not been on, but is reported to be somewhat sandy. Can't remember the name of it offhand.

 

[desertred]

Nothing to add. Just thought it a bit ironic that I got back to Colorado a couple of days ago after a road trip to the Stevenson/Hood River area.

 

[br14n]

We made it to Moab! We left last night around 9pm from Portland and got here around 1pm.

Here's the car all packed up:

Some pictures from the drive down:

There were also some interesting signs in some of the bathrooms...

We're probably going to grab some food now, and afterwards go check out sand flats and try my luck on Fins N Things.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[br14n]

Finally getting a chance to update this thread! It's been a busy couple of days..

Fins N Things was a blast! Here are some pics:

First thing I did was baby lions back:

Then we went and ran fins n things:

https://vimeo.com/176337173

https://vimeo.com/176338381

It was such a fun trail! I scraped my hitch and shackle on one of the descents. I had to use 4lo and atrac in some spots, but otherwise it was very doable in a mostly stock 4Runner.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Forest RnR]

Looks awesome!

 

[NoOneBetter]

Jelly. Wish I was out there instead of being in my office.