Sierra Nevada Adventures Out Of State Rides

UTAH’s BEST OF THE WEST ADVENTURE 6-Days

Utah’s Best of the West ADVENTURE Ride EXPLORES an amazing OFF-ROAD route through the best desert landscape imaginable including Utah’s epic National Parks.

Day 1 of the SNA Utah’s Best of the West ADVENTURE ride begins in Hurricane, pronounced "Her-ah-kun" by the locals. A short distance beyond Hurricane, your off-road adventure begins as you explore a red dirt road past towering cliffs and panoramic views on your way to beautiful Zion National Park. Your journey travels through the heart of Zion National Park along the scenic Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, which features the park's towering sandstone cliffs, slot canyons, switchbacks, and the historic mile-long tunnel as you explore the amazing Zion Canyon.

Zion National Park, located in southwestern Utah, is renowned for its stunning canyons, towering sandstone cliffs, and unique geological formations. The park's diverse landscapes, including the famous Zion Canyon, are a result of the North Fork of the Virgin River carving through the landscape, creating a dramatic and scenic environment. Zion also features diverse plant and animal life, due to its location at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions.

After traveling through the dramatic landscape known as Zion, your journey continues east for an amazing off-road adventure through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This amazing off-road route travels through dramatic scenery with colorful sandstone formations, narrow slot canyons, and a meandering creek bordered by cottonwood trees, including the Coxcomb ridges, which is a steeply tilted strata land formation that forms a long, imposing ridge called The Cockscomb, named after the ridge resembles the colorful “comb” on a rooster’s head.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah is a vast, rugged landscape known for its diverse geology, rich paleontological history, and stunning scenery. It encompasses nearly 2 million acres and is characterized by its unique "grand staircase" of colorful cliffs and plateaus, as well as the deep canyons carved by the Escalante River.

After exploring an incredible off-road route through the vast Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, you will reach the small town of Tropic for your night's stay.

Day 2 of your epic adventure continues through the vast, rugged landscape known as the Grand Staircase-Escalante, where you will be amazed by the stunning scenery in all directions. Beyond the Grand Staircase-Escalante, your off-road adventure explores a remote historic wagon route through the geologic feature known as Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park. This historic off-road wagon route travels through an incredible red rock slot canyon and a vast, colorful landscape, including an amazing steep section of switchbacks near the Waterpocket Fold landscape, which greatly challenged the early stagecoach travelers who crossed the vast landscape in the 1800s.

The Waterpocket Fold is the major geologic feature that defines Capitol Reef National Park. It is a buckle in the earth's surface, approximately 100 miles long, running north-south from Thousand Lake Mountain down to Lake Powell. Along The Fold, rocks have been pushed upward, and erosion has cut through the layers, creating deep, narrow canyons and interesting formations. This 100-mile-long uplift was created by geological forces 65–80 million years ago, resulting in a dramatic landscape of cliffs, canyons, and arches. It acts as a formidable barrier and is the primary geologic feature that defines the park's unique terrain.  

After exploring the vast landscape known as Capitol Reef, you will reach the small desert town of Mexican Hat, located along the San Juan River for your night stay.  

Day 3 of your epic adventure explores an amazing off-road route through “The Valley of the Gods” which is a scenic area in southeastern Utah known for its towering sandstone formations, with similar landscape formations as the nearby more famous Monument Valley. The Valley of the Gods is filled with impressive buttes, pinnacles, and mesas carved from Cedar Mesa sandstone, some of which are the remnants of an ancient sea. The rock formations display rich red, gold, and purple hues from iron oxide and unique shapes that were formed over millions of years by wind, water, and ice. The Valley of the Gods provides a lesser-known, unpaved off-road route that’s the perfect off-road experience for those who seek adventure!

A short distance beyond the valley, your off-road adventure climbs a unique stretch of unpaved switchbacks known as the Moki Dugway. The Moki Dugway is famous for its steep, unpaved road, with steep cliff walls and harpin switchbacks, which rise over 1,200 feet from the valley below to the top of Cedar Mesa. This unique and dramatic stretch of road, which has literally been carved from steep cliff walls, connects Utah Highway 95 with US Highway 163. The dirt road forms part of the “Trail of the Ancients,” a national scenic byway where travelers can see multiple archeological sites and unique geological formations that played a role in the history of the southwest Native American people who inhabited this area. The panoramic views from the top of the Mesa are breathtaking, giving travelers a bird's-eye view of the Valley of the Gods, Monument Valley, and the surrounding desert landscape. This is not merely an unpaved road but an adventure, a test of nerves and a feast for the senses. The Moki Dugway is one of a kind unpaved road, and a must-do for those who seek adventure!

Your journey continues through an incredible desert landscape, then before long, you will find yourself climbing up and out of the desert landscape into the majestic La Sal Mountains. The La Sal Mountains are a mountain range located in the Grand and San Juan counties in the US state of Utah, along the border with Colorado. The La Sal Mountains are an impressive range with peaks exceeding 12,000 feet of elevation. The range features a dramatic shift from desert to alpine scenery, with aspen and pine forests, including panoramic views of the Moab area. Your off-road adventure begins near the six-thousand-foot mark as you descend through a mixture of aspen trees and pine forest, then eventually drops into the Slickrock area. The Slickrock area is an off-road destination near Moab, Utah, known for its unique terrain of rugged, rolling Navajo sandstone that was once ancient sand dunes. Despite its name, which comes from early settlers who found horseshoes slipped on the surface, the rock provides excellent traction for rubber tires, making it possible to ride up and down steep sandstone features that provide panoramic views of southern Utah.

After exploring The Valley of the Gods and the majestic La Sal Mountains, you will reach the famous off-road mecca known as Moab for you night stay.  

Day 4 of your epic adventure explores the impressive Shafer Trail switchbacks, which are one of the most awe-inspiring off-road routes in the southwest. The Shafer Trail switchbacks are a steep, narrow dirt road with tight hairpin turns that descend from the Island in the Sky mesa in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. The switchbacks provide a heart-pounding descent, dropping over 1,500 feet from the mesa top. The road is an unpaved dirt road, often with sections of loose sand over rock, which can make braking challenging, especially on the downhill sections. The road is very narrow with tight turns, requiring riders to be cautious and focused. There are no guardrails, and the sheer drop-offs create a thrilling, but potentially frightening, experience for those with a fear of heights. The road offers panoramic views of the vast red rock canyons, mesas, and desert landscapes, with new vistas opening up around every corner. The impressive switchbacks are known for offering thrilling, dramatic views of the red rock canyons and surrounding landscape, as well as significant drop-offs, originally serving as a route for prospectors, cattle drives, and now serve as a thrilling off-road route for adventurous riders who seek adventure! 

After exploring the Shafer Trail switchbacks, your journey ventures onto the grand Dead Horse Point on the rim of the Colorado River. Dead Horse Point is a scenic overlook in Utah, famous for its stunning views of the Colorado River and surrounding canyons from 2,000 feet above. It is located in Dead Horse Point State Park, a 5,362-acre park near Moab and Canyonlands National Park that offers hiking, mountain biking, and is an International Dark Sky Park perfect for stargazing. The name comes from a legend where cowboys corralled wild horses on the point, which became a natural trap from which they couldn't escape, leading to their death. Today, Dead Horse Point provides a breathtaking panorama view of a vast, immense chasm with layered, colorful rock strata revealing millions of years of geological history.

Beyond Dead Horse Point, your journey explores an amazing off-road route through the scenic San Rafael Swell, including Temple Mountain and the Goblin Valley area. Temple Mountain is a remote, 6,820-foot mountain in Utah's San Rafael Swell, known for its striking resemblance to a temple and its history as a uranium mining district. It is a popular destination for outdoor activities like hiking, off-roading, and rock climbing, with numerous trails and nearby camping, and offers scenic views and interesting geology with easily accessible mining ruins. Goblin Valley is a unique state park in Utah known for its bizarre, mushroom-shaped rock formations called "goblins," which were sculpted by wind and water erosion over millions of years. The Goblin Valley landscape, covered with strange sandstone goblin formations, appears to be an alien planet landscape from another world.

After exploring an amazing off-road adventure in Canyon Lands and the San Rafael Swell area, you will reach the small, picturesque town of Torrey for your night's stay.

Day 5 of your epic adventure begins at Capitol Reef National Park. The park features colorful sandstone cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges, with the "Capitol" name referring to the domes that resemble state capitol buildings and the "Reef" for the rocky cliffs that create barriers. Beyond Capitol Reef National Park, your off-road adventure explores the historic Hell's Backbone route on the edge of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Hell's Backbone is a rugged area that bridges between towering Boulder Mountain on the north and canyons cut by the Escalante River and its tributaries on the south. Known for its dramatic canyon views and the iconic Hell’s Backbone Bridge, this scenic backcountry route winds through forests, steep grades, and sharp switchback curves. The route features the unpaved road with no guardrails that follows mountain contours known for its rugged landscape, breathtaking mountain scenery, and panoramic vistas, making this journey memorable for adventurous travelers who seek adventure!

Your journey continues to visit Bryce Canyon National Park, which is famous for its unique, large collection of colorful rock spires called hoodoos, which are carved from natural amphitheaters on the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. While it is not a true canyon, it features a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters, intricate geological formations, and scenic vistas. The park's most distinctive feature is its largest and most diverse collection of crimson-colored hoodoos, which are spire-shaped rock formations created by erosion from wind, water, and ice. 

After exploring an exciting off-road route through the rugged Hell's Backbone landscape and the unique Bryce Canyon National Park, you will reach the small town of Tropic for your night's stay.

Day 6 of your epic adventure begins in the small town of Tropic as your journey travels through the unique Bryce Canyon landscape and past geological formations. Beyond the Bryce Canyon, your off-road adventure begins as you explore a remote dirt road through colorful cliffs of the Grand Staircase region. This remote area is known for its scenic views, colorful cliffs, and unspoiled terrain, including the remains of an old Gunsmoke film location. This remote section of the Grand Staircase region also provides access to side rugged canyons and two-track roads for adventurous riders who seek off-road adventure.

After exploring the Grand Staircase region, your journey continues through the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, which is a unique geological area featuring shifting, salmon-pink sand dunes formed by wind and erosion. The colorful sand dunes are composed of pink Navajo Sandstone; the dunes are constantly shifting, moving up to 50 feet per year due to the strong gust of wind. The characteristic color comes from iron oxide coatings on the unique sand grains. Your journey continues as you venture through the beautiful Zion National Park, which is a 232-square-mile park in southwestern Utah known for its dramatic landscape of towering sandstone cliffs, deep canyons, and the Virgin River, and eventually returning to Hurricane to complete your epic six-day adventure!