ljerryd

Hi There,
I may be in Utah with a bone stock 07 GX this summer. Any mild scenic trails I could do within a few hours of SLC? Not looking for anything extreme (i.e. don't want to dig myself out) and will not have camping gear. Seems like a "DUH" question but we have only been to Arches and Zion on paved roads so far out that direction. I posted this at IH8MUD and GX FB as well, so apologies if you read them all!
TIA

LoneHiker

It sounds like you might have missed some neat stuff when you were in the Moab/Arches area: In Sand Flats, which is just south of Arches, the Fins and Things trail is the hardest trail that is stock-GX'able, and the scenery is one of a kind. There are some harder sections which can be easily bypassed. You'll want to do the Baby Lion's Back while there, which is very short, but steep and fun. You probably don't want to run the full Fins and Things, so pick it up at Diving Board Rock on Sand Flats Road (campground F). You'll avoid the trickiest sections and still have the best scenery.

If that sounds like more than you are wanting to do, you can rent sideXside's in Moab and run Fins and Things in a UTV. The trail is more fun in a sideXside and you can choose to have a guided tour where an instructor will lead in their UTV and you drive along following them. It's a good way to learn the basics of off road driving.

Some easier roads for the GX:
Kane Creek (don't miss the Birthing Scene petroglyph!).
Gemini Bridges (my favorite easy 4x4 road). Drive it all the way through from US 191 near Bar M Chuckwagon to the end at Utah 313, making sure to stop at Gemini Bridges along the way.
There are also some scenic easy roads in Needles District / Newspaper Rock area of Canyonlands.

ljerryd

Thanks! I'll check into these.
At the time we went to the parks mentioned prior I didn't have the GX.

Oldmanb777

Going all the way through Kane creek is definitely not doable in a GX. but you can go out that way, and bear off to chicken corners. If you go to Gemini Bridges, do Long Canyon as well. The Dinosaur tracks on Klondike bluffs is doable. But that's all around the Moab area. I'm sure there is plenty to see around SLC,I'm just not familiar with the area enough.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

I got curious about Kane Creek.... did a Google search and this is one of the first images:




Correct me if I am wrong, but I do not think this is what the OP had in mind when they said they want some easy trails on a stock GX haha.

Oldmanb777

That actually looks like a place on Pritchet. But could be Kane Creek. I just don't remember that ledge. You can go a long way out Kane Creek from Moab. And worth the drive. As said, make sure you stop at the Birthing stone. Then bear off to the right, and head to Chicken corners. You can make it part way through Kane creek, the water crossings, and sand wash, but when you get to the hill climb, it takes a pretty built rig to tackle it. That hill gets worse every year.

LoneHiker

Ya I don't go all the way through Kane Creek. But the first part is neat.