Moab & Telluride Road Trip July 20th -24th

[TheWooginator]

Hello all! I'm planning a short trip for a few days to visit a buddy in Telluride and figured I'd get there via Moab since I've never actually spent any time there. Any helpful hints/tips/things to see/places to camp would be much appreciated! Who knows, maybe I'll see some of you along the way!

My approximate timeline:
Friend arrives from Jersey in Denver Thursday morning. Roll out. Camp in Moab Thursday night would be optimal because then we could explore in the morning while the weather is cool.
Friday explore Moab. We'll have at least one dog with us so take this in consideration for camping spots/exploration outside the van. I wouldn't mind doing some gentle wheeling....
Either camp in Moab again Friday night or head down to Telly. Can most likely crash at buddies place, but cool camping spots are welcome recommendations anyway.
Saturday/Sunday - Explore the area. No solid plans yet but we're down for just about anything. We might try to get some outdoor rock climbing in since we haven't done that in a while. Favorite mtn bike spots also welcome!
Monday - depends on whether friend can fly out of Telluride instead of Denver. If he does, I really want to drive/camp Imogene pass (I'm assuming in the Telluride -> Ouray direction). Pointers appreciated! This will be the first time we road trip with the van with the explicit purpose of seeing cool shit, not traveling to see family, so I'm super excited!! Let me know what you folks think!!

Jay

[boywonder]

Loads of awesome MTB in Moab.......for all skill levels.

One of the biggies is the whole enchilada if you can shuttle. Awesome big ride. You can start at sand flats road and only do Porcupine rim section, or head up higher and start at hazard county trail or even higher at Burro Peak.

...off the top of my head.....

For technical fun...Captain Ahab...down kane Creek rd .....lots of other rides in this area too.
For good intermediate ride......Mag 7
There are many many rides.......ask about trails at one of the shops in town...Poison Spider, Moab Cyclery, etc.


Slickrock is tame and fun if you have never done it before..off of sands flats road...lots of camping there too. Gotta do it at least once. there is a short practice loop and a longer main loop....really really hot in July....start at 6:00 am ;-)


Lots of camping everywhere.....lower elevations will be hotter than a pistol in July......lots off of route 128 by the CO river (Big bend, Hal canyon, etc). Free remote camping by sovereign trail system as you come into town from the north on the 191.

I would consider camping at higher elevations (like warner lake/oowah lake) off of la Sal loop road. If you take Sand flats rd from town to the slickrock area, keep going and you will do some mild offroad all the way up to La Sal loop road. Take a right end up back in town, take a left for some high(er) elevation camping.

I'm not a rock climber but one popular area is called wall st; it's on the way to Poison Spider trail.

[Ben10281]

Here is a trip report of my visit to the Moab area and one by TWOLOST. I camped at BLM campgrounds so no issues with dogs. If you stay out of the National Parks the dogs will be fine pretty much anywhere.

My Moab Trip

TWOLOST UT trip

Have fun and post a trip report when you get back!

[winmag4582001]

Got a picture of my van from the Via Ferrarta in Telluride. Proof that a EB can make it up the trail.
While you're in the area of Telluride, you must go over to Rico and eat at the Prospector!
Prospector Restaurant | Rico CO | Formerly Argentine Grill
Better food than anywhere in Telluride. By far!

[TheWooginator]

Thanks for the information everyone! I'm still in the process of confirming logistics based on when my buddy is flying in/out of Denver, but we're debating doing Imogene either on the way out to Telly or the way back to Denver. My friend is most likely flying into Denver Thursday morning and flying out Monday, so it limits the trip somewhat.

Can anyone chime in on the amount of time it takes to clear the pass or if there are any height restrictions along the way? I saw some videos with some rocky outcroppings that are giving me some pause...

I eat like a baby dinosaur, so food reccomendations are always welcome

[arctictraveller]

Sounds like a fun trip. Make sure you have a plan to deal with the heat though, the dogs may like it less than the humans.

[TheWooginator]

So the trip was a huge success other than it seeming like my rear driveshaft u-joint is giving up on life. Stay tuned for pics from Moab, Imogene Pass and Cinnamon Pass!