The White Rim Trail ~ Canyonlands National Park - Island in the Sky, Utah
The White Rim Trail is a 100-mile long 4x4 or bicycle route along the White Rim, at the Island-in-the-Sky section of Canyonlands National Park, near Moab, Utah. The road starts near the visitor center, and winds its way down the sheer cliff face, until it reaches the White Rim. I was with a friend, and we were in his rig. We had permits for two nights and three days on the rim. Some spots are a little scary, we had at least on hairy moment when his gear popped out, and he started sliding backwards down a steep, 4x4 slope with a sheer drop-off. I got out then, and walked up it. The trip had enough remoteness, beauty, thrills and dangers in it to make it worthy. I enjoyed it. It's probably less scary on a bicycle, because you don't have to get so close to those sheer drop-offs.
[Canyonlands Expedition - 3/5] White Rim Trail - Day 2 [4K]
On the third day of our journey into the heart of Southern Utah, we checked out:
- Airport Campground 0:00
- White Crack Off-Shoot & Campground 1:34
- Murphy Hogback 4:45
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A little background if you'd like (via Wiki):
The White Rim Road is a 71.2-mile-long (114.6 km) unpaved four-wheel drive road that traverses the top of the White Rim Sandstone formation below the Island in the Sky mesa of Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah in the United States.
The road was constructed in the 1950s by the Atomic Energy Commission to provide access for individual prospectors intent on mining uranium deposits for use in nuclear weapons production during the Cold War. Large deposits had been found in similar areas within the region; however, the mines along the White Rim Road produced very little uranium and all the mines were abandoned.
The road surface consists of loose dirt, sandy dry washes and sandstone rock formations. Four-wheel drive vehicles and mountain bikes are the most common modes of transport though horseback riding and hiking are also permitted. Typical excursions at a modest pace take two days by four-wheel drive vehicle and three days by mountain bike. Street-legal, registered motorbikes are also permitted to travel on the road. The National Park Service (NPS), which administers the park and maintains the road, recommends bicyclists have a motorized support vehicle to carry extra water. No potable water is available anywhere along the road and there are few river access points. The Green River is accessible at spots along the western end of the road but Lathrop Canyon is the only access point to the Colorado River near the eastern terminus. Hikers may access the White Rim from the Island in the Sky by hiking down steep trails leading to seven points along the road.
Roads leading to the White Rim Road are Mineral Bottom Road, also called Horsethief Trail, in the park's west side and Shafer Trail in the park's east side. Both roads are junctions off the Island in the Sky park road, which is an extension of Utah State Route 313. A shorter alternate from Moab is Potash Road—Utah State Route 279—in the east side of the park which connects at the junction of White Rim Road with Shafer Trail.
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Music sourced via Creative Commons by the brilliant Doctor Turtle.
Biking the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park - TMWE S02 E11
This was one of the best trips of our lives. This trip was in May of 2015, but now is the perfect time to publish it, in preparation for our upcoming Moab bike trip next month.
Follow along as we start our life in our Airstream on the road full-time..
Canyonlands NP - Shafer Canyon Road to Moab Utah (White Rim Trail)
Shafer Canyon Road to Moab Utah (using White Rim Trail to Musselman Arch and Potash Rd)
To see the complete White Rim Trail video.
Shafer Canyon Road is a 18 miles dangerous dirt track located in Moab, a city in Grand County, in eastern Utah, in the western United States. It requires extreme caution at the best of times for vehicles and mountain bikes, but especially so in inclement weather and at night.
This road has humbled many egos. It’s not for the sissies and shouldn’t be attempted by novice drivers. The road is in dreadful condition and requires strong nerves to negotiate it. It’s certainly breathtaking and it has a fearsome reputation. It still remains an adrenaline-pumping journey and is definitely not for the faint of lungs, heart, or legs. Words can’t describe the road and pictures don’t do it justice. This is a great trail for someone who is looking for an off road experience, but doesn’t have access a highly modified rock crawler. Virtually any four-wheel drive vehicle will succeed in navigating this well maintained road. Highlights of this trip include well marked Indian petroglyphs and amazing natural stone arches. You’ll also have an opportunity to tackle the Schafer Switchbacks, a breathtaking climb with expansive views of the surrounding canyon-lands
The White Rim Road is a 71.2-mile-long unpaved four-wheel drive road that traverses the top of the White Rim Sandstone formation below the Island in the Sky mesa of Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah in the United States.
[Canyonlands Expedition - 5/5] White Rim Trail, Moab, & Cathedral Valley/CRNP [4K]
We continue the fourth day of our journey into the heart of Southern Utah, checking out:
- Horsethief Canyon/Mineral Canyon 0:05
- Mineral Bottom Canyon/Green River 0:35
- Arches National Park 1:33
- Salt Valley Road (Arches NP) 2:06
- San Rafael Swell/Black Dragon Canyon & Reefs 2:27
- Caineville Turnoff/Wash 3:13
- Temple of the Sun and the Moon 4:40
- Glass Mountain 5:33
- Cathedral Valley 5:42
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Mineral Bottom (0:35): Just outside of Canyonlands, Mineral Bottom is a 16 miles trail, driveable all year round. On August 19th, 2010, severe storms caused flash flooding and rock falls that blocked or washed away roads throughout the Canyonlands area. There is little room for error on this road.
Salt Valley Road (2:06): Filled with amazing views of Arches National Park and Klondike Bluffs this trail offers a very direct route from Crescent Junction to deep inside Arches National Park finishing just shy of Devil's Garden. Enjoy the desert views along the way with varied terrain and take special notice to how the ground colors change as you drive this trail.
San Rafael Swell (2:27): San Rafael Swell has been considered one of the undiscovered natural wonders of the American West. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Swell offers visitors many of the same sights that can be seen in several of Utah's national parks but allows these visitors to enjoy these sights in leisurely solitude. The San Rafael Swell also provides sights that cannot be found anywhere else, such as Goblin Valley and the San Rafael Reef. Hiking possibilities here range from easy to strenuous- technical canyoneering.
A part of the Colorado Plateau, the San Rafael Swell is high desert country, vastly different from the Sonoran desert of the Southwest. In some sections, it is a sweeping country with towering mesas, buttes, and pinnacles rising from flat desert floors. In other areas, it boasts rolling pasturelands populated with antelope and wild horses. And just around the bend it can become an incredibly wild, broken land with streams cutting through slot canyons that open up to panoramic vistas.
Caineville Turnoff/Wash (3:13): Part of a 57 mile rough dirt loop, departs Utah Highway 24 just west of the hamlet of Caineville and is full of twists and turns as well as a few steep climbs. The road is wild, one lane sandy road with great rock formations. After rain, even a single rainfall, conditions of the road can be challenging. Adverse weather conditions can prompt closure of the road. On maps, the turnoff to the north is not well signed, and anyone unfamiliar with the area should get good directions before attempting to locate this approach. During and after a storm the road may be impassable, even with a four-wheel-drive vehicle and can easily get muddy if it rains making it challenging to get through. The road ends in the Temples of the Sun and Moon, which are located 16.5 miles (26.6 km) up the road in Lower Cathedral Valley. These massive monoliths rise from the desert floor. Further north in Upper Cathedral Valley, columns of spire-like formations dominate the landscape.
Temple of the Sun and the Moon (4:40): The monoliths are composed of the earthy, buff-pink Entrada Sandstone. Deposited 160 million years ago in the Jurassic period, this fine- grained sandstone formed by the deposition of sand and silt in tidal flats. It crumbles easily to a fine sand which is rapidly removed by water; therefore, talus (debris) slopes do not form and Entrada cliffs tend to rise sheer from their base. Above the Entrada, the grayish-green sandstone and siltstone of the Curtis Sandstone forms a hard cap rock on some of the monoliths and higher cliffs and buttes, protecting them from erosion. Above the Curtis is the thinly-bedded, reddish-brown siltstone of the Summerville Formation.
Glass Mountain (5:33): Glass Mountain is a large, exposed mound of selenite crystals. Selenite is a variety of gypsum (CaSO4•2H2O) in the form of glassy crystals. Gypsum is a common mineral found in the sedimentary rocks of this area. The crystals of glass mountain are somewhat unusual in size and in the massiveness of the deposit. Glass Mountain formed as a result of groundwater flowing through the Entrada Sandstone. This water carried dissolved gypsum, which started to crystallize, forming what has been called a gypsum plug. This plug is now being exposed as the soft Entrada Sandstone erodes away.
Cathedral Valley (5:42): The Bentonite Hills among the Hartnet Road and the Painted Desert on the Cathedral Road appear as softly-contoured, banded hills in varying hues of brown, red, purple, gray, and green. This layer was formed during Jurassic times when mud, silt, fine sand, and volcanic ash were deposited in swamps and lakes.
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Music sourced via Creative Commons by the brilliant Doctor Turtle.
[Canyonlands Expedition - 2/5] White Rim Trail - Day 1 [4K]
On the second day of our journey into the heart of Southern Utah, we checked out:
- Moab, UT 0:45
- Mesa Arch 1:05
- Grand View Point Overlook 1:10
- Shafer Trail / Shafer Canyon Road 1:39
- White Rim Trail / Gooseneck Overlook 2:25
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A little background if you'd like (via Wiki):
The White Rim Road is a 71.2-mile-long (114.6 km) unpaved four-wheel drive road that traverses the top of the White Rim Sandstone formation below the Island in the Sky mesa of Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah in the United States.
The road was constructed in the 1950s by the Atomic Energy Commission to provide access for individual prospectors intent on mining uranium deposits for use in nuclear weapons production during the Cold War. Large deposits had been found in similar areas within the region; however, the mines along the White Rim Road produced very little uranium and all the mines were abandoned.
The road surface consists of loose dirt, sandy dry washes and sandstone rock formations. Four-wheel drive vehicles and mountain bikes are the most common modes of transport though horseback riding and hiking are also permitted. Typical excursions at a modest pace take two days by four-wheel drive vehicle and three days by mountain bike. Street-legal, registered motorbikes are also permitted to travel on the road. The National Park Service (NPS), which administers the park and maintains the road, recommends bicyclists have a motorized support vehicle to carry extra water. No potable water is available anywhere along the road and there are few river access points. The Green River is accessible at spots along the western end of the road but Lathrop Canyon is the only access point to the Colorado River near the eastern terminus. Hikers may access the White Rim from the Island in the Sky by hiking down steep trails leading to seven points along the road.
Roads leading to the White Rim Road are Mineral Bottom Road, also called Horsethief Trail, in the park's west side and Shafer Trail in the park's east side. Both roads are junctions off the Island in the Sky park road, which is an extension of Utah State Route 313. A shorter alternate from Moab is Potash Road—Utah State Route 279—in the east side of the park which connects at the junction of White Rim Road with Shafer Trail.
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Music sourced via Creative Commons by the brilliant Doctor Turtle.
White Rim Trail, Canyonlands National Park
A great adventure on the White Rim Trail in the Island of the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park
Drive the Shafer Trail -Canyonlands Island in the Sky to Moab-
In this segment of the Mighty Five Travel Guide I take you on a drive of the Shafer Trail from Canyonlands to Moab. It's great, I've done it 3 times! This version includes video of my most recent trip. The road is much smoother than it used to be. Passenger cars can likely survive it, if its not raining but check with a Ranger first!
Following the Unimog up from Potato Bottom (Part 1). White Rim Trail, Canyonlands NP, May 24, 2018.
Tight turns and steep inclines are no problem for George and the Unimog (unimogcenter.com)
Canyonlands drive down Taylor Canyon and up White Rim Road
Driving through Canyonlands National Park, in the northern part of the Island in the Sky District. We start at Zeus and Moses Butte, where a hiking trail leads up to the buttes. Camping is allowed in a designated area if you have an overnight permit. We then follow the 5 mile road back down Taylor Canyon to White Rim Road and turn north, going approximately 8 miles to Horsethief Bottom and up the switchbacks to the start of Mineral Road. This are requires a day permit or overnight permit and 4 wheel drive, motorcycle or bicycle.
Hiking the White Rim Overlook Trail (Canyonlands NP)
One of the better canyon overlooks at Canyonlands NP. It’s a 2 mile there and back sand/sandstone/slickrock trail that leads to a long narrow cliff that juts out 1400 feet above the canyon floor to give great views of the Gooseberry Canyon, Colorado River, La Sal Mts, the White Rim and White Rim Road. The ledge/trail narrows to just a few feet across and large gaps between the boulders as you advance making the hike as thrilling as the scenery down below.
Music:
Divider by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
Deep Haze by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
Hills by Riot
Canyonlands National Park, Utah / White Rim Trail / Shafer Trail / Airport Tower,
Canyonlands National Park, Airport Tower and Shafer Trail.
Canyon lands nat park White rim trail
Riding motorcycles on the White rim trail starting at Canyon lands
national park and going down the Shafer trail to the white rim trail
Shafer Offroad Trail - Canyonlands National Park near Moab Utah
Easy and iconic, the Shafer 4wd Trail is a must do when visiting Moab or the Canyonlands in Utah. The road was originally a cattle trail built by John Sog Shafer in 1917. Later in the 1940s and 1950s, it was constructed into a useable road for trucks hauling uranium ore from the benches below. Long gone are the remnants of the old mining days but the incredible and imposing rim walls still stand to remind you of just how grand planet Earth really is.
For more detailed trail information including technical rating and GPX track:
For more offroad trails like this: trailsoffroad.com
Siesta by Jahzzar is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
Shafer Trail - Canyonlands - Utah - Full
No timelapse - No Cuts
Shafer Trail Road-Shafer Canyon Road is a 18 miles dangerous dirt track located near Moab, in eastern Utah, in the western United States.
The road is winding, in most places only wide enough for one vehicle, on one side bordered by cliffs and on the other side by an almost straight drop.. Any four-wheel drive vehicle should be able to navigate this well maintained road.
Along the way you get to see some amazing views.
[Canyonlands Expedition - 4/5] White Rim Trail - Day 2, Continued [4K]
We continue the third day of our journey into the heart of Southern Utah, checking out:
- Candlestick Region 0:45
- Wilhite Trail Slot Canyons 1:19
- Green River & Potato Bottom 1:53
- Hardscrabble Bottom Overlook 3:30 [I called this area Potato Bottom in narration]
- Moses & Zeus Spires 4:05
- Labyrinth Campsite 5:45
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A little background if you'd like (via Wiki):
The White Rim Road is a 71.2-mile-long (114.6 km) unpaved four-wheel drive road that traverses the top of the White Rim Sandstone formation below the Island in the Sky mesa of Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah in the United States.
The road was constructed in the 1950s by the Atomic Energy Commission to provide access for individual prospectors intent on mining uranium deposits for use in nuclear weapons production during the Cold War. Large deposits had been found in similar areas within the region; however, the mines along the White Rim Road produced very little uranium and all the mines were abandoned.
The road surface consists of loose dirt, sandy dry washes and sandstone rock formations. Four-wheel drive vehicles and mountain bikes are the most common modes of transport though horseback riding and hiking are also permitted. Typical excursions at a modest pace take two days by four-wheel drive vehicle and three days by mountain bike. Street-legal, registered motorbikes are also permitted to travel on the road. The National Park Service (NPS), which administers the park and maintains the road, recommends bicyclists have a motorized support vehicle to carry extra water. No potable water is available anywhere along the road and there are few river access points. The Green River is accessible at spots along the western end of the road but Lathrop Canyon is the only access point to the Colorado River near the eastern terminus. Hikers may access the White Rim from the Island in the Sky by hiking down steep trails leading to seven points along the road.
Roads leading to the White Rim Road are Mineral Bottom Road, also called Horsethief Trail, in the park's west side and Shafer Trail in the park's east side. Both roads are junctions off the Island in the Sky park road, which is an extension of Utah State Route 313. A shorter alternate from Moab is Potash Road—Utah State Route 279—in the east side of the park which connects at the junction of White Rim Road with Shafer Trail.
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Music sourced via Creative Commons by the brilliant Doctor Turtle.
Canyonlands White Rim Trail
Thru hikers Dirtmonger & Handy Andy explore unique rock formations while on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park.
White Rim Trail - Canyonlands - 05
Canyonlands National Park - coming off the White Rim Trail and out of the west end of the Park ... Mineral Canyon Rd to Horse Thief Trail
TOYOTA JF CRUISER ,4RUNNER OFF ROAD WHITE RIM UTAH DAY 2
FJ CRUISER AND 4 RUNNER OFF ROAD UTAH MOAB USA
Shafer Canyon Trail From Canyonlands to White Rim and Potash. Complete Fast Motion HD
Taking a fast motion ride on the Shafer Canyon Trail near the entrance of Canyonlands National Park during July, 2015. The trail drops 1,400 feet to the White Rim Road overlooking the Colorado River 700 ft. below. We then continue beneath Dead Horse Point State park to the Colorado River access. Moab is 17 miles ahead. The actual travel time was just under 2 hours with a Gopro mounted on our Toyota 4Runner.