In 2020, Matt and I stared down at Shafer Trail from the top of Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park knowing that we really wanted to drive it together. But, we decided that while I was pregnant with our first kid probably wasn’t the best time to do it. Since that day we’ve driven it 3 times and love the adventure of it, the seclusion of it, the roughness of the roads and so much more.
This last summer, while we were in Moab for Nomad Summer, we were there during a heat wave and super windy conditions, so it just wasn’t optimum hiking conditions, especially with little ones closer to the sandy surfaces on the ground. So, we opted for a different kind of adventure a handful of nights: we started to go off-roading.
We were in our Chevy Silverado 2500, which, to be honest, isn’t the best for this because we couldn’t make all the tight turns or steeper drops. The truck is just a bit too long, but even so we did some really incredible drives out in the desert.
Shafer Trail – The Adventure that Started it All
Shafer Trail is the dirt road that starts at the end of Potash Road in Moab up into Canyonlands National Park. It’s the perfect intro into off roading. It’s generally safe, you technically can drive it in an AWD vehicle, just be aware of potential hazards if there has been a lot of rain.
This road has some incredibly scenic overlooks – including the famous Thelma and Louis overlook. The road winds around bends, along the Colorado River, through canyons and over some rough washboard roads. The most iconic part of the road is probably the switchbacks that are either at the very end or the very beginning depended on where you start your journey. But for me the space between the horseshoe bend in the Colorado River and the base of the switchbacks are my favorite.
For the Love of Wanderlust Tip: Do this drive from the bottom to the top in the evening so you get up to Island in the Sky in time to do the Grand View Point Overlook Trail for an incredibly scenic sunset view.
Gemini Bridges – The Trail that Gave ME the Itch to Drive
Matt found this road for us to do one evening and it was rough and rugged and had one of the most scenic overlooks of Moab right at the beginning and then goes into the beautiful backcountry leading over large rock obstacles, along cliff edges and eventually to the trailhead to see Gemini Bridges. This is a set of two, massive natural bridges with a short trail that leads to the viewpoint of them as well as a trail that goes around the bowl where you can walk over the top of them.
While we were on this trail, I took the wheel a bit, on uncharted (for me) roads that weirdly gave me a confidence to want to do more of this. More as a passenger and even more as a driver. This road also will spit you out very close to Dead Horse Point State Park, so it’s a really fun way to kick off an adventure up there or to end a day of exploring in the park if you’re headed back down.
Long Canyon Drive – My First Solo Driving Adventure
One day when Matt was working, I wanted to take the kids on a little adventure, but it was hot, hot, hot which is hard to do as a mama on her own with a 2 and 4 year old on a trail. We’d already done some other days of kid-friendly adventures and I decided to put my big-girl pants on and take on a road that I’d had my eye on for a while and I bit off a big adventure (for me a newbie) in a big-ass truck.
This road starts just off of Potash Road at the Jug Handle Arch parking area. This drive is rated easy, but I found it to be a challenge as a brand new dirt road driver. There are sheer drop-offs, deep ditches, narrow canyons and parts that feel impassable (but when you get out and look you realize you had plenty of room ha). But I took the kids on this drive and we were all laughing out loud and checking out different formations all along the way.
This trail was so incredible that we got back out and did it again that night so that Matt could drive it and see the beauty of it. He loved it just as much as we did! This trail also leads out close to where Gemini Bridges Trail does, so we did this trail up into Canyonlands to do a sunset hike, like Grand View Point Overlook. We love an adventure that leads to an additional adventure.
Attempting Other Trails To
We took on a couple of other trails, but unfortunately, our 2500 is too long for them. So, we had a couple of trails that we had to turn back on but even through that, we were all smiles and having the time of our lives. It’s so fun to have one of us pop out of the vehicle and help the other navigate, to both get out and try to determine if we can make it. It’s just such an adventure, it’s moving at a slower pace and just offers us vantage points that you can’t get on a paved road.
When I went back out to Moab for my Solo Trip last year, I took off in my Outback, definitely pushing her to her limits… and possibly putting a hole in a, luckily, unimportant part of her undercarriage, but I had so much fun listening to music entirely too loudly, with the windows down – unless I passed someone, which happened only twice, and crawled up slickrock, splashed through puddles and felt so high on life.
When Matt and I first got married, I was nervous to drive his 4Runner because I had been driving a glorified go-cart for almost a decade. I felt unstoppable driving the 2500 on these dirt trails. So, when Matt took on Long Canyon Trail, and I looked over at him and said, “Don’t think I’m crazy, but I think I want a 4Runner…” and he said, “You’ve never been hotter!” So, needless to say, my dream for 2026 is to get a 4Runner of my own, trade in my beloved Outback and be able to do even more of these adventures in future years!
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