Moab, UT
When we spoke with the two volunteers last week at the Moab visitor center, one of them told us about one of her favorite hiking sites, a place called Bartlett’s Slickrock. The site is not a marked trail, just an area where you can hike out on a wide slickrock shelf with a great view. So on Sunday we drove out to explore the area.
To get there you drive north on Hwy. 191 from Moab for about ten miles. Follow the signs for Canyonlands NP and Dead Horse Point SP and turn left on to UT-313. After driving 8.6 miles turn right at the sign for Lone Mesa Group Campground. Take this maintained dirt road for 1.4 miles and turn left on to Dubinky Well Road.
Take the Dubinky Road 2.6 miles and just past the cattle guard turn right. In just .2 of a mile there is a fence gate across the road with a small area to park a vehicle. Park there and hike past the gate up the narrow road along a fence.
The parking spot and cattle gate
Just a short distance from the gate the fence makes a right turn. Leave the road and continue to hike along the fence until it ends.
The right turn of the fence
When you reach the end of the fence just follow the slickrock along a cliff. There is no set path so you can just go where ever you want and hike out along the edge as far as you like. If you don’t want to have to scramble up to the higher ridge from below, bear left instead of following the fence all the way to the end. This route will take you up on top.
Check out this tall cairn!
Going out we hiked along a lower shelf, knowing we would hike the top shelf on the way back. The lower shelf requires some mild scrambling in a few places.
A bit of scrambling on the lower shelf
Interesting rock layers are exposed along the lower shelf
After a while the lower shelf began to narrow and we could see that it would soon come to an end so we found a spot where we could climb up the slickrock to the wide rim above us on the mesa.
Once on top we continued over a very wide area of slickrock.
The various colors displayed by the layers of rocks are quite interesting.
As is often the case in this area, the snow covered La Sal Mountains provided a beautiful backdrop to the view.
Lunch with a view
Balanced rock
Peaking owl eyes
High healed shoe?
You can make this hike as long (or short) as you like. We hiked two miles out to where we sat and enjoyed the view while having lunch. But the shelf we were on appeared to continue out for miles.
Looking back at our lunch spot
This is a great area for a relaxing afternoon of exploration. The color patterns in the slickrock are beautiful and the views are very impressive.
Great owl and shoe. You find the best hikes.
Thanks, Debbie:) It was a fun day and very relaxing.
As always we are enjoying your Emails and adventures. I am in the process of planning next years travel itinerary for us. We hope to include several weeks in Moab. What is the name of the RV park you are staying at while there?
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Thanks, Sandy! We stay at Portal RV Resort in the resort section. There is also a campground.
We love hiking where there really isn’t a trail. The possibilities are unlimited in that part of Utah!
Very true! This particular area could have been explored much further than we went.
Beautiful! The slickrock looks easy on the feet! 🙂
All the slickrock made for a fun, relaxing day. It was nice to get home without having tired legs and feet:)
No trail, no destination … I’d get lost! But as you prove ‘Not all who wander are lost’. You found another great hike and avoided the popular (crowded) trails within the National Parks.
It was an interesting area that was extremely easy to find your way. And being so high, you always had your bearings:) Not a person around but us:)
Thanks for the detailed directions, this looks like a great hike that we will have to put on our list!
This is a great hike for everyone. You can do as little or as much as you want:)
Love the “peaking owl eyes”. Perfect name! Hiking is just such an adventure! You never know what’s going to be around that next corner or up that next hill. Exciting and scary…
Me again… High healed shoe? Nah! More like a short squat cow twisting its head to shoo that fly…
Hiking certainly is an adventure, Jacquie, especially on new trails. Love your description of the high heeled shoe!!”
I’ll say the views are impressive. Really love the owl eyes. What a wonderful off the beaten track trail. I do love just wandering around exploring with no trail. Great place!
Thanks, Sherry! As you know, it is so much fun to create one’s own trail:)
Oooooh, looks wonderful! I’m pinning this one for sure! Nice variety.
You and Hans will have a field day out there!!
Definitely a beautiful area to explore…I love it there!
It most definitely is beautiful:)
I really like the idea of just being, and walking where you want on the slick rock. It’s so great to get the local inside info. Once again, a marvelous hike. Hope you didn’t get the snow we got today.
Thanks, Gaelyn! It was fun to chose our own adventure:) No snow here, thank goodness, too warm. We did have a few rain showers.
What a wonderful shelf for exploring. Love the rock layers (they look like bubbles), and the owl and shoe :-))))) Hope the weather is holding – we’re still “in and out” of the wind.
Our weather is “in and out,” as well for this week…temps, wind, and sun…different every day:)
Love hiking on slick rock. Pam, that is such a cool photo of you climbing up that enormous expanse of rock! I think the owl is great, too. 🙂
Thanks, Laurel:)
Wouldn’t you know that John would have to get you climbing up that rock on all fours….MEN!
I think there is a Balanced rock on just about every hike out there. Good eyes to spot the high heel shoe.
Lovely hike. I like the idea of just going where ever. Love those snow covered mts.
I think I actually had him take that picture of how we got up that mound:) I like when crawling up makes it easier. You and Paul would have a great time here. It was so nice to be able to walk for miles without straining for a change. The snow covered La Sal’s always make Moab in the spring a special place:)
What a fun hike! Loved the owl eyes!
It was a beautiful area, Debbie:)