Topic: Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[Ghost65]

Daphne and I celebrated our anniversary with a little road trip to Utah.  We spent the first couple of days in St. George, "hoteling" it and riding local trails with our mountain bikes in Virgin, Utah.  We cruised The JEM Trail, Cryptobionic, Dead Ringer, and Goosebumps there.  We packed up and headed into Moab, where we spent four nights camping at Canyonlands Campground.  The plan was to ride bikes early to beat the heat, and then explore the town and a few local trails in the air conditioned comfort of the truck.  We finished up the trip with an "adult dinner" in Mesquite, Nevada, and enjoyed the pool and AC there.

Here are a few pictures from the trip...enjoy!

Of course, grabbing a few geocaches off of Highway 395 is mandatory...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Passing an old friend...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

"Bike friendly" was the buzzword in St. George...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

We spent two days riding here, as we had ridden here in 2015 celebrating our first anniversary.  These trails are well laid out, maintained, and super flowy...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

If you visit Springdale (just outside of Zion NP, and about 10 minutes east of the trails) go to this shop.  Fred, the owner, is a very chill guy, and always has the 411 on trail conditions and new "treads."...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

The trailhead for Cryptobionic...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[Ghost65]

Well marked and rated trails are everywhere in Utah...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

After two days of riding and kissing dinosaurs for good luck...it was time to head to Moab...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

The drive to Moab from St. George is about 7 hours with stops for gas and food...this helped to speed things along...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[Ghost65]

First stop in Moab...Fiesta Mexicana...to dust off your thirst and get a gullet fill of some tasty grub...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

We set up camp on Monday night...it stays light until about 9pm...and relaxed while planning our recon trip to Dead Horse Point for the bike riding portion of the trip.  We also planned on visiting Canyonlands NP, and Arches NP...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

The drive into Dead Horse Point State Park is about 30 minutes from downtown Moab, and you actually ascend up to a butte top that overlooks Moab and the surrounding lower Canyonlands NP.  The drive was actually...quite green...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Deadhorse Point has a 3 day, $10 use fee.  To enter the NP's, its $25 a day.  The views from inside Deadhorse are...well...spectacular to say the least.  This is a view of "The Gooseneck" from above the Colorado River...the trail below is the White Rim Trail...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[fourxfunk]

Nice,  my dad retired and moved to St. George 2 years ago specifically for the riding.  I've done Gooseberry Mesa and JEM trail a few times.  Every mtn. biker needs to ride southern Utah at least once.

[Ghost65]

More biking and trails here as well...and we drove through the Horsethief CG to get an idea of what it's like.  Very nice, $15 a night, and lots of spaces available.  Bring your own shade, and ride right out of camp onto some of Moab's iconic trails.  The Magnificent 7 and 7Up trails are just west of this CG...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Another view of the White Rim...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

This sign piqued my interest, and I had planned on tackling Shafer Road Switchbacks and Potash Road.  I used my trail book to learn that the White Rim Trail connects to these as well...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Shafer Road Switchbacks...more on this trail later...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

From Deadhorse and Canyonlands we skipped over to Arches NP later in the day.  It was pretty crowded, and we learned quickly to hit the views/stops before the big buses loaded with less than courteous tourists...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[Ghost65]

The next day was spent riding at Deadhorse Point State Park, and the riding here was just awesome.  We were surprised again at how well marked and maintained these trails were.  The Intrepid Trail System would be my best recommendation for first timers visiting Moab to bike.  The views are stunning, and the trails are a great introduction to slickrock and riding along a rim trail...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

The plan for the day was to ride DHP in the morning, eat lunch, and then tackle the Shafer Trail Switchbacks, Potash Road, and a section of The White Rim Trail to Musselman Arch.  After reading about it, The White Rim trail is an incredible journey along the White Rim of Canyonlands NP.  It takes about 10-16 hours depending on how many spur trails/arches/view points you hit.  This would be a really cool two day/one night overland trip for a small group to tackle.  Permits are available, and I will be looking into this for sure for a future Xcursion.

Riding the Great Pyramid section...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Slickrock section of the trail.  Note the blue painted markers to keep you "on track".  Other trails are marked with stacked rock cairns...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Big Chief Overlook...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Daphne having a blast...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Yurts (with AC, barbecues, and fire rins) available for group reservations...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[Ghost65]

After riding DHP, we ate a quick lunch in the parking lot and drove to the Shafer Trail Switchbacks trailhead to air down.  The trip with the side spur to White Rim and Musselman Arch was about 50 miles +/-.  I had three extra gallons of gas and a topped off tank, plus fresh ice and water from the DHP concessions area.  We were ready to tackle some trail...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[Ghost65]

The road down Shafer Trail Switchbacks is plenty safe, with turnouts for oncoming traffic. We encountered probably a dozen vehicles, and equally as many bikers on this trail.  Slow and steady is the pace...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Looking across and down on the switchbacks...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Obligatory "edge" shot...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

At the first sharp switchback I jumped out and trekked up the road a few hundred feet for a perseptive photo...I love this shot...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[Ghost65]

This shot was taken at the bottom of the switchbacks, and was the spur we took to The White Rim Trail and Musselman arch.  This added about 13 miles to our round trip, out and back.  We would double back and turn back onto Potash Road for the return trip...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

The viewpoints and photos along this section could take up a lot of space...Thelma and Louise Point, Musselman Arch, Gooseneck Viewpoint just to name a few.

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[Ghost65]

This shot was taken from Thelma and Louise point, looking down on the Colorado River.  I also learned later after doing a little research, looking across the river you can see Chicken Corners Trail as well...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

We doubled back and made our way to Potash Road...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

We stopped along the way and took some photos of the bright blue evaporation ponds that we had seen from above earlier in the week...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

The trail was winding down, and so were we.  Finally, at the bottom and end of Potash Road Trail, we reached the river!  What a cool sight to see...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

Daphne and I dipped our feet here to cool off, and then headed down the paved portion of Potash Road that would take us back to Moab...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

This is the potash processing plant just down the road...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

And a little farther was this plaque commemorating a potash mining disaster from 1963...that changed the way potash was processed resulting in the big blue ponds you see here today...

Virgin, Moab, Dead Horse Point, and La Sal Pass Trail Trip

[RBduffer]

So that's where you guys have been!  Great photo journal, thanks for sharing.  And oh yeah, happy anniversary!

[JFanaselle]

Epic trip report John! These are some absolutely amazing photos. Happy belated anniversary to you two. And go ahead and pencil my name in for that White Rim overland trip... there's no way I'd miss a trip like that! 

[Riz98]

That looks amazing.  Definitely Xcursion worthy for the scenery alone!!!!  Great write up.

[Ghost65]

Thanks fellas...and for sure Joe, a "small group" Xcursion to The White Rim and other parts of Moab is on my radar...as well as another return trip to DV. 

Just need to find the time.