Do you need a permit to drive the Shaffer Trail and/or have they turned it into a one-way, from top to bottom, route? We drove it about six years ago and would love to do it again in late June. What temperatures should we expect on about 22 of June? Thanks in advance for all info.
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The Shafer is still on BLM land altho the park service is trying hard to get control of it as part of the park. They badly want to close it down to auto traffic.
We did it 2 years ago in our Honda Element. Great Trip! We approached from 313 down the switchbacks, across the canyon floor & exited onto Rt 279 & 191 just north of Moab. Make sure the trail is dry unless U have a 4 wheel with winch. We stayed at Arch View RV CG a 1/2 mile north of the 313/191 junction. Make sure to take the easy drive to see the Gemini bridge double arch also. Awsome!
Another drive thats not to be missed is the Long Canyon road. It spurs off the road that goes to Dead Horse point. Wasn't a sign for it 2 years ago so U may have to ask ranger 4 directions. There is one part near the top that a normal car will scrap bottom tho. The trail road takes U under that BIG bolder rock U see in many pics. It connects onto Rt 279 on the river. Also AWSOME!
* This post was
edited 05/26/12 10:52pm by jolooote *
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Wish I had known about the Shafer Trail before I got to Moab. Visited Island in the Sky on our final day at Moab and saw the trail. Bummed out because I couldn't drive the route. Would have been awesome to see the canyon from a different perspective.
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jolooote wrote: The Shafer is still on BLM land altho the park service is trying hard to get control of it as part of the park. They badly want to close it down to auto traffic.
jolooote wrote: The Shafer is still on BLM land altho the park service is trying hard to get control of it as part of the park. They badly want to close it down to auto traffic.
What is the source of this statement?
IMO, it is the enviro-Nazis. They are suing to shut down open lands and get mech off any trails.
jolooote wrote: The Shafer is still on BLM land altho the park service is trying hard to get control of it as part of the park. They badly want to close it down to auto traffic.
What is the source of this statement?
IMO, it is the enviro-Nazis. They are suing to shut down open lands and get mech off any trails.
I live in Utah and I have never heard of this issue. BTW, about a third of the Shafer Trail is already in Canyonlands National Park and has been for some time. See:
http://www.treknow.com/utah/backroads/moab/moab_nw/shafer_trail.htm
jolooote wrote: The Shafer is still on BLM land altho the park service is trying hard to get control of it as part of the park. They badly want to close it down to auto traffic.
What is the source of this statement?
IMO, it is the enviro-Nazis. They are suing to shut down open lands and get mech off any trails.
I live in Utah and I have never heard of this issue. BTW, about a third of the Shafer Trail is already in Canyonlands National Park and has been for some time. See:
http://www.treknow.com/utah/backroads/moab/moab_nw/shafer_trail.htm
It's been two or three years now, but that is one of several trails that were mentioned as being looked at as a closure candidate that was brought up at one of the land usage meetings I attended in Price Utah several years ago. The discussion even had advocates wanting to close the white rim trail, and just about everything else in Canyonlands.
That said, the official reason for the the discussion was supposed to be about drawing up the official motorized use maps that were being initiated at that time, but there were several groups there that wandered into trying to close everything, banning GPS and cell phone use to discourage use by those who weren't "true Outdoorsmen" etc. I haven't heard anything since then regarding the Shaffer trail specifically, but there is a lot of pressure being put on the park service, and the BLM to shut down boondocking, and off roading in the Moab area. Years ago the cry was protecting Crypotbiotic soil (sp). Now, the big justification you keep hearing is to preserve the "artifacts", by making them all but impossible for most people to get to. I try to attend the public hearings on land use when I can, and tend to be amazed at how radical some get at the meetings.
jolooote wrote: The Shafer is still on BLM land altho the park service is trying hard to get control of it as part of the park. They badly want to close it down to auto traffic.
What is the source of this statement?
IMO, it is the enviro-Nazis. They are suing to shut down open lands and get mech off any trails.
I live in Utah and I have never heard of this issue. BTW, about a third of the Shafer Trail is already in Canyonlands National Park and has been for some time. See:
http://www.treknow.com/utah/backroads/moab/moab_nw/shafer_trail.htm
It has been an issue for the American Motorcyclists Association for a few years. The AMA along with other pro-access groups (like snowmobile orgs) keep fighting for access. Executive orders have closed millions of acres over the past several years.
Didn't Utah have massive areas closed to mech a few years ago?
Searching_Ut wrote: Now, the big justification you keep hearing is to preserve the "artifacts", by making them all but impossible for most people to get to. I try to attend the public hearings on land use when I can, and tend to be amazed at how radical some get at the meetings.
One thing the anti-access crowd doesn't understand is once the public no longer have access, they also no longer have interest.
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