thanks for the comment. Because I'm not a biker I don't know much about those trails- which ones do you recommend? may include the nfo in future versions of this video.
@@TheWestisBig It is MANDATORY if you go to Moab to ride the SLICKROCK BIKE TRAIL. It is for bicycles and motorcycles only. Also, Hells Revenge and Fins and Things are another must do. Just west of town there is Metal Masher, Golden Spike, Poison Spider and many others but many of them are for advanced riders only.
Great video. Perfect for anyone (like me) doing advance travel planning. Hits all the essential details, includes awesome footage, and even has compelling / inspiring commentary. Thanks for putting this together!
Excellent commentary. So few YT videos provide that. Naming roads using landmarks and tips based on experience are much appreciated. History lesson was interesting as well (cattle road)
Excellent video. I cannot wait to do this trail next April (albeit without 4WD). Your voice and attitude is amazing, I almost wished you were my tourguide.
I moved from Vegas back to Chicago in 2000 because I was stupid. I miss just grabbing my friends and our Jeeps, yes, highly modified, and just picking a direction and driving. After 20years I'm still trying to make my way back there, hopefully I'll get there and again explore before I'm too old..
Thanks for the video. Drove it today. The upper part is indeed the smoother part. Saw a lot of folks on the trail. Having a high clearance vehicle was nice. Took about 2.5 hours.
I did it again a couple of weeks ago. I think my all wheel drive survived ok. i shot the 1st hr of the drive with a VR 8k camera that enables the viewer to control where the camera points. It’ll be on youtube tomorrow night if you feel like re- living it. 😀
Enjoyed your video. One of my favorite roads in the Moab area. Usually the first one we take newcomers on. And of course, Moab is one of the best places for video and photography.
Check you spare tire and tools, extra water and extra gas, extra food and charge up your phone and make sure someone knows you are going and when you plan to be out. Even if you just arrange to call the ranger at the entrance, that's safe. Be sure you have warm clothing, it gets very cold in the desert at night if your car should break down. It can easily go down to freezing at night, even if it has been 100 during the day.
I drove the trail last Wednesday. The downhill was awesome. Driving out take some time. Fill up the gas tank, bring your lunch. You will be fine. Enjoy the drive. It’s awesome.
Vantastic video! this April visited Moab for the first time, loved it! Schafer Trail\Potash road was our first adventure we did in Moab. it was a great way to breakin my new Bronco Sport Badlands! we also did the Bronco off Roadeo, Chicken Corners, Gemini Bridges, Fins and Things and Willow Springs Road. Cant wait to return to do more exploring!
At 8:59, you were are Thelma and Louise Point. Where they filed the car driving off the cliff. As for the Shafer Trail, I've driven it three times. Usually in a jeep rented from Twisted Jeeps in Moab. If you haven't already, consider renting one from them for a day then take it to the "Fins and Things" trail in Moab. Perfect beginner trail that is incredible. The trail is just a couple miles from the center of Moab city. Thanks for the video. I love to "virtually" visit that area often. Next trip is... Yellowstone and your favorite "lunch spot" (you know what I mean LOL)!
Cool! I’ve been to Canyonland NP twice but have yet to go off any paved roads. Did that in Capitol Reef NP and Grand Staircase-Escalante though. It was amazing and worth the rough ride.
Thanks. I’ve gone off road in Cap Reef too. Very different- it’s in my 90 min Utah Grand Circle tour video. And Thanks for Subscribing. Sorry to ask but Please encourage others to sub as well. Apparently I need 100,000 to make it worthwhile to continue.
Thank you very much! And Thanks for Subscribing. Sorry to ask but Please encourage others to sub as well. Apparently I need 100,000 to make it worthwhile to continue.
Great job. You could also note the famous Thelma and Louise movie shot location. I believe it was where you commented on the spur trail you saw from above, but not exactly certain from that angle. 😊
I rode my bike down shafer trail a couple weeks ago. Totally different experience than driving. Had lunch at Thelma and Louise point (from the movie) then rode all they way back to Moab. Great video thank you fo sharing.
wow nice! I brought my mt bike once but didn’t have the guts to do that! If you have a pic of Thelma and louise pt. please send a link. I might want to use it. I should have told that part of the story. I’ll add it to my big Moab area parks video i’m working on
Great video! Super helpful in planning a trip this December. We're planning to take my gf's RAV4 Hybrid because of the much better gas mileage, but I'm wondering whether we should rather take my Forester Wilderness instead. I'm curious why you labeled your Forester "the most unreliable car?"
FYI- I releasing a new 2hr Things to do in Moab Video in a day or 2- It;s actually uploading as I type this- it has new footage and Shafer trail and some more info. My Forester was the most unreliable car I've ever had. And one of my cars is 48 yrs old and I've owed it for 24yrs. I also have a 25 yr old Porsche, that I do track days with and it still has fewer issues than the Subi. The 2014 Subi had to have the rear hubs replaced after its first trip down the shafer trail and the 17 mile Monument Valley dirt road- at about 40K miles- After its 2nd trip dn the shafer with 60-70k miles the real springs were replaced and at 80K the front track arms- $900 a piece. At 100K the AC went out the transmission needed $2200 worth of work and the CVT still wasn't right. The dealer wanted to do another $3700 in engine work which i declined. The AC issue got worse and by the end of a Texas Summer Id had enough and traded it in. THere were other issues to - the rear camera worked about 30% of the time and other little things like that. The dealer said the off road drives likely contributed to the early failures. It's designed to back and forth to the Kale shop. Take the Toyota. All wheel drive is handy but not really necessary- I saw a sedan on the shafer this year.- Though I wouldn't recommend that.
@@TheWestisBig Thank you so much for the detailed information. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. This sounds like a true lemon to me. So far I have 25,000 miles on my Forester Wilderness, with the occasional off road driving, and no issues whatsoever. The Subie did the Valley of the Gods loop as if it was pavement. Didn't even put it into any of the fancy driving modes. Have you driven that loop? It's amazing. The one thing that makes me hesitate about driving Shafer Trail this December is the cold. On the off-chance we get stranded, we'd have to brave the nighttime temps. In your experience, what is traffic like down there in the winter months? How long would we need to tough it out until someone came by, in the worst case?
I’d sell the subi at around 60k. It did valley of Gods too. It’ll get you out of Shafer unless something very odd happens. talk to rangers before you go!!! they will know current conditions. in Oct Shafer had lots of traffic. i’m sure u know to be prepared with extra food, extra water and I always have blankets or sleeping bags in the car just in case I’ve slept in the back of my Subi on more than one occasion. on purpose not because I got stuck
@@TheWestisBig Thank you! As of now, we're planning to take my girlfriend's RAV4 Hybrid on this road trip, since we're driving up from Southern Arizona and our main destination is Durango. We're not planning on doing much off-pavement driving, and the gas mileage is just so much better than my Subie. I'll check for conditions shortly before we go, and if the conditions call for more off-road capability, we may switch plans and take the Subie instead of the RAV4. The RAV4 should be fine, as it has AWD and a trail mode, but the clearance is almost 1 inch less and it has street tires instead of ATs like my Subie does.
I thought I was going to pass out driving up to Mesa Verde. Almost lost control of my arms and legs going downhill a couple times in Big Horn National Park... this looks 1000x more intense 😂
I’m a FAA part 107 drone pilot- No Drones are not allowed in any National Park. The pot ash plant at the other end of the road is not in the NP. My update to this video has drone footage over that area. It will be out in a month or so.
i’ve done it in 3 SUVs the Isuzu and Forester had 17” wheels with plenty of rubber so i left them with standard pressure. The Hyundai had 19” wheels on 55 profile tires- i lowered pressure slightly for grip but drove more cautious because of small sidewall.
I’ve done in subaru forester and a 2wd suv. but it depends on weather conditions- always talk to ranger before driving the Shafer trail. y to he White rim is much tougher!!
Did the trail 10 days ago in a Honda CRV. Every great until you get to potash rd. Thats where it gets rough.Took little more than 2 hrs to drive it. We passed maybe 15 cars in that time. All suv jeep trucks and 1 kia car. Personally I would never do it again all the way.Unless I had a jeep or truck. Something with high clearance.
Good to know. Curious- did u talk to a Ranger about conditions before heading out? I’ve always done it in May or June. Heard it gets worse as the season progresses.
@TheWestisBigTravelGuides Yea we did. She said it is ok. But slow. Shafer is easy. Potash road where signs are pretty well non-existence after you make the turn. We just drove and occasionally seen a car or the 1 Rv camping at the bottom about half way through potash rd. Thought the guy was nuts. He came in from the otherside and really never hit the rough area.
hmm. tricky. on parts of the white Rim rd yes. by permit. non of it is blm. part of i’m driving on is a county rd. I’ve never seen comping on the route. Ask a ranger. what a great spot to camp!
This is a nice video but it kind of sugarcoats the gravity of the drive. The drive is scary if you don't have a specialized vehicle, aren't a confident driver....too many people just turn on and think it's a nice scenic drive. The signage really isn't explicit enough. There are some treacherous, tight spots. And some people drive or bike like idiots.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Excellent video. I've been to Moab about 10 times to ride dirt bikes. Some of those trails will sort the men from the boys very quickly!
thanks for the comment. Because I'm not a biker I don't know much about those trails- which ones do you recommend? may include the nfo in future versions of this video.
@@TheWestisBig It is MANDATORY if you go to Moab to ride the SLICKROCK BIKE TRAIL. It is for bicycles and motorcycles only. Also, Hells Revenge and Fins and Things are another must do. Just west of town there is Metal Masher, Golden Spike, Poison Spider and many others but many of them are for advanced riders only.
Great video. Perfect for anyone (like me) doing advance travel planning. Hits all the essential details, includes awesome footage, and even has compelling / inspiring commentary. Thanks for putting this together!
Thanks for subscribing!! and for recognizing the hard work.
Love Shafer..... The scenery .... well. Nice video!
Many thanks!
@@TheWestisBig Its just such an awesome place. Anxious to go back and do it again. Lots of good
trails out there. We'll do Moab in Oct. next time.
true
Excellent commentary. So few YT videos provide that. Naming roads using landmarks and tips based on experience are much appreciated. History lesson was interesting as well (cattle road)
Thank you for recognizing the work! it’s much appreciated.
Great information thanks for sharing and giving an honest perspective on the conditions
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent video. I cannot wait to do this trail next April (albeit without 4WD). Your voice and attitude is amazing, I almost wished you were my tourguide.
Thanks. be sure to check road conditions by talking to a ranger before driving it
Thank you for this great video. It helped me a lot mapping out our Utah trip for September.
Thanks for subscribing! I need help getting to 100k
I moved from Vegas back to Chicago in 2000 because I was stupid. I miss just grabbing my friends and our Jeeps, yes, highly modified, and just picking a direction and driving. After 20years I'm still trying to make my way back there, hopefully I'll get there and again explore before I'm too old..
just go
Absolutely fantastic description of the place. I'm heading there next weekend and I'm going to take these trails.
thanks for recognizing the hard work! Be sure to talk to a Ranger about the condition of the road. This late in the year it may be in rough shape.
Thanks for the video. Drove it today. The upper part is indeed the smoother part. Saw a lot of folks on the trail. Having a high clearance vehicle was nice. Took about 2.5 hours.
I did it again a couple of weeks ago. I think my all wheel drive survived ok.
i shot the 1st hr of the drive with a VR 8k camera that enables the viewer to control where the camera points.
It’ll be on youtube tomorrow night if you feel like re- living it. 😀
Enjoyed your video. One of my favorite roads in the Moab area. Usually the first one we take newcomers on. And of course, Moab is one of the best places for video and photography.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Check you spare tire and tools, extra water and extra gas, extra food and charge up your phone and make sure someone knows you are going and when you plan to be out. Even if you just arrange to call the ranger at the entrance, that's safe. Be sure you have warm clothing, it gets very cold in the desert at night if your car should break down. It can easily go down to freezing at night, even if it has been 100 during the day.
Good point. Be prepared!
I drove the trail last Wednesday. The downhill was awesome. Driving out take some time. Fill up the gas tank, bring your lunch. You will be fine. Enjoy the drive. It’s awesome.
Vantastic video! this April visited Moab for the first time, loved it! Schafer Trail\Potash road was our first adventure we did in Moab. it was a great way to breakin my new Bronco Sport Badlands! we also did the Bronco off Roadeo, Chicken Corners, Gemini Bridges, Fins and Things and Willow Springs Road. Cant wait to return to do more exploring!
Great to hear!
Great video!! Well explained , planning to drive this road in August!
Thanks! hope it’s not too hot for you. bring water.
At 8:59, you were are Thelma and Louise Point. Where they filed the car driving off the cliff. As for the Shafer Trail, I've driven it three times. Usually in a jeep rented from Twisted Jeeps in Moab. If you haven't already, consider renting one from them for a day then take it to the "Fins and Things" trail in Moab. Perfect beginner trail that is incredible. The trail is just a couple miles from the center of Moab city. Thanks for the video. I love to "virtually" visit that area often. Next trip is... Yellowstone and your favorite "lunch spot" (you know what I mean LOL)!
Thanks! I've always wondered where that was shot!!!
Amazing Video , Thanks!!
You are welcome!
Cool! I’ve been to Canyonland NP twice but have yet to go off any paved roads. Did that in Capitol Reef NP and Grand Staircase-Escalante though. It was amazing and worth the rough ride.
Thanks. I’ve gone off road in Cap Reef too. Very different- it’s in my 90 min Utah Grand Circle tour video. And Thanks for Subscribing. Sorry to ask but Please encourage others to sub as well. Apparently I need 100,000 to make it worthwhile to continue.
I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL
Thank you very much! And Thanks for Subscribing. Sorry to ask but Please encourage others to sub as well. Apparently I need 100,000 to make it worthwhile to continue.
Great job.
You could also note the famous Thelma and Louise movie shot location. I believe it was where you commented on the spur trail you saw from above, but not exactly certain from that angle. 😊
But I don;t know exactly where it is.
FYI- a helpful viewer says at 8:59 you can see the place where they drove off the cliff
😂 omg about 5 minutes in, I forgot you sped up the video and thought Man this guy drives those switch backs like a nut!
lol 😂 no i’m not that crazy?
I rode my bike down shafer trail a couple weeks ago. Totally different experience than driving. Had lunch at Thelma and Louise point (from the movie) then rode all they way back to Moab. Great video thank you fo sharing.
wow nice! I brought my mt bike once but didn’t have the guts to do that! If you have a pic of Thelma and louise pt. please send a link. I might want to use it. I should have told that part of the story. I’ll add it to my big Moab area parks video i’m working on
Great video! Super helpful in planning a trip this December. We're planning to take my gf's RAV4 Hybrid because of the much better gas mileage, but I'm wondering whether we should rather take my Forester Wilderness instead. I'm curious why you labeled your Forester "the most unreliable car?"
FYI- I releasing a new 2hr Things to do in Moab Video in a day or 2- It;s actually uploading as I type this- it has new footage and Shafer trail and some more info.
My Forester was the most unreliable car I've ever had. And one of my cars is 48 yrs old and I've owed it for 24yrs. I also have a 25 yr old Porsche, that I do track days with and it still has fewer issues than the Subi. The 2014 Subi had to have the rear hubs replaced after its first trip down the shafer trail and the 17 mile Monument Valley dirt road- at about 40K miles- After its 2nd trip dn the shafer with 60-70k miles the real springs were replaced and at 80K the front track arms- $900 a piece. At 100K the AC went out the transmission needed $2200 worth of work and the CVT still wasn't right. The dealer wanted to do another $3700 in engine work which i declined. The AC issue got worse and by the end of a Texas Summer Id had enough and traded it in. THere were other issues to - the rear camera worked about 30% of the time and other little things like that. The dealer said the off road drives likely contributed to the early failures. It's designed to back and forth to the Kale shop. Take the Toyota. All wheel drive is handy but not really necessary- I saw a sedan on the shafer this year.- Though I wouldn't recommend that.
@@TheWestisBig Thank you so much for the detailed information. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. This sounds like a true lemon to me. So far I have 25,000 miles on my Forester Wilderness, with the occasional off road driving, and no issues whatsoever. The Subie did the Valley of the Gods loop as if it was pavement. Didn't even put it into any of the fancy driving modes. Have you driven that loop? It's amazing. The one thing that makes me hesitate about driving Shafer Trail this December is the cold. On the off-chance we get stranded, we'd have to brave the nighttime temps. In your experience, what is traffic like down there in the winter months? How long would we need to tough it out until someone came by, in the worst case?
I’d sell the subi at around 60k. It did valley of Gods too. It’ll get you out of Shafer unless something very odd happens. talk to rangers before you go!!! they will know current conditions. in Oct Shafer had lots of traffic. i’m sure u know to
be prepared with extra food, extra water and I always have blankets or sleeping bags in the car just in case I’ve slept in the back of my Subi on more than one occasion. on purpose not because I got stuck
@@TheWestisBig Thank you! As of now, we're planning to take my girlfriend's RAV4 Hybrid on this road trip, since we're driving up from Southern Arizona and our main destination is Durango. We're not planning on doing much off-pavement driving, and the gas mileage is just so much better than my Subie. I'll check for conditions shortly before we go, and if the conditions call for more off-road capability, we may switch plans and take the Subie instead of the RAV4. The RAV4 should be fine, as it has AWD and a trail mode, but the clearance is almost 1 inch less and it has street tires instead of ATs like my Subie does.
does it have a spare tire? the Tucson does which is one big reason i got it
Did this a month ago. For a guy that doesn't like heights, it's scary.
I thought I was going to pass out driving up to Mesa Verde. Almost lost control of my arms and legs going downhill a couple times in Big Horn National Park... this looks 1000x more intense 😂
I was there again in mid October. thanks for subscribing!!
Nice episode 😊
thanks!
Nice job sir.
Thank you kindly
This is a silly question. Are drones allowed to fly over the trail?
I’m a FAA part 107 drone pilot- No Drones are not allowed in any National Park. The pot ash plant at the other end of the road is not in the NP. My update to this video has drone footage over that area. It will be out in a month or so.
@TheWestisBig thanks for the information.
What tire pressure were you using?
i’ve done it in 3 SUVs the Isuzu and Forester had 17” wheels with plenty of rubber so i left them with standard pressure. The Hyundai had 19” wheels on 55 profile tires- i lowered pressure slightly for grip but drove more cautious because of small sidewall.
I did it with my audi q7))) highly recommend to use suv..NO SEDAN..but thing u have to do when u in Moab
thanks!
When the National Park states high clearance AWD recommended, what do you suppose they mean by high clearance? Would a stock Jeep Wrangler suffice?
I’ve done in subaru forester and a 2wd suv. but it depends on weather conditions- always talk to ranger before driving the Shafer trail. y to he White rim is much tougher!!
Did the trail 10 days ago in a Honda CRV. Every great until you get to potash rd. Thats where it gets rough.Took little more than 2 hrs to drive it. We passed maybe 15 cars in that time. All suv jeep trucks and 1 kia car. Personally I would never do it again all the way.Unless I had a jeep or truck. Something with high clearance.
Good to know. Curious- did u talk to a Ranger about conditions before heading out? I’ve always done it in May or June. Heard it gets worse as the season progresses.
@TheWestisBigTravelGuides Yea we did. She said it is ok. But slow. Shafer is easy. Potash road where signs are pretty well non-existence after you make the turn. We just drove and occasionally seen a car or the 1 Rv camping at the bottom about half way through potash rd. Thought the guy was nuts. He came in from the otherside and really never hit the rough area.
I tried driving in from the postash side once- the lack of signage forced me to turnaround
When I first drove it it was really rough. Looking like a freeway now.
after a rain they say its still pretty rough. It's a very popular trail these days. It seems they maintain it regularly.
I was standing on Dead Horse Point taking with an older guy who said that they drove a 49 Buick over the trail and the car was never the same 😂
lol
Any permit/pass necessary, or you just drive it?
No
Some of God’s best work.
it’s a great place
Is camping allowed?
hmm. tricky. on parts of the white Rim rd yes. by permit. non of it is blm. part of i’m driving on is a county rd. I’ve never seen comping on the route. Ask a ranger. what a great spot to camp!
This kind of terrain,, I need fox suspension for my truck to run fast,,
Just drove it in a Ram, down hill, never again. Utterly terrifying in truth.
Really? I did it again in a Hyundai 3 weeks ago- I admit the washes were a bit rough though.
@@TheWestisBig I found the hairpin bends to by quite challenging, but then the RAM 1500 is long.
ahh. i can see that. the high hood makes it hard to see the edges too
DUSTY!!!!!
yep
This is a nice video but it kind of sugarcoats the gravity of the drive.
The drive is scary if you don't have a specialized vehicle, aren't a confident driver....too many people just turn on and think it's a nice scenic drive. The signage really isn't explicit enough. There are some treacherous, tight spots. And some people drive or bike like idiots.