We are always on the hunt for fun places to explore with our RZR. We love taking it along the Paiute Trail in Utah and have talked about stopping in Kanab every time we drive through. It was time to dig further into the area.
We found a good park for our home base and discovered lots of good trail possibilities, even one that took us just south of Bryce Canyon and their famous hoodoos. I also wanted to see the aspen trees change. We were a tad early for peak change and I was ready to find those bright yellow, orange and red leaves.
These few days in Kanab were part of a two-week RZR trip that started in Page, AZ and finished in Hurricane, UT that was jam packed with adventure.
We arrived at dinner time and we were hungry from our kayak ride down the Colorado River.
We left camp the next morning and headed north on US 89 for a few miles to the first trailhead. The lookout point above the town was cool, we even spotted our campground! Keith does not like heights but even he liked standing on the edge, kind of.
We continued on this fun trail for a good chunk of the day. The different trails were even marked like ski runs. Green for easy, blue for moderate and black for difficult and not something we see too much on the trail.
We climbed up and down hills, over rocks and through washes. Some parts were very steep which I loved. It’s easy to be the passenger and picture taker. One spot was a little technical where we had to hit the spot going up the hill at the right spot with the right speed then make a quick right at the top. I hopped out as the spotter and up Mark climbed. Keith’s RZR is just enough wider than ours to where his tires didn’t his that sweet spot which shot him farther left making that hard right impossible. They ended up real close to a juniper tree but we come prepared and were able to maneuver him back to the trail. Thank goodness that was our only heart-stopping moment of the trip.
We explored more of Hog Canyon more then made a loop back to the highway. We wanted to check out the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. We drive by the entrance sign on every trip through Utah on US89. It was high time to see it.
The dunes did not disappoint.
The color reminded me of Sedona, as if all the red rocks were crushed into sand. It was beautiful. We used the map from the ranger station and played around in the sand. It was so light and fluffy. We don’t take our RZR to the Imperial Sand Dunes or Glamis mainly because I don’t want to buy a full set of special tires for the sand. As we were zipping along, I was quietly rethinking that.
Since we were using our regular tires, we did take it easier than both Mark and Keith would have otherwise. We sure didn’t want to fry a belt.
Our second day was all about the hoodoos. Mark found a trail that would take us to the area just outside the south end of the park where we hoped to find hoodoos galore. What is it they say, “best laid plans?
The summer monsoon was good to the region, so good it poured over dirt road stream crossings making them impassable. Hmm, time for a course change. That change took us up a river, thank goodness it was down to just a trickle. The trail was cool, mostly a good trail with some bouldering mixed in. We had to circle back making it to the other side of that washed out road then continued toward our goal. Almost.
We were in a long valley near Deer Springs when we stopped for lunch. The detour took valuable fuel. We thought we had enough to get back but we didn’t want to be stuck. It was then that Robert pulled up. He stopped to chat and we told him our plans. He told us he’d go up to his place and bring back gas. We told him no, that we would start heading back. He was having none of it and sure enough, back he came with a red gas can. We didn’t take much, just enough to know we had enough. While we poured the gas, he told us how he and his wife found this area and how much they love it. I tell you; good people are everywhere.
Robert was correct saying we needed take that drive up the road. You all know how much I love aspen trees. We were close to the right elevation for them. We wound our way up the mountain on a great forest service road. We came to the top of one hill and as the road rounded a bend, there they were. Hoodoos!
They were almost as pretty as inside the park at Bryce Canyon. They looked kind of like chess pieces lined up in a row staring down at us. Each bend in the road revealed more.
The trail climbed higher and higher until my beloved aspens were ablaze in color. I love how their leaves shimmer in the wind, like they are waving hello. As a kid I would look for them on the way to Mammoth after we passed Bishop and would wave back to them.
We headed back down the way we came and honked as we passed the spot where we met Robert. We were taking the fast way back which meant more pavement time. We found the spot where the road had washed out and had to stop. You can see our tire tracks on the other side and just how much water and mud moved through. We really were so close yet so far.
We walked into town again, for dinner this time, and found a great little family run place. Next time you’re hungry in Kanab, try Big Al’s Burgers at The Junction. The burgers were good, the onion rings were fantastic and the shakes were amazing.
We had a great time but left new trails to explore for another trip. We’ll be back.
Click on these links for other parts of our trip: