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Need help with planning a Colorado and/or Moab trip.......

Wet Willys

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The wife and I are driving to Morrison, CO for a concert at Red Rocks Ampitheatre on June 2nd, so I'm taking this opportunity to turn the trip into our first "overlanding/wheeling" adventure. We're newbs to this, so I could use a little guidance.

I had hoped to camp near Telluride and Ouray and try Black Bear Pass but it looks like that trail doesn't open up until July, so maybe Engineer's Pass? It also looks like the reserved camp spots around that area are already booked up. I saw that some camp grounds are "first come first serve", but read that it fills up fast. I'm going to be using a RTT also, so I won't be setting up camp until we're done exploring trails and such. Any suggestions for places that we're likely to be able to get a camping spot at the end of the day?

If camping in Colorado isn't possible we thought we may just drive right to Moab after the concert on June 3rd. What are the must do trails there that aren't more than a medium difficulty? It'll be just the wife and I, and she's not great at spotting. Any suggestions on campgrounds in that area?

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Take the RImrocker trail from CO to Moab. It's 160 miles offroad so you'll need 2-3 days to complete. Haven't personally done it but it's not difficult and offers great views. It's on my list.
 
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Wet Willys

Wet Willys

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Take the RImrocker trail from CO to Moab. It's 160 miles offroad so you'll need 2-3 days to complete. Haven't personally done it but it's not difficult and offers great views. It's on my list.
Thanks for the suggestion!! Looking it up now, looks interesting!
 

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That time of year might be ā€œiffyā€ in terms of trails in SW Colorado being open, so you might need to plan for both situations an then finalize the plan closer to the time you arrive in Colorado for the concert at Red Rocks.

Generally (speaking at a high level here), spots at the established campgrounds are easier to reserve during the week than they are on weekends. So you might need to plan or think about dispersed camping as well and might want to bring a portable toilet you and your wife, if an established campground with a pit toilet is a dealbreaker.

For SW Colorado / Alpine Loop - the trails may still be snow covered at that time. However, in my opinion, Cinnamon Pass between Lake City and the Silverton area is ā€˜easierā€™ than Engineer, although I donā€™t think of either of them as being difficult. If I remember correctly, Engineer has a slightly more difficult portion closer to Ouray.

The trail to Cinnamon Pass passes by a USFS campground on the side closer to Lake City. Engineer Pass also has some dispersed campsites closer to Lake City. Both passes generally DO NOT have dispersed campsites closer to the summits.

Other options around Telluride include Ophir Pass, which doesnā€™t really have dispersed camping (as far as I can remember) and Last Dollar Road, which might have a couple of campsites, but I donā€™t remember for sure. Last Dollar Road is scenic, but basically just a dirt road, so not challenging at all.

Also there is dispersed camping closer to the Alta Lakes area near Telluride and a primitive campground near the lakes. Thereā€™s more than what I mentioned but this might help to give you a start.

These are just some ideas. But at that time of year, early June, the conditions may not be good enough yet.

****

For Moab, if itā€™s during the week, you can probably find a site in a first come, first served campground easily. Itā€™s harder on weekends. If you need dispersed camping as a backup, there is plenty of it around Moab.

****

I personally havenā€™t driven Rimrocker Trail, but there is dispersed camping along it as well. I hope to do that this summer.

Hope this info helps!
 
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Wet Willys

Wet Willys

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That time of year might be ā€œiffyā€ in terms of trails in SW Colorado being open, so you might need to plan for both situations an then finalize the plan closer to the time you arrive in Colorado for the concert at Red Rocks.

Generally (speaking at a high level here), spots at the established campgrounds are easier to reserve during the week than they are on weekends. So you might need to plan or think about dispersed camping as well and might want to bring a portable toilet you and your wife, if an established campground with a pit toilet is a dealbreaker.

For SW Colorado / Alpine Loop - the trails may still be snow covered at that time. However, in my opinion, Cinnamon Pass between Lake City and the Silverton area is ā€˜easierā€™ than Engineer, although I donā€™t think of either of them as being difficult. If I remember correctly, Engineer has a slightly more difficult portion closer to Ouray.

The trail to Cinnamon Pass passes by a USFS campground on the side closer to Lake City. Engineer Pass also has some dispersed campsites closer to Lake City. Both passes generally DO NOT have dispersed campsites closer to the summits.

Other options around Telluride include Ophir Pass, which doesnā€™t really have dispersed camping (as far as I can remember) and Last Dollar Road, which might have a couple of campsites, but I donā€™t remember for sure. Last Dollar Road is scenic, but basically just a dirt road, so not challenging at all.

Also there is dispersed camping closer to the Alta Lakes area near Telluride and a primitive campground near the lakes. Thereā€™s more than what I mentioned but this might help to give you a start.

These are just some ideas. But at that time of year, early June, the conditions may not be good enough yet.

****

For Moab, if itā€™s during the week, you can probably find a site in a first come, first served campground easily. Itā€™s harder on weekends. If you need dispersed camping as a backup, there is plenty of it around Moab.

****

I personally havenā€™t driven Rimrocker Trail, but there is dispersed camping along it as well. I hope to do that this summer.

Hope this info helps!
Great info, thanks for the detailed response. I may just have to do SW Colorado stuff at another time and take this chance to do Rimrock trail and Moab stuff. Hopefully trail conditions there will be good when I go. This will also be a good learning opportunity for me to make adjustments to my game plan before I do more challenging stuff and possibly end up stranded thousands of miles from home....
 

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Those trails are going to be very touch and go right now, if they are passable at all. In my area (farther north, but not necessarily heavier snow), trails at 11k+ are definitely not doable yet.

Having said that, in terms of camping, don't worry about the campgrounds. That area has tons of dispersed camping. I don't use campgrounds in CO at all, and with a RTT in that area you'll be golden.

Edit: I said "right now" but I was projecting to early June.
 

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Great info, thanks for the detailed response. I may just have to do SW Colorado stuff at another time and take this chance to do Rimrock trail and Moab stuff. Hopefully trail conditions there will be good when I go. This will also be a good learning opportunity for me to make adjustments to my game plan before I do more challenging stuff and possibly end up stranded thousands of miles from home....
For easy disbursed camping in Moab, try going up potash road. At the top, there are a bunch of easy disbursed spots with great views. If itā€™s warm and you want cooler nights, check out the la salle mountain loop. Tons of disbursed spots everywhere you look. Unbelievable views. Here are some pictures of us camped in both spots last year.

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Wet Willys

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Those trails are going to be very touch and go right now, if they are passable at all. In my area (farther north, but not necessarily heavier snow), trails at 11k+ are definitely not doable yet.

Having said that, in terms of camping, don't worry about the campgrounds. That area has tons of dispersed camping. I don't use campgrounds in CO at all, and with a RTT in that area you'll be golden.

Edit: I said "right now" but I was projecting to early June.
How about Rimrocker? Do you think that'll be open in early June?
 
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Wet Willys

Wet Willys

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For easy disbursed camping in Moab, try going up potash road. At the top, there are a bunch of easy disbursed spots with great views. If itā€™s warm and you want cooler nights, check out the la salle mountain loop. Tons of disbursed spots everywhere you look. Unbelievable views. Here are some pictures of us camped in both spots last year.

Jeep Gladiator Need help with planning a Colorado and/or Moab trip....... 6323A717-E236-4354-BDC2-B80588457614


Jeep Gladiator Need help with planning a Colorado and/or Moab trip....... 6323A717-E236-4354-BDC2-B80588457614


Jeep Gladiator Need help with planning a Colorado and/or Moab trip....... 6323A717-E236-4354-BDC2-B80588457614


Jeep Gladiator Need help with planning a Colorado and/or Moab trip....... 6323A717-E236-4354-BDC2-B80588457614


Jeep Gladiator Need help with planning a Colorado and/or Moab trip....... 6323A717-E236-4354-BDC2-B80588457614


Jeep Gladiator Need help with planning a Colorado and/or Moab trip....... 6323A717-E236-4354-BDC2-B80588457614


Jeep Gladiator Need help with planning a Colorado and/or Moab trip....... 6323A717-E236-4354-BDC2-B80588457614
That is freakin' awesome!! I'll have to check that out after I complete Rimrocker. For dispersed campsites with no bathrooms of any kind I'll have to figure out a potty system that the wife is ok with......
 

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How about Rimrocker? Do you think that'll be open in early June?
I would think so. No promises or anything but that route avoids the higher San Juan mts. I would suggest driving up the highway to Ouray (highway will always be open) just to have some mountain fun. But yeah that route should be very doable in June.
 

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That is freakin' awesome!! I'll have to check that out after I complete Rimrocker. For dispersed campsites with no bathrooms of any kind I'll have to figure out a potty system that the wife is ok with......
I bought the toilet from iron man 4x4, which meets my wifeā€™s approval, for what itā€™s worth. I got it for her birthday, which was very funny.
 

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That is freakin' awesome!! I'll have to check that out after I complete Rimrocker. For dispersed campsites with no bathrooms of any kind I'll have to figure out a potty system that the wife is ok with......
I didnā€™t know about rim rocker. That sounds amazing. Added to my research listā€¦
 
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Wet Willys

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I didnā€™t know about rim rocker. That sounds amazing. Added to my research listā€¦
I'm finding a lot of write-ups about the trail. It looks awesome. Not as challenging as I was hoping for on this trip, but that may be a good thing since I'm a bit of a novice and I won't be in a group. The only long distance wheeling trip I've got under my belt so far was to Big Bend doing Black Gap trail, which was also pretty easy.
 

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One thought about Moab trails, since youā€™re trying to find something that is somewhat challenging, yet not overly challenging to the point where you would need a good spotter ā€¦ maybe look at Fins and Things? Iā€™ve never done it in vehicle like a Gladiator with the longer wheel base but it might give you what you are looking for.

Also, Hurrah Pass & Chicken Corners is super easy, but scenic. Thereā€™s one spot that has a bit of a ledge you can climb (or bypass) but for the most part itā€™s just a mixture of dirt road and slick rock. There are also established campgrounds on the way out to where the trail begins.

Onion Creek is easy (basically just a dirt road) but has a lot of small water crossings and itā€™s scenic. Youā€˜ll see Subarus and other vehicles on that, so really not challenging at all, but still fun.

Red Rock 4 Wheelers has some more info about Moab trails and difficulty ratings so this could help you to plan: https://www.rr4w.com/Trails-Home.cfm
 
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Wet Willys

Wet Willys

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One thought about Moab trails, since youā€™re trying to find something that is somewhat challenging, yet not overly challenging to the point where you would need a good spotter ā€¦ maybe look at Fins and Things? Iā€™ve never done it in vehicle like a Gladiator with the longer wheel base but it might give you what you are looking for.

Also, Hurrah Pass & Chicken Corners is super easy, but scenic. Thereā€™s one spot that has a bit of a ledge you can climb (or bypass) but for the most part itā€™s just a mixture of dirt road and slick rock. There are also established campgrounds on the way out to where the trail begins.

Onion Creek is easy (basically just a dirt road) but has a lot of small water crossings and itā€™s scenic. Youā€˜ll see Subarus and other vehicles on that, so really not challenging at all, but still fun.

Red Rock 4 Wheelers has some more info about Moab trails and difficulty ratings so this could help you to plan: https://www.rr4w.com/Trails-Home.cfm
Thanks for the suggestions, great info!!

I'll check Fins and Things out also, and Hurrah Pass and Chicken Corners. We also plan to do some hiking at Canyonland NP..... this trip is 40% about offroading, and ~60% about taking in the scenery and nature, so scenic nature takes slight priority for choosing where to go.
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