Utah! (1 Viewer)

[Trukdiver]

So, here's the plan (definitely room for flexibility that week.) My old man and I are going to be in Utah from Feb 4 - Feb 11. We'll be driving my stock 100 series outfitted with a fresh set of KO2s. We'll be coming out of Wyoming and working our way down through the state toward New Mexico. Neither of us have much offroad experience and we have no knowledge of any trails in Utah. As we plan to move out there ultimately, we really want to get a little experience. I'm looking for any recommendations, meetups, guides, etc. Its such a sin to have this magnificent vehicle and not be exploring its capabilities.

		From	To
Sat	4-Feb​	Idaho Falls, ID	Draper , UT
Sun	5-Feb​	Draper, UT	Moab, UT
Mon	6-Feb​	Moab, UT	Green River, UT
Tue	7-Feb​	Green River, UT	Bryce, UT
Wed	8-Feb​	Bryce, UT	St George, UT
Thurs	9-Feb​	St George, UT	Zion, UT
Fri	10-Feb​	Zion, UT	Kanab, UT
Sat	11-Feb​	Kanab, UT	Gallup, NM

 

[thatcabledude]

Look for books on Utah trails. There are some good ones, especially for the Moab area.

 

[Live to Ski]

not sure about the off-road experience.....that's the thick of winter. Lots if not most trails would be closed or subject to closure.

Based on the proposed schedule, most of your "experience" will be paved roads/snow covered paved roads. Note that it's not uncommon to get several feet of snow/storm....take chains/super warm sleeping bag/s*** hits the fan satellite com (inreach or....)

I speaketh from experience....east coast boy (RI/VT/NJ) transplanted to Utah 2 years (gotta ski).

That's Bing said, have @ it.

That's not my story and I'm not stickin to it.

 

[Rgill]

What a great trip you have planned. Snow could be an issue on some of the trails, bring chains. Might try contacting local 4x4 clubs and see if any trail rides are planned that you can tag along on. The New Mexico 4 Wheelers is a very active club and welcome guests. They have members all over the state (www.nm4w.org) they also wheel in southern Utah often. Good luck and happy wheeling. I can already taste the green chile breakfast burrito....

 

[silvarshooter]

Bryce is cool but it is going to be cold as hell in February so I can't see spending a whole day there plus unless you can do some hiking Bryce is basically a series of scenic overlooks. I'm biased as my late father was the Superintendent at Zion for 12 years and I lived in Hurricane off and on for 10 but Zion trumps Bryce in every way in my opinion. I'd do a quick run through Bryce and one and a half to two days at Zion. Even two days at Zion is just a taste of what it has to offer. Stop at Kolob Canyon off 15 on your way to St George, much different than the main canyon and way less visitation, depending on snow there could be a road closure though. Also look into Kolob Terrace area in Zion, hands down my favorite area in the park, amazing views and very little people but again snow may affect that road, they don't close it but in recent years they stopped plowing after a certain elevation.

 

[Kofoed]

You could skip StG and replace it with Kanab. Unless you want to go to a bigger town.

 

[NOSAJ]

I was in Moab last year during February. It was a great time to be there. We took hurrah pass to wind caves and chicken corners. Very easy first time trails. We stayed at Base Camp Adventure Lodge a few nights right on Harrah pass. They have a couple of beautiful houses to rent, hogons, or the lodge. Colin is great there and is very experienced and knowledgeable but not sure I would recommend staying in the lodge. They rent out kayaks and their side by side. We might head back this year but will plan on camping next time. I recommend taking a sat phone or renting one. Hope that helps!

Jason

 

[NOSAJ]

 

[Trukdiver]

You could skip StG and replace it with Kanab. Unless you want to go to a bigger town.

We did just that!

 

[Trukdiver]

I was in Moab last year during February. It was a great time to be there. We took hurrah pass to wind caves and chicken corners. Very easy first time trails. We stayed at Base Camp Adventure Lodge a few nights right on Harrah pass. They have a couple of beautiful houses to rent, hogons, or the lodge. Colin is great there and is very experienced and knowledgeable but not sure I would recommend staying in the lodge. They rent out kayaks and their side by side. We might head back this year but will plan on camping next time. I recommend taking a sat phone or renting one. Hope that helps!

Jason

Fantastic. Sorry for the late reply. We liked it so much out there that we only just got back a couple days ago. I have no idea what roads we were "off road" on, but spent a good bit of time in the San Rafael Swell as well as in the Valley of the Gods/Moki Dugway. Otherwise we stayed on road and went to the parks/did some hiking. We had an absolute BLAST!!! Snow really wasn't an issue at all. Daytime temps were cool (45-50F), but everything feels hot to me in the Wyoming/Utah sun. There were days we were hiking in short sleeves. Best part is that everything was completely empty. We had the parks almost completely to ourselves. I think Feb is the best time to go! We're ham radio people, so that's one thing we're covered on, but I completely agree that comms are essential safety equipment x 10.

 

[Trukdiver]

not sure about the off-road experience.....that's the thick of winter. Lots if not most trails would be closed or subject to closure.

Based on the proposed schedule, most of your "experience" will be paved roads/snow covered paved roads. Note that it's not uncommon to get several feet of snow/storm....take chains/super warm sleeping bag/s*** hits the fan satellite com (inreach or....)

I speaketh from experience....east coast boy (RI/VT/NJ) transplanted to Utah 2 years (gotta ski).

That's Bing said, have @ it.

That's not my story and I'm not stickin to it.

Thank you for your reply and sorry for the late one on my part. I did bring the snow chains. That's good advice for sure. Fortunately snow wasn't a factor this year, but we kept an eye on it and had alternate plans/delayed plans if needed. As it was, the trip was honestly the most epic road trip for us ever. Off road sections were limited to San Rafael Swell and Valley of the Gods areas. Utah is just so beautiful, it really doesn't matter what your driving on as long as you're there! Even better in Feb when no one else is there.

 

[Trukdiver]

Bryce is cool but it is going to be cold as hell in February so I can't see spending a whole day there plus unless you can do some hiking Bryce is basically a series of scenic overlooks. I'm biased as my late father was the Superintendent at Zion for 12 years and I lived in Hurricane off and on for 10 but Zion trumps Bryce in every way in my opinion. I'd do a quick run through Bryce and one and a half to two days at Zion. Even two days at Zion is just a taste of what it has to offer. Stop at Kolob Canyon off 15 on your way to St George, much different than the main canyon and way less visitation, depending on snow there could be a road closure though. Also look into Kolob Terrace area in Zion, hands down my favorite area in the park, amazing views and very little people but again snow may affect that road, they don't close it but in recent years they stopped plowing after a certain elevation.

Thank you very much for the reply. We didn't get up to Kolob this time. We just plain ran out of time. Next time for sure. I watched some videos about it and it does seem like a place we would really enjoy. Zion was awesome. Our first trip. We did a lot of hiking. The whole park was essentially empty where its usually busy. The teamps were very nice. I never wore more than a fleece over a cotton tee with a pair of jeans. (ok so we're not really hikers lol). We did hike the hoodoos in Bryce and Delicate Arch in Arches. Both empty and both days were with pleasant temps and the bluest skies I have ever seen. Look how empty!

 

[silvarshooter]

That’s great, glad you got the experience without the crowds!

 

[Rigger]

The Delicate Arch hike is great. We have done it twice. It was pretty crowded both times. Neat that you had it to yourselves!