White Rim Road

[Kevin B.]

How many days would you budget to do it right? To get in some good hiking and/or mountain biking, to not be rushed, etc. I've never driven it before, and I'm thinking I'd like to invest four to five days. Those who have driven it, how long did you take? How long do you wish you'd taken? What hikes were awesome?

And who wants to go? I don't have a date pinned down and I haven't called for permits. I'll likely have to leave the family behind, so some company (and at least one more vehicle ) would be awesome.

 

[Greg]

I don't know all the hiking trails on the White Rim, but I'd guess 3 days would be enough, but if you wanted to stretch it out to 4-5 days you could. I know there are come backpacking-type trails that drop down from the Dead Horse Point area.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I might be interested. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

 

[JL Rockies]

You can drive it in a day so I guess you can stop a lot. I can't advise you on walking and biking since I stopped those activities once I got a driver license I think there's one hiking trail close to Muscleman's Arch but that's the only marked trail I remember seeing from the road.

The campsites are really nice but they fill up super-fast during the non-inferno times. I once lucked out in June, the place was empty and for whatever reason, it was in the 50's.

 

[4biker]

I'd be up for a 3-day trip on mountain bike. I figure 30ish miles per day wouldn't be killer, and would be plenty of time for side hikes & picture taking. I'm hoping to take my scouts there later this year, but would love to do it once first.

 

[Kevin B.]

Oof - you're more man than I, then. I wasn't planning on doing the whole thing on bike, just bringing them along for a side trip here or there.

You'd be welcome to use me as a support vehicle if/when I go, though.

 

[Unimog]

3 days is adequate-even on bike, more is good if you want to bike and explore a lot. Keep in mind you can't just park at whatever camp you feel like. You kindof need to plan which site you will be at on which nights before you get your permit.

 

[Kevin B.]

I think I've decided that immediately after the RME bbq would be a rocking time to do this, hitting the trail Tuesday morning and aiming to make final camp in Mineral Basin on Thursday night (need to check with the BLM on that). I'm still finding hikes and points of interest, and looking into which camps would work best which nights, but I'll probably be calling for permits and such next week. Still an open trip, anyone is welcome to join and I'd love the company!

 

[airforceret]

You can easily wheel White Rim in one day, and stop to take pictures. An overnight stay would free up some time for biking, and a little slower pace for stopping for pics.

If you are doing 3 days, and want to wheel down into Lathrop Canyon, be sure to let BLM know when you check in and get your White Rim permits as they will likely issue you a specific permit for Lathrop Canyon. It's a nice trip to wheel down to the river and back if it's not flooded or closed to rock falls.

As for camping on White Rim, don't be surprised if they don't have the sites you want available. Many of those sites sell out months in advance. You may find yourself running it "backwards" so to speak in order to work out your schedule with your camp location.

Keep in mind the trail is about 100 miles, so fuel mileage may be a concern if you do much wheeling to and from your camp each day. I think Lathrop Canyon is about 8 to 10 miles round trip in and out, and Taylor Canyon about 5 miles round trip.

If you're interested in a preview of White Rim, you can view some of my photobucket pix from 2009....
http://s287.photobucket.com/albums/ll154/AirForceRet/Moab%20Apr%202009/White%20Rim/

I've also got pix from Lathrop Canyon somewhere as well.

Roger

 

[Kevin B.]

Thanks, Roger! I've got this trip on hold, I can't squeeze it in between the bbq and the Rock Junction doohickey, both of which I want to attend.