Moab Camping

b and j · 06-03-2009, 06:44 AM

I'm going to Moab in a couple of weeks. Can anyone list some good back country camping spots? Also some good SMB treks. We will be alone so we don't want trails to taxing(don"t want to break down to far back in there!) Best areas to see, that sort of thing.
Thanks
B & J

REF · 06-03-2009, 12:05 PM

Some of us (Jage, Me and cellularsteve) at the Moab forum meetup last month did Shafer Rd. very nice scenery, moderate trail, no worries doing it alone. Pick up 279 out of town, turns into a 2wd access into Shafer, passes the Potash Ponds. Towards the end of Shafer (west side), take White Rim Rd. to Mussellman arch and then back out onto Shafer. You will climb up the switchbacks and out to 313. go check out Island in the Sky viewpoint. We took Long Canyon Rd. back to 279, it is off of the 313 spur rd. that goes down into Dead horse point state park, there is a little more difficult section, but highly passable. Not sure about camping spots out there, we were at onion creek group site.

Check out Milt's for a great chili burger and shake, it turns out my old friend BC is the new owner. I ordered a burger at the window and there he was at the grill cooking away, small world.

b and j · 06-04-2009, 09:37 AM

REF
Thanks for the info, sounds like just what we want.
B & J

bitburger · 06-05-2009, 11:53 AM

There are a couple of existing trip reports that might be worthwhile when you have the time.

We used (and liked) the state campgrounds at Dead Horse Point State Park and at Arches but both may have some crowd issues in the summer.
Between the two are two BLM campgrounds, Horse thief and Cowboy camp. BLM is cheap but offers no services.

I picked up a book off amazon,
Backcountry Adventures Utah: The Ultimate Guide to the Utah Backcountry for Anyone with a Sport Utility Vehicle (Backcountry Adventures) (Paperback)
and it turned out to be a good choice. It had a section on the history of Utah and then provided sections with trail recommendations. Each trail would have detailed descriptions.

Have fun.

b and j · 06-06-2009, 12:05 PM

Great,just ordered the book.
Thanks for the idea.
B & J