Mineral Bottom Road

great views, trail could be done in a Prius tho. Don't park under the trees at the river, they are full of gross silk worms that hang.

Fun, beautiful, and in great condition

Very easy road out to the switch backs, the switch backs were intense but easily done in my stock Tacoma Sport 4x4 4door, long bed. Crazy fun! Plenty of dispersed camping all over place.

I ran Mineral Bottom last week and even though it's an easy trail that 2WD vehicles can drive in good conditions, it's still an incredible road with amazing views as you descend the switchbacks. However the focus of this review is actually the trail up Hell Roaring Canyon, which starts basically where this writeup ends at waypoint 23. While this writeup describes the trail as withering away to nothing and becoming impassible after that point, it actually continues about 9 miles past waypoint 23, continuing along a narrow shelf road above the Green river a ways before entering Hell Roaring Canyon and traveling up the canyon in the wash at the bottom. The upper 2/3 of the Hell Roaring Canyon trail is proposed for closure in the likely preferred alternative of the Labyrinth Rims Gemini Bridges travel plan, and the motorized community needs to step up and defend it against closure. Part of that is just making people aware that this trail exists and is drivable, as currently it is only vary rarely used. When I ran it, I found the trail blocked by a bad washout right where it makes the turn and enters Hell Roaring Canyon. I spent about 2 hours shoveling to level out the washout and create a ramp up the far side to make it passible for my Jeep. (See before and after photos below.) I was then able to drive through the washout and continue on to the point where the trail enters the wash. Beyond that, this trail is sort of choose-your-own-adventure, with sections that have one clearly defined route and others where you have multiple options, usually one path down in the wash and a bypass up on the bank. The further you go, the harder the trail gets, as it gets much rockier and narrower. I turned around about 2.6 miles up Hell Roaring Canyon, where it started to get too difficult for me to be comfortable doing solo. I would rate the first 2.5 miles or so a 5, and beyond that a 6 or 7. Though the upper portions of the canyon are most commonly driven by dirt bikes and ATVs, I believe it is possible for full-size Jeeps to make it all the way to the end. If you are in the area, I highly recommend continuing past the final waypoint in this writeup and driving as far up the Hell Roaring Canyon trail as you can. Even the first few miles offer an incredible mix of technical challenge and amazing scenery, with towering cliffs all around. Because this trail is relatively unknown, you will likely be the only one on the trail, so it offers great solitude as well. I would love to go back with a group and see if I can make it further up the canyon.

This is a beautiful drive, we took this route to do the White Rim and some of the best views were coming down into the Canyon on this road. Should have dispersed camped off this road too, looked like there were a couple of good spots.

From NPS: Mineral Bottom: open, but not recommended due to damage from a recent rock slide

I ran this down to the river and over to Taylor Canyon. The road was a little more rutted than usual. Be sure to see if any cliff jumping fun is going on near Waypoint 21. :)

Dry and dusty but otherwise just a nice scenic drive. The switchbacks are definitely exciting, but plenty wide and doable in a stock rig.

There was quite a bit of rain that has fallen in and around Moab in the past week in mid-April. Mineral Bottom Road was muddy, slick and single file in many parts from the trailhead until the top of the canyon. The switchbacks down the canyon were dry and passable. At the end of the day, red mud lined the inner fenders pretty well. Luckily, Moab has a jeep shower in town. I am always reminded on this trail about the importance of paying attention while driving here. About half way down the switchbacks are the remnants of an old car that did not fare so well.

Don't let waypoint 1 to 19 fool you, once at the switchback, the fun starts and it's been a bit of an adrenaline rush i had as i fear heights

This was the second time I ran this trail, the first time I drove up the trail after completing the White Rim Trail - it was 115 degrees that day and I was just anxious to get to the top of the Horsethief Point for, hopefully, cooler weather. I do not recall much from that trip. This trip I was part of the Trails Offroad Mapping Team where the time was set aside to explore every nook and cranny of the trail. This trail has alot to offer the explorer at heart. The trip down the switchbacks is visually more stimulating than driving up them. Its an incredible view when you reach the bottom and continue on with the high canyon walls surrounding you. We were met with cliff jumpers who were parachuting off of the cliffs above the boat launch area, which was a really cool thing to witness, although I would never do it. The true high points for me on this trail were the switchbacks and the side trip up Mineral Canyon Road, so when you do this, be sure to check out Mineral Canyon Road as well.