Natural Bridges National Monument & Grand Canyon North Rim

So many people have been posting in the “Road Trip” section lately about rides in southern Utah and Arizona. I put in my two cents worth on many of those posts and it got me thinking that I should “nut up or shut up.” With about two days’ notice, I convinced one of my riding crew to take a quick three-day trip down to Lake Powell, Natural Bridges National Monument, Monument Valley, Navajo Bridge and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon…

Day 1 – Salt Lake City, UT to Natural Bridges National Monument, UT = 366 Miles
Somehow we were actually on the road at 7:15am. I am notorious for sleeping in on a road trip, so I was quite impressed with myself. We took I-15 to US-6…through Spanish Fork Canyon to Price, UT, along the Book Cliffs to Green River, UT. A quick 8 miles west on I-70 and took UT-24 south to Hanksville. South again on UT-95. Such an amazing road! It follows an old, meandering river channel with red rock cliffs on both sides, finally getting to the northwestern-most point of Lake Powell. We stop at a nice overlook and then drop down into Hite and then into White Canyon. We couldn’t ask for better riding conditions…80 degrees, no traffic, twisty roads, amazing scenery. We get to Natural Bridges N.M. around 3:00pm. We ride the loop, hike to the bridges, take some photos. Oh, yeah, and Vic dropped his bike twice within 10 minutes. The campground was full, but there are plenty of free sites on the BLM roads that encircle the Park. We find an awesome spot, cook up dinner and watch the stars come out in one the “darkest night skies” in America.

Day 2 – Natural Bridges National Monument to North Rim, AZ = 311 Miles
I had read about the Moki Dugway at the NBNM visitor’s center. I thought it was an attraction, not actually part of the highway. Well, it is, and we rode it. UT-261 heads due south to the end of the Colorado Plateau. At that point, the road drops about 1200 feet in 2.2 miles of gravel road and 10% grades. Not nearly as scary as it sounds, we had a great time taking this on. We hook up with US-163 outside of Mexican Hat and keep riding south through Monument Valley and on to Kayenta, AZ. Thirty miles or so past Kayenta, we take a right on AZ-98. It’s labeled on the map as a “scenic route.” It’s really scenic, but in a barren, surface-of-Mars kind-of way. Just before Page, AZ, there is a tourist trap that takes people out to Antelope Canyon. If you’ve ever seen a photo of a narrow, slickrock canyon with “waves” in it, there’s an 80% chance that it’s Antelope Canyon. At Page, AZ, we head south on US-89, drop down through the Vermillion Cliffs, hook up with US-89A and head back north to Navajo Bridge and Marble Canyon. The bridge is kind-of a letdown, but the riding on 89A to Jacob Lake more than makes up for it! We climb up to 8200 feet and then are treated to another beautiful ride on AZ-67 to the North Rim. If you’ve been to the South Rim, it’s nothing like that on the way to the North Rim. High alpine meadows circled with pine and aspens are the scene…one after another for miles and miles. We get to the North Rim, take a hike to Bright Angel Point, check out the Canyon, get a drink, set up camp, get a sixer at the General Store and watch the sunset. Another night under the stars…you just can’t beat it!

Day 3 – North Rim to Salt Lake City = 395 Miles
I’ll tell you what, those high alpine meadows are mighty chilly in the morning and there’s a ton of deer all over the sides of the road. No big deal, we take it easy and enjoy the view. We stay on US-89 north into Fredonia, AZ and keep on going to Kanab, UT to find some breakfast. We consider heading west to check out the polygamous towns of Colorado City, AZ & Hilldale, UT, but decide that we just don’t need the hassles that out-of-towners seem to get there all too often. Besides, we saw a nice poly-family while walking across the Navajo Bridge yesterday. US-89 is really busy for a Tuesday morning in September. We attribute that to being right in the middle of the turn-offs for Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. About 10 miles past Panguitch, UT, we turn west on UT-20. The next 20 miles on highway 20 are awesome - Up and down twice with some nice sweepers thrown in! It made a really nice “last hurrah” before intersecting I-15 and heading home on the super slab.

Here’s a link to my google map:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...885986&t=h&z=7


And here’s a link from SPOT for the location of our BLM campsite near Natural Bridges:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...UTF8&z=12&om=1

 

Thanks for sharing you report. Sounds great! One section of road I really liked when we were just out in utah was I-70 between Salina and Green River. Awesome scenery along the way. We went south from Salt lake down I-15 to Scipio where we took hwy 50 top Salina. Hwy 50 from Scipio to Salina was a nice drive also.

 

I've been to the North Rim twice on my RK and both times I froze my *** off. The roads and scenery are worth it though.

 

I know I'll get out there one of these days. Great post.

 

Black Bastard:

You got a pretty good knack for story blogging. I highly doubt this Vic guy dropped his bike twice in ten minutes. I almost made it three times..

 

Great report. I did Spanish Fork canyon to Price a couple weeks ago at that same time, really cold, along with other sections or your ride. I was wondering what camping out down that way would be at this time of year.

 

Great pics of some of this country's most beautiful natural spots.

 

Thanks for sharing. That area is my favorite in the US and I covered much of that same area this past June on my Ultra. There are some other great rides close by and if you have more time in the future the parks in that area (Canyonland, Zion Bryce, Arches) are worth the visit.

 

OK. Maybe it was 15 minutes. ha ha! Three times would have been a real charm...I don't think it would've worked out as well as the first two.