Arizona Strip

[cruzzer76]

We're looking to do a family trip up to the Arizona Strip in mid-October. I don't want to end up on Matt's Offroad Recovery.
1976 FJ40 4" lift, 33s, F&R ARBs
1978 FJ40 2" lift, 33s, F&R ARBs
2001 LX470, stock suspension, 33s, center lock only

My dad is almost 80 and while we're both experienced in Moab and all over Colorado, I don't need to be taking him on anything like Pritchett Canyon or Potato Salad Hill. I'd love some good solid threes, 3+'s. My wife has never wheeled and she's in the LX.

I'm struggling to find trail information on the strip. Anyone been? Trails you recommend? Trails we should stay away from if we're not looking for the 4+ stuff?

 

[blatant]

What's Matt's off-road recovery actually charge anyway?

 

[sdnative]

Tuweep? Never been so I don't know how bad the road getting there is, but my understanding is it's not technical just rutted / washboard.

Stop at Jacob Lake for a meal.

Starting to get away from the AZ strip, but I really enjoyed house rock valley road and cottonwood canyon rd. You can go from the 89A to the 12. In that area check out white pocket. Kodachome basin on the north end has a really nice campground

 

[GeoEng]

Check this out. Bring lots of gas.

Events/Trails - 2024 Labor Day Weekend Grand Canyon-Parashant

I'm heading up to the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument for Labor Day weekend. I've planned several routes to take depending on weather, road conditions, and gas mileage as I go. Shortest route around 180 miles, longest around 250 miles. Let me know if you are interested in going along...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[cruzzer76]

What's Matt's off-road recovery actually charge anyway?

'Bout Three Fiddy I heard.

 

[RHINO]

theres really nothing your going to get in trouble with trail wise, almost everything is minimally maintained dirt road, thats not to say there arent proper 4x trails, but you'll need to be seeking most of those out, however you DO need to watch the rain forcast because the mud will get you.

 

[cruzzer76]

Check this out. Bring lots of gas.

Events/Trails - 2024 Labor Day Weekend Grand Canyon-Parashant

I'm heading up to the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument for Labor Day weekend. I've planned several routes to take depending on weather, road conditions, and gas mileage as I go. Shortest route around 180 miles, longest around 250 miles. Let me know if you are interested in going along...

forum.ih8mud.com

This is helpful. Thanks!

 

[DSRTRDR]

Tuweep? Never been so I don't know how bad the road getting there is, but my understanding is it's not technical just rutted / washboard.

Stop at Jacob Lake for a meal.

Starting to get away from the AZ strip, but I really enjoyed house rock valley road and cottonwood canyon rd. You can go from the 89A to the 12. In that area check out white pocket. Kodachome basin on the north end has a really nice campground

I second Rock House Valley Road, Cottonwood Canyon and Kodachrome Basin - and if you keep going north from there, you end up right behind Bryce Canyon National Park

if you go to Marble Canyon, don't miss Lee's Ferry - we like to stay at Cliff Dwellers Lodge; they have the best restaurant in the area - look for the newer lodge rooms or book the whole "cabin" (which is more like a house, actually)

as for White Pocket, due to remoteness and stretches of deep sand on the trail, it is best left to experienced drivers - at least one winch would be advisable; high clearance a must

the drive along the north shore of Lake Powell from Big Water to Alstrom Point (great camp spots, no facilities) is so totally worth it (even better now that the unsightly stacks of the generating station on the south side have been removed) - great dirt road up the switchbacks up to Smoky Mountain Overlook - my brother (driving my LX) reported excellent views from up there - I never made it to the top , on account of misfires in the Blazer (story for another day)

 

[DSRTRDR]

and I agree with RHINO on the mud:

one year, traveling on Cottonwood Canyon Road, we encountered Chinese tourists with just a restaurant placemat drawing of a primitive map of the area, which got them stuck where the trail had turned into the biggest natural mud bog ever: when we found them, the Toyota Siena had managed to make it through to dry ground on the other side, but the Nissan Armada was royally stuck

hubby in the Blazer winched the Nissan back to solid territory, instructed as much as possible when you don't know what they understand (they spoke no English whatsoever), but the next attempt by the Nissan got him even deeper into the mud - hubby pulled him out once more, instructed even more sternly that momentum was required - no, got timid and got stuck again

hubby pulled him out a third time, but before watching another strike-out, we advised they better take the long way around on asphalt - we have no idea what they ended up doing; we never saw them returning the way they had come in . . .

 

[cruzzer76]

This is all great info. Sorry for the slow reply, we were in Ketchikan for the king salmon run. I'll post updates and pics to the thread as they develop. Thank you!

 

[isthatalexus]

Amazing source of trails, instructions, and difficulty ratings/descriptions. This lives in my glove box.

Guide to Arizona Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails - FunTreks

funtreks.com

 

[sdnative]

I picked up this guidebook a few years ago at the recommendation of another member.

 

[jkl72-40]

This is all great info. Sorry for the slow reply, we were in Ketchikan for the king salmon run. I'll post updates and pics to the thread as they develop. Thank you!

Who was your fishing guide? As I have a couple buddies who are guides up there (if you remember)
Oh.. a group trip up there would be cool

 

[cruzzer76]

Who was your fishing guide? As I have a couple buddies who are guides up there (if you remember)
Oh.. a group trip up there would be cool

I've got a buddy that winters down here and summers up there. Guy Mickel. Good guy, pun intended. King run was awful. Caught a bunch of pinks, a few coho cause we were too early for the coho run, limited several days on halibut and sea bass, a few ling cod, a few yellow eye... We had fun!

 

[cruzzer76]

Hey, at least it's all on fire right now! They might have the fire out by the end of October...