Overview: Devil’s Racetrack is one of the most well-known and well-travelled tracks of Southern Utah. Less well-known are the many side-spurs currently open for exploration. Located just outside of Green River and north of the San Rafael Swell, Sinbad Valley offers fantastic variety in terrain and scenery; with banking turns, dramatic sandstone cliffs, and hidden destinations, this area is well worth your while to explore. If you are out exploring the Devil’s Racetrack and want to get away from the crowds, the trail we are about to reveal is well worth your while to explore. Located near Chimney Rock and numerous other destination locations, these trails are sure to offer memorable experiences for you and your group.
Getting There: There are several ways to approach these spurs within the many existing trails of the San Rafael Desert. Take time to familiarize yourself with the map and coordinates and plan a route that best fits you and your group. Be sure to not head off into the backcountry alone and tell someone where you are going before starting your trip.
Ghost Rock Spur (BLM trail SS3300) turns off from the Devil’s Racetrack at GPS coordinates 38°52’36.25″N and 110°47’40.85″W. Approximately 0.35 miles from the turnoff, Chimney Rock Trail (BLM trail SS3301) turns off to the west at GPS coordinates 38°52’32.20″N and 110°47’59.79″W and continues to the border of the Cold Wash Wilderness. At this point, you will need to park your vehicle and continue on foot. Below, you will see the sign marking the entrance to the Cold Wash Wilderness. It is badly sunfaded and difficult to make-out. Please be careful not to pass this sign with your vehicle as you approach the Cold Wash area. Broad vistas of dramatic sandstone cliffs and desert skies open as you approach this pristine area.
Trail Conditions: Ghost Rock Spur and Chimney Rock Trail offer terrain experiences that are best suited to an AWD or 4WD vehicle (see image on the bottom right). The combination of open stretches, rocky terrain, and banking curves gives this route exhilarating variety.
As always, utilize LEAVE NO TRACE practices. Irresponsible recreation leads to ecological damage, road closures, and loss of access to important resources. It is important that motorized users stay on the trail and camp within a 30′ buffer zone on either side of the road.
As is depicted in the images above, these trails are clearly visible on the ground; however, many of the trails in this area are being targeted for closure with the claim that they are reclaiming. Trails marked as reclaiming are often closed in travel management plans, even when a short trip past an obtrusive bush or rocky wash reveals a trail that clearly stretches on for miles. Traveling more frequently in these areas helps to keep them on the map. Please help us in our fight to keep these trails open by visiting and responsibly recreating on them with your family and friends.
This route report is part of a larger guidebook BRC is completing to educate users about high-value motorized trails that are at risk of closure if we don’t use them. This guidebook will be called the Lost Trails Guidebook, and has been funded by a generous grant from the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative with Jorgensens Powersports as a sponsoring dealership.
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Getting There: There are several ways to approach these spurs within the many existing trails of the San Rafael Desert. Take time to familiarize yourself with the map and coordinates and plan a route that best fits you and your group. Be sure to not head off into the backcountry alone and tell someone where you are going before starting your trip.
Ghost Rock Spur (BLM trail SS3300) turns off from the Devil’s Racetrack at GPS coordinates 38°52’36.25″N and 110°47’40.85″W. Approximately 0.35 miles from the turnoff, Chimney Rock Trail (BLM trail SS3301) turns off to the west at GPS coordinates 38°52’32.20″N and 110°47’59.79″W and continues to the border of the Cold Wash Wilderness. At this point, you will need to park your vehicle and continue on foot. Below, you will see the sign marking the entrance to the Cold Wash Wilderness. It is badly sunfaded and difficult to make-out. Please be careful not to pass this sign with your vehicle as you approach the Cold Wash area. Broad vistas of dramatic sandstone cliffs and desert skies open as you approach this pristine area.
Trail Conditions: Ghost Rock Spur and Chimney Rock Trail offer terrain experiences that are best suited to an AWD or 4WD vehicle (see image on the bottom right). The combination of open stretches, rocky terrain, and banking curves gives this route exhilarating variety.
As always, utilize LEAVE NO TRACE practices. Irresponsible recreation leads to ecological damage, road closures, and loss of access to important resources. It is important that motorized users stay on the trail and camp within a 30′ buffer zone on either side of the road.
As is depicted in the images above, these trails are clearly visible on the ground; however, many of the trails in this area are being targeted for closure with the claim that they are reclaiming. Trails marked as reclaiming are often closed in travel management plans, even when a short trip past an obtrusive bush or rocky wash reveals a trail that clearly stretches on for miles. Traveling more frequently in these areas helps to keep them on the map. Please help us in our fight to keep these trails open by visiting and responsibly recreating on them with your family and friends.
This route report is part of a larger guidebook BRC is completing to educate users about high-value motorized trails that are at risk of closure if we don’t use them. This guidebook will be called the Lost Trails Guidebook, and has been funded by a generous grant from the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative with Jorgensens Powersports as a sponsoring dealership.
Continue reading...
