For those of you who have visited the Blanding Utah area, I need help cutting my 1-day itinerary down by at least 2 hr

Welcome to our Travel Community, where travelers from all over the world come together to share experiences, ask for advice, and connect with others far and wide!
Guest

Post by Guest »

There are 4 of us coming, ages 62-71 on April 7th.

We like easy to moderate hikes, great scenery and I love to take photos.

We would leave Blanding by 7:45 am, do a quick hike to the viewpoint of Butler Wash Ruins (.8 mi RT), then the 2 mi RT hike to House on Fire ruins.

We won't have time to wait around there wondering when the perfect time for photos will be.

Our next stop will be Natural Bridges National Monument. We'll stop at the 3 overlooks and hike down to the base of Owachomo (.5 mi RT). We'd then drive south 45 min. to 2 overlooks via a 5-mile dirt road to Muley Point.

After going down a series of steep switchbacks on the Moki Dugway we'd make a quick stop at Goosenecks State Park.

We then have the option of making a 10-mile detour and driving to mile marker 13, the iconic spot in the Forrest Gump movie with a great view of Monument Valley in the background.

11 miles east of here we'd make a quick stop to take some photos of Mexican Hat.

6 miles from here is the turnoff for Valley of the Gods, To save time we'd only drive 8 miles along this dirt road as far as Castle Butte, and then turn around and retrace our steps.

My friend will be driving a Honda CRV. If it's been raining a bunch, we'd skip this stop as well as Muley Point.

(Would Moki Dugway be safe to drive down if it's been raining recently?) 17 miles east we'd stop at Sand Island Petroglyphs.

The trail is about 1/2 mi RT. A final option is to make a quick stop at Bluff Fort. We then have a 54 min drive to our lodging in Monticello. It would be a long day. According to Google Maps just driving time without stops would be almost 6 hours.

Which of the above stops would you skip and why? If we had to choose between Muley Point, Forrest Gump viewpoint (we'd arrive here late afternoon), and driving part of Valley of the Gods road, which one is a must-see? We don't have the option of adding an extra day.

We will have already visited Arches and the Needles on the 2 previous days and will be visiting Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point the next day on our drive back to Salt Lake City.

If we can squeeze it in, is Sego Canyon petroglyphs worth a short detour as we head north?

Thanks for your help.
Darcey

Post by Darcey »

Why would you be doing this to yourselves?? It’s one day. I’m exhausted just reading how highly itemized it is, to the minute.
Maybe just make the drive from pt A to pt B, stop when you feel like it, hike a little, stop to eat.
Ross

Post by Ross »

Surely this is a joke.
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post