St. Louis to La Sal Mtns to Lake Powell to Capitol Reef - October 9 - 18

Natasha and I are planning a trip from SE Utah the second week of October. Plans are still loose right now, but it looks like our first night of camping will be at Warner Lake off the La Sal Mt. Loop. From there we'll head into Moab to stock up and then make our way into the back country south of the Needles District for a few days. We will eventually make our way to the ferry at Bullfrog on Lake Powell and head up towards Capitol Reef NP.

Has anyone used Beef Basin Road in the Canyon Rims Recreation Area as a route down to Natural Bridges National Monument? According to the Gazetteer, starting from 211 near Newspaper Rock, it should connect to Gooseberry Road, then Elk Ridge Road and eventually 275 into NBNM.

Sounds kind of cheesy, but I am thinking of proposing to Natasha at the end of the spur from Beef Basin Rd. that leads to Wedding Ring Arch. Does anyone know if the arch is visible from the spur or do you need to hike in?

Dave said:

Has anyone used Beef Basin Road in the Canyon Rims Recreation Area as a route down to Natural Bridges National Monument? According to the Gazetteer, starting from 211 near Newspaper Rock, it should connect to Gooseberry Road, then Elk Ridge Road and eventually 275 into NBNM.

Sounds kind of cheesy, but I am thinking of proposing to Natasha at the end of the spur from Beef Basin Rd. that leads to Wedding Ring Arch. Does anyone know if the arch is visible from the spur or do you need to hike in?

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Yes, you can make the trip from Newspaper Rock, via Beef Basin to Natural Bridges NM.

We did it in May - see day four in this thread for Needles and Beef Basin pics and info. Not sure about Wedding Ring Arch, I was traveling with a confirmed bachelor, no nuptuals for us!

And I don't think it's cheesy at all. Anyone can drop a ring in some champagne, be creative and best of luck to you two on your trip and your future together!

kcowyo said:

We did it in May - see day four in this thread for Needles and Beef Basin pics and info.

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Great pictures and report! Thanks for the info, looks like it should be a nice drive.

Looks like we're going to skip the La Sal's this time around...again. We were going to try to reserve a campsite at the Warner Lake developed campground, but all the sites are booked solid for the whole week we're out there! The only thing I can think of is that several hunting seasons are open during that week.

As boring as it sounds, normally when we do these trips we try to book a cabin or something at a KOA on the way instead of driving around the clock simply because they're cheap (compared to motel rooms), easy (usually right off the interstate), dog friendly, and usually the shower facilities are pretty decent. For this trip, however, there are no KOA's near our stopping point. So I happened to find a Forest Service cabing called Piney Station Gaurd. Here's the description from the ReserveUSA website:

Piney Guard Station was constructed during the 1930's and is situated on a north-facing slope. The Guard Station consists of one room with a wood-burning stove. The inside of the Guard Station contains a bunkbed, table, and chairs. A vault toilet is located adjacent to the Guard Station. The Guard Station is 14' x 22'. There is no drinking water or trash service. The road to the Guard Station is open to motor vehicles from approximately mid-June to mid-November. The road is closed to motor vehicles except snowmobiles the remainder of the year. The road to the Piney Guard Station is rough and requires a high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle. Users may drive within approximately three miles of the Guard Station without the need for high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicles. The area is popular for hunting. The Guard Station is located in a forest dominated by aspen, spruce, pine, and fir trees. The nearest all-season paved road is approximately ten miles.

Getting There
Take I-70 east from Grand Junction, CO, about 126 miles. Go west from Denver about 119 miles to exit 157. Take Highway 131 north through the town of Wolcott to the Muddy Pass Road (Forest Road 700). Follow the Muddy Pass Road about 7 miles to Forest Road 406. Follow Follow Road 406 about 3 miles to the Piney Guard Station.

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Anyone been up to this cabin before? I'm super curious about it.

From there we're driving to Arch's NP to stay for two nights. We're going to do the guided Fiery Furnace hike on Monday. From Arch's, we'll drive to Needles via the Lockhart Basin Road. KC, I noticed you did not have sliders (rock rails) on your T100 when you drove Lockhart Basin from 211 to Moab, did that present any problems? I'm not sure I'll be able to get mine installed before this trip.

We'll play in Needles for two days and then it's off to Natural Bridges National Monument by way of Beef Basin Road, hopefully with views of Wedding Ring Arch. From Natural Bridges NM, we'll drive down to Lake Powell to camp at the Stanton Creek primitive area. After that, we'll take the ferry over to Bullfrog and head up to Boulder, UT via the Burr Trail. We're staying at some lodge that Natasha picked out in Boulder for two nights. From Boulder, it's up to Goblin Valley State Park for a night, and then we start the long drive home on Tuesday the 17th.

If anyone feels like joining us for any leg of this trip (especially the Lockhart Basin leg), please let me know so I can send specific dates.

when your in Goblin - try and hit those slot canyons - you can hike in one the loop out and do the seond one on the way out

Desertdude said:

when your in Goblin - try and hit those slot canyons - you can hike in one the loop out and do the seond one on the way out

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Will do! Thanks for the tip.

And how weird is it that your 666th post was in regards to a place called Goblin??

Dave said:

not have sliders (rock rails) on your T100 when you drove Lockhart Basin

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I know this was directed at KC, but Lockhardt shouldn't present too much of a problem in terms of body damage...unless there's been a recent washout?

Very good to know.

We drove through that area two years ago, in September. In case it helps, here's what we encountered.

- got a campsite at Dead Horse Pt State Park about noon (Thursday, I think). Nice local hiking. Didn't try Arches because dogs are not allowed on most Nat Park trails.

- wanted to stay another night at Dead Horse, but everything was reserved. Drove down to the river via Long Canyon, and then part way up the Shaefer Trail. Lunch in Moab, then up into the LaSals via Castle Valley. Camped at Warner Lake. It was lightly used at that time; good fall colors.

- woke to light rain; drove to Telluride CO. Camped at Forest Service Alta Lakes; stormy weather (tail end of tropical storm).

- Stuck to paved roads in the San Juans; motel in Cortez

- West into South Utah, Mexican Hat, Mokee Dugway, Natural Bridges and Lake Powell. Camped at Halls Crossing, since the last ferry was around 4pm. Lake level was way down. (Advise - check ferry schedules)

- Took 1st ferry across to Bullfrog Landing (about 8 am). Couldn't go up Burr Trail because the storm had dumped a load of mud at the Bullfrog Ck crossing. So took the long way around Henry Mtns and main passage through Capitol Reef. Then hwy 12 to Boulder and Calf Creek. Camped at Escalante State Park. In retrospect probably could have taken a dirt road south through Capitol Reef, and caught part of the Burr Trail. Still the fall colors in Boulder Mtn were nice (plus a few snow flurries). Also should have spent more time at Calf Creek.

paulj

photos at http://www.pbase.com/paulj3/southwest_2004

Very cool, thanks for the pictures and insight Paul. That picture in the La Sal's is wonderful, I'm really disappointed we couldn't make it up there this time around. Every time we go to Moab we look up at the La Sal's and always promise we'll get up there "next time".

This will be a fun trip, and good time of year to do it. I really like that area!

Two weeks from today we'll be barreling across Kansas headed west! :wings:

Nice - the fall is a great time to visit the west :smiley_drive:

All we have left to do is make it through the work day, drop off the dog with the sitter ( ) then we're out-o-here.

:wavey: :smiley_drive: :campfire: :wings: :truck:

it might be a bit late to contact you, but where do you expect to be from 13OCT to 15OCT? we were hoping to return to moab in the next couple weeks, but if youll be in the needles district or running lockart that weekend, perhaps we could cruise over and join you.

if you drive in the needles district, take your time...we took a stock tundra through elephant hill without damage, and the views are amazing.

if youre already on the road, will be @ lockhard or needles that weekend and would like some company on the trail, perhaps i could bounce some contact info off someone...

-sean