The Shafer Trail - Moab, Utah

I had planned a motorcycle trip to North Carolina with my wife but things changed and I had to cancel that trip.
Instead we decided to take our nice comfortable Jeep Wrangler to Moab, Utah. Milwaukee to Moab would be about 1400 miles.
We would spend 3 nights in Moab and then head east to Georgetown, Colorado. We would stay 3 nights in Georgetown and then
head back to Milwaukee.
One of the places that I wanted to return to was Island in the Sky in Canyonlands National Park.
The easy way to go to Canyonlands is Hwy 313. Hwy 313 is a nice paved, scenic road but..........
the proper (road less traveled) way to go to Canyonlands in a Jeep is the Shafer Trail.
To get to the Shafer Trail you head north of Moab on Hwy 191 to Hwy 279 (Potash Road). Hwy 279 follows the Colorado River and
attractions along the road include dinosaur tracks, Indian petroglyphs and arches.
The Shafer Trail is one of Moab's easier trails but it is a narrow road with large rocks, steep climbs and areas of deep sand.
The first thing that I need to do is remove the doors and windows from my wifes Jeep so that we have a better view.
It was 102 degrees so I left the top up. I loved the look on peoples faces as I carried the doors into the motel room.
The starting point.

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The doors. Jeep parts in motel rooms is not uncommon in Moab.

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Hwy 279. The Potash Road. Twisting, winding and paved two-lane road.

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Indian petroglyphs.

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Jug Handle Arch.

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The road changes to dirt and now the fun starts.

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Nice view.

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Even better view with the doors off.

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Large rocks!

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Help!!!

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It's one of the easier trails but be careful. It's a long way down!

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The Gooseneck.

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Entering Canyonlands. :)

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Still climbing.

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The switchbacks were fun.

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Seatbelt on?

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We made it to the top. Picture time.

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From this point we drove to the Grand View Point in Island in the Sky and then drove to Dead Horse Point State Park.
From Dead Horse Point we could see the Shafer Trail and where we drove by the goose neck.

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Time to head back to Moab. Dinner time!
Another great thing about Moab is there are alot of great places to eat. We were only going to be in Moab 3 days
this would not be enough time to eat it all the places that we wanted to.
We checked the Moab Menu Guide and decided that we would have dinner at the Sunset Grill.
The Sunset Grill has a great view and an interesting history.

The road to the Sunset Grill.

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Great view!

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Mmmmmmmm food!

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There is a reason it's called the Sunset Grill. After dinner we sat outside and waited for the sun to set...............

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We did some other side trips in Moab and then headed to Grorgetown but that's another story.

Yeah, the view from the hilltop restaurant has long been a favorite of Megan and mine -- Lovely to know it's still going strong.

And I loved the field report from the Shafer Trail -- that looks so fun, I loved that you removed the doors and stuff -- Very cool!

Mark

Next time you go, make the short detour to Musselman Arch. Take a left on the WhiteRim trail (pass the bathroom) for 3.1 miles and there is a sign then go back to the intersection and continue up the Shafer trail.

The other thing we like to do is return to the Potash Road via the Long Trail.

Utahtea

Nice report Rollin and great pics, thanks !

Now I need to go and look to see if I have time to fit a jeep outing/rental into my itinerary when I am there later in the year ! :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mark Sedenquist

Yeah, the view from the hilltop restaurant has long been a favorite of Megan and mine -- Lovely to know it's still going strong.

And I loved the field report from the Shafer Trail -- that looks so fun, I loved that you removed the doors and stuff -- Very cool!

Mark

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Taking the doors off did add to the fun. You really could see so much more.
My wife didn't aways like when the edge was on her side.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Southwest Dave

Nice report Rollin and great pics, thanks !

Now I need to go and look to see if I have time to fit a jeep outing/rental into my itinerary when I am there later in the year ! :-)

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Thanks Dave!
There are a lot of places in Moab that rent Jeeps and do tours.
Have you been to Moab before?

Rollin, would you attempt that drive in dry weather in a full size 2wd pickup (short bed short cab) without a lift kit?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rollin'

Thanks Dave!
There are a lot of places in Moab that rent Jeeps and do tours.
Have you been to Moab before?

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Nope, it's my first time to Moab. I have been looking at the various rental company's but both the wife and DIL aren't too good with heights so I have yet to run the idea past them. If there aren't many shops to entertain them in Moab it could be a no go, if there are it could get very expensive Lol!

I had toyed with the idea before and decided not as we are on a tight time line, but seeing your pics and the fact I love a challenge has got me thinking !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Southwest Dave

Nope, it's my first time to Moab. I have been looking at the various rental company's but both the wife and DIL aren't too good with heights so I have yet to run the idea past them. If there aren't many shops to entertain them in Moab it could be a no go, if there are it could get very expensive Lol!

I had toyed with the idea before and decided not as we are on a tight time line, but seeing your pics and the fact I love a challenge has got me thinking !

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Dave there are a lot of other great day trips that you can do from Moab that can be done with any vehicle.
Hwy 128 (The river Road) from Moab to Cisco. The La Sal Mountain Loop Road which passes through Castle Valley.
And Newspaper Rock and Monument Valley aren't that far from Moab.

There aren't a lot of shops in Moab but my wife has never had a problem finding enough to buy.

There are also a lot of great places to eat.

http://www.moabhappenings.com/menu%2...bMenuGuide.pdf

.

Here are some more Moab-area places to wander: (look at the Utah list of articles on this page).


Mark