Dome Plateau to Dome Wash (Route)

I’m so bad at updating these… I’m going to get better. Took my stock TJ in there to check out the new overlook (to me) described in this guide (always skipped it in the past). It’s worth if you are planning a multiday adventure, but if just doing a day trip, I’d skip it for the awesome overlook in the back. Tried going to the arch at waypoint 10 but it was dark and there were no vehicle signs to it. I’m not sure what’s up with that… I was just using TrailsOffroad yesterday and didn’t have my mvum maps loaded. In terms of difficulty, it’s a bit more chewed up than in previous years as it gets regular use from the bronco rodeo group, but it’s still just a high moderate to waypoint 10 at least. My stock TJ did not need its lockers anywhere. In the dark, I bumped my rear end from not seeing the lines, but Jeeps are made for that so no big deal. Also, this is definitely a 5/5… can’t believe younger me gave this a 4… he was an idiot.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran parts of this route as part of our overland adventure following the Kokopelli Trail. When we got to Dome Plateau, we were running ahead of schedule so we took a detour and, instead of just following the Kokopelli portion of Dome Plateau, we went partway out Owl Draw, a little way down Yellowjacket Canyon, and then cut across the Owl Draw Upland on a trail that doesn't have a guide here. From there we connected back to the Dome Plateau route and exited across from Dewey Bridge. The portion of the trail we traversed did not exceed a 4 rating.

This is a great trail. Plan for a full day. Pay attention to the trail guide gps, because it’s easy to make a wrong turn. There’s a few obstacles that I think warrant being their own way point; it would have been nice to know they were coming up. The trail reminded me a lot like seven mile. I’ll do this one again in a couple years.

Hit this trail with stock (except tire sizes, largest being 32”) no lifts or lockers. 89 4runner, 88 pathfinder 2dr, 89 d21 hardbody, k1500 ext cab Silverado, 95 geo tracker 2dr, 84 bronco 2, 07 ranger. Did the full trail even the ledges at the end (two vehicles doing it pitch black since we got there late) really fun trail with great obstacles to learn about your rig. There are some bypasses but no need for them really. Views were 12/10, fun 12/10 obstacles 10/10 in terms of do ability, and really only need a spotter for the ledges at the end(or start if you go backwards)

Great trail (my group ran it backwards ending up at the caves and mine buildings). Great overlook views and other interesting things. Lots of people on a Saturday.

Here is the video from our trip last month.

A true gem of a trail. Out of town with no one around. Fun obstacles at the start following by some smooth roads. A must see detour is the cabins at 38.83869, -109.36477 The overlooks on this trail are the best views in Moab.

What a cool trail. This is in my recommendations going forward. So much to see and so many views. Do this if in the area. The trail is way easier then a 5 rating, It might be 3 unless we missed something hard. The hardest spot to me was right after the arch where there was a moderate sized waterfall (Slick Rock) you have to drive up.

Starting from the city of Moab to get to the trail head, it a nice scenic ride along the colorado river. The trail as of this date review has some "staircase", off camber and deep rut obstacles that I don't see in the list of waypoints. In my opinion, even though this trail has several sights to see, as stated in the description, this is a tails that is more about the journey than the destination. There are a wide range of obstacles, doing this in February meant that there were a couple spots where you could run into problems if you didn't adjust for the snow and ice. but I was surprised how dry the trail was given the time of year and the amount of rail fall the state has had this year. I did this trail in a Toyota Sequoia with a 3" lift. This trail was definitely more challenging for my sequoia than the jeeps I was with, but all parts of the trail were doable except for one. In my unprofessional opinion, I would not attempt the obstacle near waypoint 33, the drop down on the way to the arch, unless you are in a vehicle that has been modified to handle this type of obstacle. Going down toward was arch was easy enough but getting back up would be the problem. It's possible someone with more experience or more time to work the obstacle could have overcome it in my rig. I was one last ledge from the top and couldn't get traction to get over it. Because we were short on time, I just had one of my jeep friends pull me up. Lockers would have made all of the difference. Despite the one obstacle I was not able to get past without help, this trail is totally doable in a lifted sequoia with KO2's. If you aren't there with someone that can assist you if needed, either skip the arch, or park at the top of the obstacle at WP 33, and walk to the arch, it isn't far. Overall this was a great trail with a variety of different challenges. This is a great trail If you want to see what your vehicle is capable.

What a beautiful route across Dome Plateau! The overlook is amazing, and nearly as good as any other in the Moab area. Be advised that the Bronco Off-Roaded group uses this trail for training new Bronco owners on Thurs-Sun of each week. They are in groups of 5-8 trucks, and intentionally getting into difficult situations to learn how to use the different capabilities of the new Broncos. Another key note is the wash at the end of the trail is impassable due to recent heavy rains and washouts. We helped recover two side-by-sides that had buried themselves in the 3 waterfalls in this section. These are now rock crawling obstacles, and only high lift, with very oversized tires and big huevos should make the final decent through the wash. At least until the rains push more dirt in and fill in the massive holes now waiting to swallow a rig. The addition of the scouted route as a bypass allowed us to continue out through the lower wash, and its suggested to take that route unless you're willing to take some potential trail damage and perhaps recover a less modified vehicle. Just like many other trails in Moab now, the rains have made them much more rough and obstacle filled. Tread lightly and with caution, but enjoy this amazing trail.

Really cool trail with a lot of diversity. The caves and the arches are worth the drive alone. Look for the dinosaur tracks too! The trail is sandy and a few steps make it interesting but not too hard. Again and again hill was a fun climb but not difficult. Try this trail to get out of Moab proper and enjoy a less travelled trail.

Fun trail that leads to "Outstanding View", La Boca Arch, some springs, and historical landmarks. Some pretty spectacular views along the way. Most of the trail is easy, but there are obstacles sprinkled in here and there that make it interesting. I don't recall waypoints 43, 44, and 45, so we must have turned off before that. I believe there is a bypass for the Ledge obstacle at waypoint 33, but it's still a challenge. Video is Time-Lapse, condenses many hours into just a few minutes. Trail is 30+ miles out of Moab, so plan on and extra hour+ to your day getting to/from. We combined with Top of the World trail. Made for a long 11 hour day.

Great trail that we were originally going to camp on but we decided against hauling our off-road camper in. It probably would have been fine but it would have made the day a bit longer and more intense. It took us about 6 hours with stops for lunch and checking out the points of interest. We followed the TOR route up to 41; however, we were running late so we took the Yellow Cat trail to save a little time.

Dome plateau was a very cool trail - the scenery and history alone make it a good one to run. Lots of diverse terrain and climbs. “Again And Again Hill” was not that difficult - no locker needed or anything with 33’s - be sure to stop at the caves and dinosaur tracks

This was a great trail. The group I was with started out on the mapped trail, then made a few detours down some optional trails to explore and to get to various over-looks. I found this trail to be very challenging, with a combination of sandy trails with rugged steep inclines and declines, but it was a lot of fun. It was a great way to test and improve my off-road driving skills. My Gladiator handled the various terrain very well with the new 2'' lift and 35" Duratrac tires. The views were excellent. Our trip did run longer then we expected for various reasons and it turned into a night run as well which was my first night off-road trail. Found some great places for some overnight camp-outs in the future.

We ran it with a few inches of snow in a few places that made some of the climbs a little sketchy. Usually, though, this is a fun trail, but you do need to budget 5-6 hours for it. We highly recommend adding it to a Moab trip.

This is a great trail! The location makes it a convenient spot to stop on the way to/from Moab from the East. There are some challenging obstacles to keep things interesting but bypasses or other routes to take if you’re in a stock-ish vehicle. Do NOT skip the caves!

Dome Plateau is a great trail (and network) you can spend all day in. Pretty constant obstacles with high speed sand in between and great views throughout make this a great trail.

Only ran front part due to time constraints (WP1-10 or so). The rock steps at the beginning are a lot of fun. The Cattle Gate at WP4 is falling apart, but can still be pseudo-closed.

Easily one of my favorite trails. Dome Plateau is an area with a ton of different trails all interconnecting. I would advise using your favorite GPS mapping platform so you can decide on the fly if you should adjust your route at all. The view at the overlook rivals Muley Point. Depending on the route you take through, this trail could easily gather a Hard rating. A few obstacles and off-camber spots require great tire placement. Complete with hard obstacles, steps, long stretches of soft sand to rip down, multiple domes, and one of the better overlooks I've seen, I will be visiting this again in the future. Highly recommend adding this to your Moab trip.

Amazing route, rock crawling mixed with easy sandy roads, great views and attractions & some hard obstacles that can be bypassed. I saw nobody the entire time and camped at an amazing spot! The Owl draw spur is MUCH harder than the rest of the trail and deserves a HARD rating on par with Top of the World & Hells Revenge. There are about 4 obstacles but two of them are very large drops with potential for body damage. I was alone and in my Ram 2500 Powerwagon so I ended up stacking rocks in two spots to ensure I would avoid rocker panel damage. I will run this again and again because there are so many other trails and options and very little traffic.

I was going to run Top of the World, but I’m glad I ran this one. However, I wish I reviewed trails offroad before doing so as I got lost while filming the trail and missed the amazing overlook. I’m still frustrated by that and will be doing better trail planning in the future using trailsoffroad, Funtreks, and actually using my gps while wheeling (I use to like the adventure of getting lost, but not for making supplemental video guides to great guides like trails offroad and Funtreks books). Anyway, this was a very fun trail with lots of variety. You can definitely make a day of it especially if you explore the trails not described here or in Funtreks (I show some of the scenery of these in my video). I’d describe the route I took as moderate, but still fun.

This trail was good but just wanted to point out that this GPX file leaves the actual Dome Plateau trail. If you follow the GPX, towards the end, at 38.84872, -109.35978, there is a pretty gnarly hole in the washed out section that is significantly more difficult than the rest of the trail. If you are in a stock vehicle you will hit your skid plates and probably your rear bumper/hitch going through this section. If you want a more moderate trail, follow the map in the Charles Wells Moab trail book, which turns right to an easier road before this section.

This is a great moderately difficult trip with spectacular scenery. It's too bad the Dewey Bridge within sight of the trailhead burned, but at least the framework and support cables are still in place. There are bypasses around most of the more difficult obsticles, and there are some side routes to explore that will challenge any level of experience driver. Today's trip found temperatures 30 degrees below normal with light rain at times and strong breezes near valley canyon walls. The skies were cloudy all day.

Dome wash has a moderate ledge ( waypoint 88: 43).I’m a DCLB Tacoma with stock rear bumpers. The best approach for me was off camber to make the ledge as smoth as possible. But I still hit and scraped my rear bumper. Just after that ledge is a good size bolder that you don’t pay attention to you will high center easly.

I discovered that there are many different variations of the Dome Plateau trail near Moab, UT. Trailsoffroad guides you through the Squaw Valley with a preferred route; However, there are many inter-connecting trails in the vicinity that can allow for many trail variations. The Easter Jeep Safari route differs slightly from the trail route published here. The trail is in great shape with a variety of rock and sandy surfaces. On this particular trip, we completed Again-and-Again Hill. There are a series of shelves to climb along the steep dirt and sand hill. The middle shelf is by far the most difficult of these to conquer. Although the trail is suitable for a stock 4x4 vehicle, Again-and-again Hill may be too much for a stock vehicle or an inexperienced driver. Luckily, the hill can be bypassed. The trail route published in the Trailsoffroad guide, by-passes Again-and-again Hill. The view to overlook the Colorado River at way point 28 is worth the trip. Lastly, at way point 39 near the end of the slick rock, stop the vehicle and get out to look around a little. There you will find dinosaur tracks in the rock.

The morning was chilly, but not cold and crystal clear views abounded. Before long we had hot drinks in our bellies and dirt under our tires. A quick stop at the sad remains of the Dewey Bridge and then to the Cave House and it was time to air down for Dome Plateau. We headed up at a relaxed pace, happy to soak up the heat of the suns rays and most of the day was the same pace. We visited the common arches like La Boca, and stopped at Cave Springs, hitting little off shoot trails here and there. Wiith so many intersecting roads, it was easy to spend the entire day on Dome Plateau and Dome Wash. The roads were in good condition and traction was awesome. Many wide areas for passing and you often hit intersections with major roads so if you need to make a quick trip out, that can be easily enough done.

If you really want to get out there and away from it all, this is the trail for you. The word "Dome Plateau" is really appropriate as you follow along high ground almost the entire way. Some spectacular highlights await such as the views of several arches, Professor Valley, Cave Springs and finishing in a really fun wash with some light rock crawling. Its a must do! I give it a 4 rating because you encounter a few areas that are just "blah", but as a whole, this trail is a 5 all the way!