Canyonlands (Chesler Park) backpacking questions

[rdp32]

Does anyone know of any quiet places to sleep in my car somewhere between Glenwood Springs and Moab (hopefully in the Rifle/Grand Junction/Fruita vicinity)? I'd like to drive at least a good portion of the way to Moab (from Denver) the night before if possible. All I'm looking for is somewhere quiet and where I can go pee in the middle of the night without being a nuisance to society. I'm fine driving 10-15 minutes or so off I-70 if needed. Thanks!

[Scott P]

Does anyone know of any quiet places to sleep in my car somewhere between Glenwood Springs and Moab (hopefully in the Rifle/Grand Junction/Fruita vicinity)?

Basically the whole area between the area near Fruita and near Moab will have many places that fit that description. I'd highly recommend stopping at Thompson/Sego Canyon and sleeping there just to see the pictographs. It's only a few miles off the freeway.



Of course there are many other places to pull off that would do nicely as well (Rabbit Valley exit, Yellowcat exit, etc.).

[cschmidt1023]

Kokopelli trailhead just minutes from Loma - Exit 15
Rabbit Valley right before UT - Exit 2
Westwater shortly after entering UT - Exit 227 I believe

Either way you would be fine <5 'minutes off the interstate. As someone who lives in Fruita I would also say you would be fine to just pull off and park in town.

[rdp32]

Does anyone know the status of I-70? When I looked up the drive time on google maps, it won't even show the I-70 route, but when I look on Bing maps it shows no traffic. Is there any major road work going on there right now?

Thanks for the tips on where to sleep! I'll definitely try to visit those petroglyphs.

[LakesNPasses]

For some idiotic reason, "The Google" is trying to avoid Glenwood Canyon. This problem surfaced for me last summer when I was heading to AZ and I flagged it to them. It went away, but appears to have returned.

Yes, there is construction in Glenwood Canyon and there have been rockfall closures (some lasting a significant amount of time), but it hasn't been a notable issue recently.

Another resource to check road conditions:

http://www.cotrip.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Watch your nighttime low temps - Moab was much colder at night than we expected when we camped there in October many years ago.

[starsstuff]

Google is still doing it. It thinks lane closure = total highway closure. That threw me a bit yesterday and I had to look for info online. Use Waze. It tells you where the cops are.

[technicolorNH]

When I went through the area two weeks ago there was zero construction happening on route 347 (Exit 214 off I-70) or Rt 191 south of Moab all the way to Blanding. It seems as though the current construction area is on Rt 24 west of Caineville where the road was mostly one lane for several miles with a pilot vehicle but if you are coming and going from Denver that's too far west to impact your plans in any way. Can't blame anyone for wanting to sleep outdoors there; the prices in Moab for a room were ridiculous.

[rdp32]

I did the trip as planned and all I can say is WOW... Canylonlands is awesome. The pictures do not do it justice. I may have a new favorite national park. Every mile of hiking was spectacular. The highlight for me was Elephant Canyon, going down to Druid Arch. But the whole trip featured spectacular scenery in every direction. I don't know when I'll get a chance to go back, but I definitely will sometime, probably to explore the Salt Creek area.

Kai, thanks for the recommendation for Dead Horse Point State Park; that was exactly what I was looking for. I'm a beginning mountain biker (have only done 10 or so trails here in the Denver area) but that was definitely the best trail I've done yet. I was surprised at how uncrowded it was at the beginning and ending of the day (the two times I went)--I only saw a few people each day.

[kaiman]

Kai, thanks for the recommendation for Dead Horse Point State Park; that was exactly what I was looking for. I'm a beginning mountain biker (have only done 10 or so trails here in the Denver area) but that was definitely the best trail I've done yet. I was surprised at how uncrowded it was at the beginning and ending of the day (the two times I went)--I only saw a few people each day.

Your welcome. I'm glad you had a good trip. Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point are just the tip of the iceberg for backpacking and mountain biking. I hope you have a chance in the future to come back and explore some more.

Kai