Utah Off-Road Trails

The challenge is just as exhilarating as the views. Considered the gateway to Dome Plateau, the Upland trail is a four-wheeling adventure that we all expect from Moab. Epic views, rock crawling, and memories worth a lifetime are delivered every time you venture out to this remote area north of Moab. The challenges are moderate but enough to keep the adventure exciting for even the most seasoned wheelers. Plan for a long day when connecting this amazing trail with all the others that make up the iconic Dome Plateau Loop.

Mineral Bottom Road is an epic offroad trail from the upper edge of Mineral Canyon into the canyon's bottom along the Green River. The visually stimulating descent into the canyon is along a switchback-filled shelf road that offers plenty of visual exposure with sheer drop-offs and imposing canyon walls. Mineral Bottom Road creates anxiety for those with a fear of heights. Once at the bottom of the canyon, you feel like you're in an old-time Western movie, passing towering walls and massive buttes. This is a popular road for all recreation types and leaves a lasting memory for all users.

Tucked away in the rugged red rock wilderness northwest of Moab, Utah, Lost World is an emerging favorite among offroad explorers. The trail winds through a surreal landscape of petrified sandstone fins, spires, ancient canyons, and wide-open desert views that seem untouched by time. As you crawl over slickrock shelves and drop into sandy washes, each turn reveals a cinematic view, from the snow-capped La Sal Mountains and distant Henrys to the maze-like chaos of sculpted rock below. Far from the crowds and deep in Utah’s backcountry, the Lost World trail delivers raw adventure and striking scenery with a journey into a prehistoric-looking expanse where solitude reigns.

Simply amazing is an appropriate description for this iconic Easter Jeep Safari route. Buttes and Towers follows an easy but rocky route around the most majestic landscapes in the Moab area. The trail offers very mild rock-crawling challenges for stock-type 4x4s on its massive stretches of sandstone. You will climb up and around the towering Courthouse Rock circle around the ledge at Pasture Butte before ending near the famous Determination Towers. The trail has numerous points where you'll want to stop, get out and soak it all in. For the lesser experienced offroaders, this is a great way to get the complete experience of a Moab adventure.

Copper Ridge is a popular Easter Jeep Safari route that combines numerous trails within this scenic region north of Moab. The trail begins with a stop at a fantastic dinosaur track site, where multiple large footprints are preserved in the sandstone. You'll then work your way over to what's left of the 1969 movie set for the movie "Blue." The trail then travels to the white slick rock and more challenging obstacles. In the distance, you'll have spectacular views of the Arches National Park rock formations and, further, the Las Sal mountains. The final point of interest is the Seven Mile Canyon pour-off. You can park right on the cliff's edge and reflect on the epic day you just had on the trail.

Cathedral Valley Scenic Backway takes you into the heart of the "Cathedral District," a land filled with natural wonder. A title like that is something you think you should be hearing in Paris, but instead, you are in Capitol Reef National Park, a wonder in its own right. With prominent natural landmarks named Temple of the Sun, Temple of the Moon, and Jericho Wall, you always question if the beauty is overhyped. It is not. This trail is a must for the offroad crowd simply for the visual stimulation factor. Cathedral Valley Loop presents no challenging obstacles, but mile after mile of a colossal panorama is the journey's reward.

Walking through the Eye of the Whale feels like walking into the mythical Middle Earth. Bright green plant life, pink and reddish sand, and standing trees are seen through the portal view shaped like a giant eye, the Eye of the Whale. Getting there is half the fun. This four-wheel drive road inside Arches National Park is one of the more adventurous ways to visit while avoiding crowds. Deep sand, washes, and slickrock are all surrounded by the otherworldly rock formations that immortalize Arches National Park. Combine this with Tower Arch Road and Willow Springs Road for an unforgettable day in one of the most famous National Parks in the United States.

Hurrah Pass is a scenic offroad trail located a short distance outside of downtown Moab, offering a quintessential red rock desert experience. The trail winds its way alongside dramatic canyon walls, sandstone formations, and wide-open desert vistas. It gradually ascends to the summit of its namesake Pass at about 4,800 feet, providing panoramic views of the Colorado River, the potash evaporation ponds, Kane Creek Canyon, and endless jagged cliffs and buttes Moab is widely known for. Hurrah Pass is popular for its blend of manageable terrain, rich desert scenery, and access to further backcountry routes like Chicken Corners, making it a favorite for those looking to explore the remote beauty surrounding Moab without extreme rock crawling.

Used as the only connecting route between Top of the World and Onion Creek, Rose Garden Hill is one of Moab’s most iconic challenges, and the hardest section of the overlanding route known as the Kokopelli Trail. The trail offers scenic wash driving, steep inclines, steep descents, loose soil, big ledges, epic views, and off-camber shelves that will test your vehicle and your nerves. This slow, rough, and narrow 4WD road can be tackled as a standalone challenge or part of a much longer, multi-day route connecting various trails.

Don't miss this gem in the Sand Flats Recreation Area. While not as famous as other local trails, it is well worth the time and effort it takes to run this route. To say this trail is scenic is an understatement. Virtually the entire 9 miles are rough outcroppings of the classic Moab slickrock, making for a challenging but fulfilling trip.

You may recognize the rock formations and terrain features along this trail because the area has been in several movies and TV shows. The same scenery that brings filmmakers is the highlight of this trail. As one of the highest-elevation trails in Moab, the views of Utah in are fantastic in all directions. The views include the La Sal Mountains, Castle Valley, Round Mountain, Castleton Tower, and the Colorado River on the north side. The south side of this trail has views of Moab, the sandstone rock 'fins,' and the famous trails in the valley.

This road is filled with amazing views of Arches National Park, the La Sal Mountains, and Klondike Bluffs. It offers a direct route from Crescent Junction to deep inside Arches National Park, finishing just shy of Devil's Garden. Enjoy the desert views along the way with varied terrain, and notice how the ground colors change as you drive this trail.

Dinosaur tracks, slickrock, and washes - consider this trail your very own offroad Jurassic Park experience, without the risk of being eaten by Velociraptors. Klondike Bluffs, sitting just north of Moab and bordering the 300-million-year-old formations of Arches National Park, is truly an enjoyable and interesting 4WD trail. It travels alongside the visible evidence of the Jurassic time period and right up to the mysterious-looking rock formations of the Bluffs and Arches National Park. Combine this trail with Klondike Bluffs Escape for a visually stimulating route into Salt Valley and Arches National Park.

Situated in Arches National Park, a major tourist destination known for its many sandstone arches, is a hidden gem four-wheel drive road known as Tower Arch Road. Driving the road is perhaps what our national parks must have been like in their infancy - rugged, remote, beautiful, and hard to get to! Traveling through red, pink, and brown sandstone formations, up and over ledges, and through reddish sandy dunes, you reach the namesake, Tower Arch. When you arrive, you feel like you have been tucked into the corner of nowhere as the sands of time are ever-changing, the magical landscape that time seems to have forgotten. Combine this with Eye of the Whale for an unforgettable day trip in Arches National Park.

The San Rafael Swell of central Utah is considered by many to be one of the most unique, rugged, and beautiful geology in the western United States. Spanning from Price to Hanksville and Emery to Green River, this colorful sandstone triangle brings out the adventurer in all of us. You can raft the San Rafael River, mountain bike the innumerable single tracks, explore pictographs and petroglyphs, horseback through the red rock, or kick back in a remote campsite. But the miles and miles of offroad trails running through desert juniper forests onto dry and arid plateaus before descending to cottonwood-lined rivers is the largest draw. Behind the Reef may be the hidden gem of the magnificent Swell. Behind the Reef traces along the huge jutting San Rafael Reef, the eastern wall of the Swell. The dichotomy of jaw-dropping and conflicting views adds to the uniqueness of this remote meandering red track. Looking west, you feel like you are on top of the world, an eagle's perspective of the vast sandstone solitude below. To the east, towering cliffs remind you just how small you really are in this endless stony landscape. What will you find Behind the Reef?

With breathtaking views, heart-pounding switchbacks, and epic backcountry camping, what else could you want in a 4x4 adventure? Flint Trail is the southern gateway for one of America's most remote offroad trips. The views hit you right away along the towering Orange Cliffs of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The bright orange cliffs tower over the trail as you zigzag beneath the shadows of precariously balanced stone behemoths. Natural arches and spires are abundant along the southern portion of the route, reminiscent of Monument Valley. Once inside the Glen Canyon area, the terrain changes to a more forested high desert with narrow cliff edge views and the infamous 800-foot climb on the narrow exposed Flint Switchbacks. Planning and preparation will help, but experience is key to safely navigating through this remote region of central Utah.

Flat Iron Mesa is a tough 4x4 route typically run as part of the Easter Jeep Safari and other events in the area. This trail will leave you feeling accomplished and tired at the very end. Almost every inch of it will test your driving skill and your vehicle's suspension as you manage the named obstacles of Tilt-A-Whirl, The Chutes, Easter Egg Hill, and The Intimidator, which is one of the more scary obstacles in the Moab area. Between the rock crawling, you will take in beautiful views of Coyote Canyon, Hatch Wash, and its namesake, Flat Iron Mesa. This trail is perfect for those seeking a challenge and a full day of adventure.

The Poison Springs 4WD trail in Southern Utah is a thrilling off-road adventure offering breathtaking scenery and complete isolation. Nestled within the picturesque canyonlands, this trail takes daring explorers on a rugged journey through red rock formations, steep ascents, and treacherous descents. As you navigate the narrow paths and encounter the famous Dirty Devil River crossing, the trail rewards you with sweeping vistas of towering red rock cliffs, vibrant desert flora, and the untamed beauty of the wild landscape. With its technical sections and awe-inspiring views, the Poison Springs 4WD trail promises an unforgettable experience for off-road enthusiasts seeking a taste of Utah's wild side.

Located about an hour southeast of Salt Lake City in the majestic Wasatch Mountain range, Mary Ellen Gulch offers a lot of adventure for any outdoor enthusiast. From the bottom, you immediately experience the amazing scenery in the Wasatch National Forest and work your way up the old mining road past abandoned gold and silver mines of the late 1800s. Look hard enough, and you might find iron pyrite or fool's gold lying around. If you are more extreme, there have been rumors that you can get lucky panning the mountain streams. There is a story of a Jeeper who panned in one of these canyons and found just enough gold to pay for the expenses of his journey up. Who knows what you may find! As you finish the trail, enjoy the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and overlook the Mineral Basin ski lift.