Trail Suggestions for Trip to CO, WY, and UT, Help!

[Hightechlofi]

Hey all, I am about to go on a whirlwind trip with the fam and am hoping to get suggestions on some fun (easy to moderate) trails to put my new ranger to the test. It is a stock 2022 XLT FX4 SCAB. We are headed out from the Houston area and will be tackling the following:

• Palo Duro State Park (TX)
• Great Sand Dunes
• Rocky Mountain Natl Park
• Grand Tetons
• Yellowstone
• Dinosaur Monument
• Arches National Park

Most of these will just be stops to get to and from Yellowstone, but want to make the best of it. I am looking for suggestions for the following:

• Great Sand Dunes - anyone have experience with Medano Pass Primitive Road? We will have one afternoon for the park, can anyone tell me how much time it takes to tackle the trail? I have read anywhere from 3hrs to 9hrs. I will just be going straight through, but want to figure out if it is possible with the time I have allotted.
• Yellowstone/Grand Tetons - I will have a little over a week here, staying just west of Cody, WY. If anyone has trail suggestions, I would love to entertain them, as we have quite a bit of un-booked time here.
• Arches National Park - We will have one full day here. We want to see a lot and take a few hikes, but I would love to find out if there are some shorter trails we could incorporate.

Please let me know what you guys would recommend trying. Again, I am in a stock FX4, so don’t want to attempt anything too crazy, but am really looking forward to the opportunity to testing it out on some trails! Thanks in advance!

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[canyonslicker]

Hey all, I am about to go on a whirlwind trip with the fam and am hoping to get suggestions on some fun (easy to moderate) trails to put my new ranger to the test. It is a stock 2022 XLT FX4 SCAB. We are headed out from the Houston area and will be tackling the following:

• Palo Duro State Park (TX)
• Great Sand Dunes
• Rocky Mountain Natl Park
• Grand Tetons
• Yellowstone
• Dinosaur Monument
• Arches National Park

Most of these will just be stops to get to and from Yellowstone, but want to make the best of it. I am looking for suggestions for the following:

• Great Sand Dunes - anyone have experience with Medano Pass Primitive Road? We will have one afternoon for the park, can anyone tell me how much time it takes to tackle the trail? I have read anywhere from 3hrs to 9hrs. I will just be going straight through, but want to figure out if it is possible with the time I have allotted.
• Yellowstone/Grand Tetons - I will have a little over a week here, staying just west of Cody, WY. If anyone has trail suggestions, I would love to entertain them, as we have quite a bit of un-booked time here.
• Arches National Park - We will have one full day here. We want to see a lot and take a few hikes, but I would love to find out if there are some shorter trails we could incorporate.

Please let me know what you guys would recommend trying. Again, I am in a stock FX4, so don’t want to attempt anything too crazy, but am really looking forward to the opportunity to testing it out on some trails! Thanks in advance!

That’s a lot windshield time with little ones in the back of a SCAB! I wish you well!!

 

[Hightechlofi]

Thanks! We are actually caravanning with my parents and my sister and her family, so should be lots of fun. We did it almost every summer growing up with my aunts/uncles/cousins. We are going to get walkie-talkies for the road to play games on the way. The reason for so many stops is to break up the drive there and back. Luckily, my kiddos have always done really well in the car. Hopefully it will be a bonding time, not one where we just want to get away from each other at the end of it! We will see, altogether we will have 6 adults and 8 kids. Should be interesting!

With luck, the kids wont go animal farm on us…

 

[canyonslicker]

I like whirlwind tours but there are going to be those times where “hey let’s just check this spot out for a minute, it’s on the way “ then end up spending half a day. Don’t fool yourself, it can make miserable times in your travels. Heck even a whistle stop for lunch can end up in a half day.
I guess my point is to be not a point A to B itinerary timeline. Don’t be a Griswald..

 

[AzScorpion]

Arches National Park: We just returned from a month on the road and Arches was one of our favorite N P. Make sure you get your timed entry ASAP because they sell out fast and make it for as early as possible because it gets very crowded. They do have a few more that go on sale at 6:00 pm the night before too. It will take all day to see everything there.

Delicate Arch is the first hike you should do and try to get there early like 7:00am. It's the most popular hike and once you do it you'l see why and the parking lot fills up quickly. There is no shade at all so bring plenty of water and snacks along too. Plan on 3 hours up and back and that'll allow you time once up at the top. I have tons of pics of Arches starting here.

North & South Window is a short hike but another great view and a must see. IIRC it's about an 1-1 1/2 hours to see everything here.

Turret Arch is right near North & South Arch and you get a great view of them when you hike up and look through it.

Mesa Arch is a good short hike and another with a great view. Same as Windows plan on about 1 1/2 hours.

 

[AzScorpion]

There's also Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands NP. Personally I'd skip DHP and go straight to Canyonlands as there's way more to see there and much better views. There's some off road trails through Canyonlands but we didn't have enough time to do them. There's one that's free called Shafer Rd and it's right as you enter the park on the left. This will take you down into the canyon and from there you can connect onto Potash Rd which will take you all the way back into Moab. Kent @Radioman has done them so he'll be able to give you better info on the off road trails.

All my Canyonlands pics are here.

 

[AzScorpion]

Dinosaur Monument: This was more fun than I expected it to be. There's a whole enclosure they built around the mountain where they house the fossils. It's not a very large place and there's a few short hikes where you're supposed to be able to see fossils out there but we couldn't find anything. I think we spent 2 1/2 hours there. I have more pictures here.

 

[Charley]

Came across this while planning for next year. A back way into Arches. But vehicles should be high clearance 4x4. Willow Springs Road.

https://www.outdoorproject.com/united-states/utah/willow-springs-road

Arches is generally opened 24 hours a day.

 

[Jake]

Hurrah pass is an easy trail not too far out of Moab. Take about 2hrs to get out and back maybe.

 

[AzScorpion]

Hurrah pass is an easy trail not too far out of Moab. Take about 2hrs to get out and back maybe.

I forgot we did Hurrah Pass too. It's a really good trail with more amazing views and can be done on a stock set up.

 

[philanderer]

man, looking at these pics makes me want to get back out to utah. been there so many times but it never gets old. am thinking about a trip this fall if i ever get my truck and was thinking maybe south dakota for something different, but now i might rethink it. this is the view from island in the sky (canyonlands) showing shafer trail on the way to white rim road. the switchbacks on the trail are amazing and can be a little scary (dont take your eyes off the road). i believe that is potash road branching out on the left

and yes ive been there in my raptor

 

[MXGOLF]

WOW that all looks awesome. Next year I probably will take 3-4 weeks off and do kind of what Dave has done. Thanks,

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