La Sal Mountain Loop Scenic Drive

Take a break from the hiking and biking and off road adventures around Moab to enjoy a scenic drive through the 13,000 foot La Sal Mountains on this easy to follow loop

Enjoy a scenic 60-mile loop drive from Moab along the Colorado River, through Castle Valley. Climb high for viewpoints over Bull Canyon where you can see dinosaur footprints, and detour onto the Salt Flats Road to Porcupine Rim Overlook with views out over the Castle Valley.

You will double back into the Manti-La Sal National Forest to experience whispering pines and quaking aspens just a short distance from the desert landscape below in Moab. Visit Warner Lake before continuing along the loop before heading back to Moab.

Distance

60 miles

Route

Drive north from Moab on U.S. Highway 191 and turn right onto Scenic Byway 128 just before the bridge over the Colorado River.
At Castle Valley road, turn right and follow the main loop tour. The La Sal Mountain Loop Road turnoff is 11 miles from Scenic Byway 128.
Turn right. As you enter the National Forest, notice how the vegetation changes as you gain elevation. Pinyon and juniper trees give way to oak, then to larger pines and aspen. The highest timbered areas are covered with spruce and fir.
Be sure to stop at the overlooks along the road.
A 5-mile-long graded dirt side road leads to a Forest Service campground at Warner Lake. The campground has toilets, picnic tables, and fire grills.
After the Warner Lake turnoff, the Loop Road descends into Mill Creek Canyon and then climbs again before starting its descent to Moab. The tour route rejoins U.S. Highway 191 south of Moab.

Option

Another option is taking the Sand Flats Road back to Moab instead of following the La Sal Mountain Loop Road back to highway 191.

Porcupine Rim Campground Overlook Option

38.574422, -109.346965

From the La Sal Mountain Loop Road take the turn at ( 38.522655, -109.338504 ) onto the Sand Flats Road, it’s unpaved, follow it 8 miles to the turnoff on 4632 a short distance to the Porcupine Rim Campground and to the overlook over Castle Valley. It takes 45 minutes to an hour after sunrise for the sun to rise enough to light up the valley.

Bull Canyon Overlook Option

From the La Sal Mountain Loop Road take the turn at ( 38.595389, -109.290071 ) onto the Dolores Triangle Safari Route for the 5-mile paved road leading out to the overlook and dinosaur tracks.

There are two sets of dinosaur tracks one near the entrance with the overlook of the cliffs and a second a short distance away down a gravel trail. There are also primitive paths you can follow that lead to other views over the valley

Warner Lake Option

From the La Sal Mountain Loop Road take the turn off at ( 38.497607, -109.327879 ) for the Warner Lake Road, which is a 5-mile graded dirt road. The campground has toilets, picnic tables, and fire grills.

Credit – pondandpines

Explore Nearby...

Hikes...

Moab Grotto

Short hike to two rock art sites, one an over-night camp with art under overhangs and the 2nd is the Moab Grotto rock art site

Secret Spire

A quick hike along a sandy road to a rock spire sitting on rolling slickrock hills near Moab

Dellenbaugh Tunnel

An easy hike to a tunnel that takes you to an overlook into Spring Canyon near the Tombstone Rock formation

Moki Mesa

Hike to a hidden shelf above the Colorado river you get to using an old cattle trail blasted out of the canyon cliff face

Seven Mile Canyon (South Fork)

This is a rewarding hike due to the large amount of famous and interesting petroglyph and pictograph panels in the area.

Moab Maiden – Hike

The Moab Maiden is a single petroglyph pecked into a large single boulder on a ridge above Kane Springs Creek. There are other petroglyphs at the cliff face at the overlook, as well as the ruin of a granary and pithouse.

Courthouse Wash (Lower Canyon) – Hike

An easy hike that takes you from the bridge in Moab into Arches National Park through a low canyon with water

Mill Creek North Fork – Hike

A local swimming hole, with a waterfall, two arches, and an amazing amount of rock art

Seven Mile Canyon ( Lower ) – Hike

Explore a canyon that was part of the Spring/Fall Anasazi migration route, originating in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park to the La Sal Mountains. There are Barrier style rock art panels in the canyon.

Hidden Valley – Hike

Discover a hidden Valley “Behind the Rocks” in Moab, and hike a two-thousand-year-old path used by Native Americans, see many petroglyphs and two ruins

The Owl Panel – Hike

This short hike takes you to discover the Owl Panel which also has the big man, lots of sheep, and other petroglyphs.

Arches National Park...

U-Turn Canyon

Scramble up to a secret canyon in Arches National Park above Park Avenue

Sand Dune Arch

Sand Dune Arch is a family favorite, perfect for kids, it is a quick and easy stroll on a sandy easy-to-follow trail

Skyline Arch

Skyline Arch sits against the skyline at the top of a large red rock fin. A short and easy walk.

Tapestry Arch & Broken Arch

Hike to both Tapestry Arch and Broken Arch on a short out-and-back trail that leaves from the Devil’s Garden Camp Grounds

Guide for the Devil’s Garden

A special place walking through rock fins, towers and arches, see the famous Landscape Arch or hike the challenging Primitive Loop to see more remote sections of the Devil’s Garden

Windows section of arches national park 11

How to photograph Turret Arch through the North Window at sunrise

This guide will give you everything you need to know about how to photograph Turret Arch through the North Window arch in Arches National Park in Utah.

Tower Arch Hike

Rarely visited due to its location in the western part of Arches National Park, a great place to go if you want a quieter experience off the beaten path away from the crowds

Willow Springs Road

Willow Springs Road is a backdoor road into Arches National Park that avoids the toll gate, and reservation system

Park Avenue – hike

This is a fun and easy hike and is a great introduction to hiking in Arches National Park for beginners, the trail gets you quickly immersed among the high red rock features of what Utah and the park is all about.

Windows Section of Arches National Park

The Windows and Double Arch are the main attraction, but you can see The Parade of Elephants, Turret Arch, Cove Arch, Ribbon Arch, Elephant Butte, and the Cove of Caves also.

Canyonlands National Park - Island In The Sky District...

Canyonlands National Park – Island in the Sky District

The Island in the Sky district is one of the easiest and most popular districts of the park, the main attraction are the viewpoints and hiking the trails.

False Kiva – Hike

The site sits in an alcove and a stone circle. There are some handprints on the back of the wall of the alcove and some faint images that are hard to make out today.

Photography Tips for Mesa Arch

Every sunrise, Mesa Arch is descended upon by masses of photographers trying to capture their own early morning sunrise framed through the arch.

Canyonlands National Park - Needles District...

Guide for hiking Davis Canyon

Davis Canyon contains arches, granaries, ruins of cliff dwellings, and rock art including the amazing five faces pictograph

Dinosaur Tracks...

Copper Ridge Dinosaur Trackway

A short hike to see where an Allosaurus and a Brontosaurus dinosaur walked and left their footprints over 160 million years ago

Klondike Bluffs Dinosaur Track – Hike

The tracks in this area are predominantly those of carnivorous dinosaurs called allosaurus, which were probably on the hunt for other animals that would come to what was once a large body of water.

Dinosaur Stomping Grounds – Hike

Enjoy a short hike to a “mega track site” that is covered with over 2000 dinosaur tracks left on a 160 million years old mud flat.

Scenic Drives...

Guide to the Potash Road Rock Art Sites

Just a few minutes from downtown Moab, on the Potash road running along the Colorado River is the opportunity to see a half dozen sites that hold hundreds of petroglyphs and even some dinosaur foot prints

La Sal Mountain Loop

The 60-mile route follows the Colorado River, and climbs into the La Sal Mountains via Castle Valley, it offers great views of the peaks and the red rock canyons far below.

Onion Creek & Narrows Hike & Scenic Drive

A scenic drive into beautiful Onion Creek Canyon just south of the Fisher Towers with many stream crossings and a fun optional hike in a narrow canyon

Highway 128 Rock Art

An easy quick stop along scenic byway 128 if coming or going from Cisco to Moab. A large boulder with about 50 petroglyphs sits above the highway.

Potash Road / Shafer Trail

The scenic drive – Utah Scenic Byway 279, takes the back roads and runs from Moab to Canyon Lands National Park along the Colorado River

Anticline Overlook

Rarely visited by most travelers but is worth the effort. The view is overlooking Deadhorse state park and Canyonlands National Park Islands in the Sky district, to the north, looking over Hurrah Pass and the Kane Creek.