Moab Advice

[That'll Buff]

Planning my first ever trip to Moab in May with a few friends and haven't had the time to research in depth. What are some recommendations for trails, rules we should know, good places to camp, or other things we should know before we leave? While most of us have some pretty "well-built rigs" (code word for shitbox with a lift), we are planning to drive all the way there and back (roughly 18h/1200 miles one way) in our vehicles so we likely will avoid some of the more accident prone trails so keep that in mind when suggesting trails. To give a perspective of what the rest of the vehicles are like, my rig would probably be considered around the middle ground of capability with the "lower end" being comparable but without lockers or a slightly smaller lift or some other difference that really only shows up on the higher end of obstacles. Any advice is appreciated, I'm excited to finally go.

 

[Apparition]

Fins and Hells would be my starting point. Hells can be as easy or hard as you want it to be. Hit baby lions back too, it’s only a few minutes.

From there poison spider, golden spike and gold bar rim make for a good long day ride.

 

[GoldenGorilla]

I'd second @Apparition on those intro to Moab recommendations. One I'd caution that is in that same range of difficulty but has caught people out and rolled them is Steelbender.

Camping has sure changed over the 30-ish years I've been going there. We're about 4 hours drive from Moab and have gone there and the surrounding areas many times. There are pretty strict limits on camping around town, but there are alot of designated campsites in the area, most without shade. If you're planning to tent camp, Up the Creek Campground is quiet, shaded under old trees and has showers. It's one of the best places to camp IMO, but you have to wheelbarrow your stuff from the car to the camp spots and no campfires. Not everybody's style. Make a reservation yesterday if you want to stay there. Moab Rim RV Park was a backup option for us, a distant second, though the trees have grown alot.

Beyond that there is alot of camping up on Sand Flats (Slickrock area) and some first come-first serve out on Kane Springs and north of the airport in the BLM areas. It will most likely be very hot and you'll want some sort of shade, which is in short supply. It's hard ground, or sand and can be difficult to keep shade tents down if the wind kicks up.

Be prepared for much hotter or colder weather than expected in May.

I'd also recommend just seeing some of the sights there. Arches, Deadhorse Point State Park and Canyonlands - Island in the Sky are right there and they are all incredible and worth your time.

Charles A. Wells book on Moab 4wd roads is a good resource, assuming it's still in print. And I'd also recommend Laurent Martres "Photographing the Southwest Volume 1 - Southern Utah". Even if photography isn't your thing, this book has great info on sights around the area, directions and best times of day to see them.

A photo I took around sunrise at Deadhorse Point many years ago. Don't miss stuff like this.

We haven't been out there in quite a few years, but the snow in the western US has been very bad and ski season is ending early, so we're doing some trips in April and June. My trips are not especially 4wd oriented, but I always like to do Fins and Things if I've gone out in our Jeep.

 

[rasband]

Fins and Hells would be my starting point. Hells can be as easy or hard as you want it to be. Hit baby lions back too, it’s only a few minutes.

From there poison spider, golden spike and gold bar rim make for a good long day ride.

Agreed with this. Depending on your comfort and/or enjoyment with Fins, you might want to only do "half" - it gets really repetitive. The second half has more of the fun stuff.

Top of the World is a good trail to do once (or with people new to Moab), mostly for the view at the top. It's otherwise just bumpy and long with 2-3 features along the way.

If you want some adventure camping, Elephant Hill is great. White Rim is also great, and has nearly no real technical features, but is still a great trip doable in even most moderate SUVs since you're just skirting around the island in the sky district.

 

[JMT]

Fins-N-Things is a good starter
Hell’s Revenge
Elephant Hill if you don’t mind the drive (need a day pass)
Top of the World
Poison Spyder
More…

 

[macleanflood]

You've got a stick shift.

You're going to stall the Jeep going up steep hills.

How good are your brakes?


View: https://youtu.be/d9VAAI-sQv0?si=79Z16qpjmuN1lU2T

After I got back from Moab I upgraded to a Black Magic Brakes Big Brake Kit and just recently installed an iBooster so I have powered brakes when I stall on a steep incline.

Thread 'Electric vacuum pump to improve brakes'

May 10, 2025

Just got back from Moab. My brakes absolutely sucked.

Going to order a BMB 15" big brake kit from @mrblaine - that's going to solve most of my issues.

Considering divorcing the vacuum booster from the engine and adding an electric pump like this:

https://granatellimotorsports.com/i...volt-vacuum-pump-systems-410100.html?q=410100

That way when I stall my manual 97 with an AX-15 on a steep slope I still have vacuum assisted brakes to either back down and try again or enough stopping power to get the engine running again and keep crawling...

• macleanflood
• Replies: 71
• Forum: TJ General Discussion

-Mac

 

[That'll Buff]

You've got a stick shift.

You're going to stall the Jeep going up steep hills.

How good are your brakes?

I expect to stall, do it on the stuff here too occasionally. From what I've seen Moab is on average a fair bit steeper than the stuff we do, but we have done some decently steep trails. Main difference between them is gonna be the slick rock vs the more jagged stuff we've got I feel. Only real comparison I have is that there's always mud around, so often times your tires are slick from that. Closest environment we do thats like that is a park called Katemcy Rocks (ironically called the Moab of Texas) which is a lot of slick rock and steepish trails.

Brakes are fine, nothing special so I'll be sure to be extra cautious. They've held me pretty well on everything I've done so far but that doesn't mean I trust them enough to say I wouldn't be in the same boat in the situation in the video. That's mostly because I don't have enough experience in that scenario though. The BMB kit is on my short list of upgrades to do (current milestone goal is to have 35's), and I really wish I could do it before the trip but I'm in my last semester of college so I don't have the funds for it just yet.

Thanks for the warning though, do appreciate that.

 

[Apparition]

It was mentioned above but I'll reiterate the Charles Well's guide to Moab trails. If you start with Fins and then do Hell's you can figure out if you want to go harder or easier from there based on their ratings. I wouldn't get too concerned with what they say is required as a decently built TJ is far more capable than I remember that book thinking it is. Once you have a baseline of what you and your group is capable of you can seek out trails accordingly.

https://a.co/d/0cIFpAgZ

 

[That'll Buff]

It was mentioned above but I'll reiterate the Charles Well's guide to Moab trails. If you start with Fins and then do Hell's you can figure out if you want to go harder or easier from there based on their ratings. I wouldn't get too concerned with what they say is required as a decently built TJ is far more capable than I remember that book thinking it is. Once you have a baseline of what you and your group is capable of you can seek out trails accordingly.

https://a.co/d/0cIFpAgZ

I'll look into it. We have a mix of vehicles (XJs, a couple a Tacomas, a Polaris RZR, maybe a couple of other things) so it'll definitely be a bit of a feel it out trip. We're definitely going to be more cautious than we usually are since we are so much farther from home and in a place we havent experienced yet.

 

[Apparition]

I'll look into it. We have a mix of vehicles (XJs, a couple a Tacomas, a Polaris RZR, maybe a couple of other things) so it'll definitely be a bit of a feel it out trip. We're definitely going to be more cautious than we usually are since we are so much farther from home and in a place we havent experienced yet.

The other way to check out trail ratings is here https://www.rr4w.com/trails.cfm the requirements are better but there's much less info than the book.

 

[That'll Buff]

Any quality of life items y'all have learned to love while being out there/on long wheeling trips in general? I'm talking for the Jeep, camping, waiting around, etc. This will be longest camping/wheeling trip I've taken so anything to consider is helpful. I've got a smallish fan that has a rechargeable battery and planning to get a portable power station to charge my phone, radios, the fan, and anything else that might need it.

 

[macleanflood]

Hammocks don't work well in Moab.

If you're not ready for rain then it'll rain.

-Mac

 

[lBasket]

Any quality of life items y'all have learned to love while being out there/on long wheeling trips in general? I'm talking for the Jeep, camping, waiting around, etc. This will be longest camping/wheeling trip I've taken so anything to consider is helpful. I've got a smallish fan that has a rechargeable battery and planning to get a portable power station to charge my phone, radios, the fan, and anything else that might need it.

This thingy for unlimited water

 

[rasband]

I really liked having my 12v fridge for cold waters and lunch.

 

[lBasket]

I really liked having my 12v fridge for cold waters and lunch.

Yeah these too. They make coolers look like shit

 

[Apparition]

I really liked having my 12v fridge for cold waters and lunch.

You stole my response. It'd be hard to be out on the trails without frozen Snickers to snack on.

I've camped in Moab in July, the temp got down to 90° at night. Haven't tried it since. I'd recommend renting a cabin at KOA or Red Desert, or pool your money and get an Air BNB or VRBO type thing.

Otherwise, sunscreen and lip balm with sunscreen in it.

 

[Strizzo]

I'll second or third fins and hells to dip your toe into moab. the sandstone has unreal grip so if you're used to the slick and polished limestone of central texas it can be surprising. I don't know that elephant hill is worth the long ass day to do unless you have a lot of time. If trifecta is a little above your comfort level, i'd recommend 7-mile rim. It is very scenic and has a couple fun spots like silver crack, and you can take a side quest to do wipe out hill, or just do backwards bill for a little more challenge.

While the goal is to not break stuff, there are plenty of shops in town that can usually get you back up and running in a day or less if you have trouble.

I really enjoyed canyonlands campground, which i guess is now called Sun Outdoors Moab Downtonwn. The tent spots are nice and are available with water, and all have fire rings, or if you want a little more comfort they have camping cabins. They're behind the texaco so you can fuel up in the morning before heading out, and they also have laundry. The campground also has a pool which can be nice, and the location is right in the middle of everything so you can walk to dinner if you want, or everything is a short drive away.

Highly recommend the wells book (find a spiral bound version for easy use on the trail), and an app like OnX or similar will be helpful.

 

[oldjeepman]

Bring and Drink a lot of water... And Sun Outdoors does have good cabins and tent sites. Can fit 4 in a cabin, or you can camp along the river on hwy 128 east of town. Sun Outdoors does have showers to use if not staying there, just cost a few bucks.. I will be out there last 4 days of May with my daughter. Leaving Jeep at home, plan on hiking to arches we haven't done yet..