Stunning trip - adequate challenge for a dirt road beginner. It was far more intense, rough and free form with lots of gully crossings and rock. If you are a photographer, consider visiting Mesa Arch at sunrise, to capture the glimmer of the first rays of sun under the arch. We have a jeep and 3 dogs. If you have a high-clearance SUV you should be fine for this drive, just as long as it is not wet or snow-covered. An Analysis of Deaths in U.S. National Parks Posted October 20, 2022 in Safety On Sunday, October 4th, 2020, a 25-year-old-man fell to his death at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona. About half way down there was an orange cone marking where some of the path had fallen away, which we thought was absurd because the whole trail seemed very hazardous to us. Get the full list in our Best Things to Do in Arches guide. The road gets its name because it traverses the top of White Rim Sandstone. Very cool off drive instead of doing the scenic drive. Truth be told, I"d do both again knowing now what I didnt' know then when we started out. We kept hoping no one was coming up from the bottom because there was absolutely no way to pull over or back up. I looked over and saw that the driver's side of the road had given way to a very steep drop-off, and also noticed that the road was narrowing. Personal vehicle: $30 Motorcycle: $25 Cyclist/Pedestrian: $15 All rights reserved Earth Trekkers. Did it going down the canyon along Potash Rd all the way to Moab (as we thought going up would be more difficult with tires spinning) and did not bottom out once. Once the mining came to an end and tourism picked up, the road was further widened and maintained, and then became known as Shafer Canyon Road. Shafer Road Utah - most dangerous road in USA Andy Renard 3.19K subscribers 50 4.6K views 4 years ago Shafer Canyon Road in Canyonlands, Utah, USA. Day use permits are available up to 24 hours before your trip. In Moab, there are numerous companies that will rent 4WD vehicles. It requires extreme caution at the best of times for vehicles and mountain bikes, but especially so in inclement weather and at night. If people cannot get into Arches, they will go into Canyonlands, making for a long wait at the entrance station. I could've sworn to you that the drop-off was about a trillion feet down, so I said, "Okaaaaaaayyyyy, you might want to maybe hurry this up a little." g[M.w.V6{*q|3'W35f
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If you are planning on visiting Arches National Park or the nearby Natural Bridges National Monument, purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass would be worth your while. For more details on how to plan your time in Canyonlands, read our post One Perfect Day in Canyonlands National Park. Heres how to do it. Do I Need a Permit to Drive Shafer Canyon Road and Potash Road? A high-clearance vehicle with 4WD is also recommended for Potash Road. Cheers, Julie. Here are photos taken from Thelma and Louise Point. Left image For the rest of the ride down. You can obtain this permit online or at the visitor center. We have everything you need to know below. It is hopeful that repairs at Upheaval Bottom, Taylor Canyon and Lathrop Canyon can be completed within the next week. Then, spend the rest of the day visiting the overlooks and hiking the short trails in the park. The best times to visit this trail are March through November. There is a vault toilet at the intersection of the White Rim Road and the Shafer Trail. No timelapse - No CutsShafer Trail Road-Shafer Canyon Road is a 18 miles dangerous dirt track located near Moab, in eastern Utah, in the western United State. Will be there next sep. with a classic SUV (Ford escape or similar). <>
Connecting Canyonlands National Park with Moab, the Shafer Trail Road/Shafer Canyon Road is an 18-mile dirt track into eastern Utah, featuring American Indian petroglyphs and natural stone arches. There are a few important things to know when driving the Shafer Road in Moab, aside from the obvious of needing a four-wheel drive vehicle. This is a Jeep/4x4 trail t. For a cool view, turn around and look up at the rim. Followed that up the next day with a hike to Delicate Arch, where the last 200 feet is on the edge of a cliff! Each year, hundreds of visitors experience the thrill of driving down the winding sandstone cliff to the basin below. You will drive down Potash Road until it turns into Forest Road 142, which is the Shafer Trail. In 1917, Sog Shafer widened the trail and used it to move cattle through the Island in the Sky area. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Tammy Daybell's death was a homicide . For more information, please see, No conditions reported in the past 7 days. Below you will see a Google Map of the Shafer Trail. Do you need to book in advance to visit Shafer Trail? The overlook is pretty cool. ZDxOTT(/njO"F@QN/>E- avk;/s>v_85=hS/nG&! Shafer Canyon Road and Potash Road are two dirt roads that connect Canyonlands National Park with Moab. Shafer Trail. 2018-2023 CS Ginger. It begins in Canyonlands and can be driven all the way through to Potash Road leading you back in the town of Moab. Dont think the dogs cared to much for it. A little bumpy, but nothing to freak out over. The Shafer Trail is an incredible trail that leads down to the bottom of Canyonlands National Park. It's narrow but nothing too crazy. Highly recommend this trip, lots of fun, but BE AWARE Potash Rd is NO JOKE! F350 with dually top to bottom no problem, Full sized F350 with dually went from top to bottom. We checked in at the visitors center, and the gentlemen told us it was a 9hour drive one way. After watching the videos she said no way. What changed her mind was when we saw the trail from the Shafer Canyon overlook in Canyonlands. To get back to Moab, drive Shafer Canyon Road and Potash Road described above. What you should be aware of is that this trail and many other trails in the Moab area can become impassable during periods of rain. We drove 2,5h by GMC Terain. And with 140 farms in Upstate participating, there are plenty of sugar shacks to choose from in every region. There is a vault toilet at this point if someone needs to use the restroom. Here the road had several deeps ruts which required some tight maneuvering in our vehicle. Later when we were too committed to turn back that would be about 6 switchbacks later we flashed back on her face and understood what was up and regretted we didn't inquire about the road ahead of us when we had the chance. If I had to do Shafer Trail again i would save myself from the drenching sweat from the pure adrenaline rush and just follow Thelma and Louise's lead and go over the cliff early. Check out this 18.3-mile point-to-point trail near Moab, Utah. When we were on White Rim Road, we were asked by a ranger if we had our permit. It's at times so narrow that only one car can pass at a time. Here it is. At Mile 8, you will arrive at the Gooseneck Overlook on the Shafer Trail. We descended the trail in our Yukon XL. Just past the Petroglyphs around mile 5.8, you will run into the parking lot for the Poison Spider Mesa off-road trail. We used Canyonlands Jeep Rentals and had an awesome experience. Incredible views of Shafer Canyon from up top. During the busy months, you can easily wait for an hour or more just to get into Canyonlands National Park or Arches National Park. The scariest thing Ive ever done! However, it does intersect with the White Rim Road, and the White Rim Road does require a permit. %PDF-1.5
ALLTRAILS and the AllTrails Mountain Design are registered trademarks of AllTrails, LLC in the United States as well as certain other jurisdictions. If you are starting the Shafer Trail from Canyonlands National Park, you will travel N on US-191 N (N Main St) and then turn left onto UT-313. I think interstate driving in some cities is much scarier than this.After you get through the switchbacks, the road levels out, relatively and turns into Potash. Remember, unlike in the past, high-clearance, 4WD vehicles with low gear settings (4LO) are highly recommended to traverse this route. On this route, you will drive the legendary Shafer Canyon switchbacks, pass below Dead Horse Point, get a close-up view of the Colorado River, and see a famous movie filming location, Thelma and Louise point. Very few "shoulder" areas if 2 cars are trying to pass each other. Planning on driving Shafer Road summer 2019. The ranger recommended to not do it in AWD if there was recently any rain. A little technical in some places but they just find in a Subaru. I can't describe the relief I felt once we made it to the bottom. Not at all technical but use Low 4 Wheel at least thru the switchbacks. This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher. It takes roughly 2 hours to do this drive. Was not as scary as I thought it would be. The majority of people who drive on the Shafer Trail would not rate the Shafer Trial as scary. I do have to admit the trail going down was steep, and the switchbacks were tight, getting down over the mountain into the bottom. I came across this trail when doing research on the national parks for our trip to Moab. Beautiful drive in a stock Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4X4. Did it in a rented Ford Taurus with 5.1" of ground clearance, so it is doable in a 2 wheel drive sedan if you have some testicular fortitude, are a good driver who knows where your tires are/understands how to approach rocks without bottoming out, and of course do not care about wear and tear on the vehicle. For the first 2.5 miles, you drive just below the rim. The Shafer Trail difficulty rating is moderate because there are some steep switchbacks. Difficulty: Easy. Trailhead: Find the trailhead off Potash Road\Highway 279, about 16.5 miles from its junction with Highway 191. Today, hundred of visitors every year experience the thrill of a lifetime driving down the sandstone cliff to the basin below. In order to drive the Potash Road and Shafer Trail, you need to have a high clearance 44 vehicle, and it is recommended that it has 4 low. How Can I Add this on to My Visit to Canyonlands? Many backcountry roads in the Moab area used for recreation today were improved by the Atomic Energy Commission. We did a lot of breathing and reassuring to get up the canyon wall. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Geologically, this is the layer of rock that sits right below . Hardly anyone on the road until the end when reaching Moab. Expanding upon the work of Sog Shafer, the Atomic Energy Commission widened Shafer Trail and extended it to the White Rim Road to accommodate trucks moving loads of uranium-bearing rock from the backcountry and down to Moab for processing. With one day, you can drive Shafer Canyon Road, a portion of the White Rim Road, and then return to Moab via Potash Road. Its not really my thing to be jostled around but the views made it worth it. Note: If you do not turn left, you will begin the drive the White Rim Road. Nearby you can also hike through Little Wild Horse slot canyon. After Canyonlands was established in 1964, ranchers were granted a ten-year extension of ranching in the park. You can either start by entering through Canyonlands National Park, or you can start by taking the Potash Road in Moab, Utah. To do this, you must have a permit. My truck is a 2001 Dodge 2500 4whell drive. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. Copyright All Rights Reserved. Cattle trail which can be used by sport vehicles. The population was 16,459 at the 2010 census. The Shafer Trail at the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park is an iconic road that descends 1,500 feet (457 m) through a colorful, massive sandstone cliff. Print/PDF map. There are no vehicle length restrictions for the Shafer Canyon Raod and I just re-checked the NPS website. Overall, it was a must do!! All 3 of us were very scared. Cheers, Julie, Hello, Laurent from France here. Specifically, we would like to drive the Shafer Canyon/Potash Roads from Canyonlands to Moab. Take the first left after passing the Island in the Sky entrance station. John Shafer is credited for improving the trail and making access into the canyon easier.
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