Did this two years ago in a rented Toyota Corolla sedan with front wheel drive, downhill. The switchbacks were great fun and not scary as they are maintained by the NPS. Ranger stopped me and thought I was crazy. Once out the park I began to understand her reasoning- the road was that bad I really thought I would get laid up but with careful maneuvering never even scraped bottom. None the less, the last 3/4 or the trip was nervous and tedious. Great views of the Colorado River, tho. I think if I did again I would descend the canyon and turn around and go back up. Need 4WD for that. Great trip and you made a great video. Thanks.
Fabulous video. My friend and I drove the Shafer trail in early Oct. 2006. The trail seems to be in better shape now. For us there was the odd time when there seemed to be only 3 wheels on the road. The 4th was hanging over a washout spot. It was totally frightening but once at the bottom and having "survived" we looked back in awe and said WOW!!! Several spots at the bottom were under water and a bit dicey. What an experience. I have no video but lots of photos. Loved your video. Thanks !!!
Thank you for the video. This is GREAT! My husband and I did this same drive in October 2012. It took us 3 hours, we stopped alot to take pictures. Love the speed on this. Like an amusement ride.
It's a standard RAV4 (apart from all the storm chasing attachments/antennas mounted on it). I actually passed a CRV going the other direction. I spoke to the driver and they said this was the 2nd time they had driven it. It's an amazing drive, but take it very easy at times, and don't be afraid to get out and DOUBLE check "scarier" parts of the trail before you attempt a section.
Well done! We traveled the same route this year (2013). It was pretty nerve-racking, but we prevailed . Two other vehicles we encountered opted to turn back.
Sweet. One of my favorite places in the world. I just got Cyberlink for video editing, and it has stabilization in post production, and is great for rock-and-roll videos like this. The truck hood bounces around and the scenery is smooth. I love the sped up sudden stop at the overlook - verigo and nausea. Awesome.
That's the kind of video I like. You can see the whole route and see what it is like. You didn't mention how long it took you to do? How long was it in miles?
I remember going down Shafer trail in the 60's and when you came to the switchbacks and met another car one would have to back up until you found a place where one could pull over. It was a beautiful ride.
Haha, great video!!! I was just debating whether or not to ride this stretch on my Harley, in the hopes of exploring a road less traveled. Thanks to this guy, I will forego it for paved roads instead, as I'm not that intrepid. Cheers!!!
Thank you for posting this. I was debating as to whether or not I should take the Ford Explorer on this road. Thanks to your video, I see that there aren't any spots on this road that the Explorer can't handle.
Any 2 wheel drive will go through these roads nowadays. Most are in process of being paved. You will find a lot of loose gravel and in some areas caterpillar threads make 3" high mounds about a foot apart for a segment. The gravel flyes against sides of car and will tear up your rocker molding. I would suggest you use two coats of blue masking tape to cover bottom and sides of your rocker panels and any plastic around it. I tore up rocker panels on my outback on gravel on Valley of Gods Rd.
Drove this 4th of July weekend 2014 in my 2010 Acura RDX AWD. Access (Route 142 to 279 out at Arches) is just pass the entry to Canyonlands NP on the left. Not for the faint of heart or inexperienced driver. Very similar in terms of danger to North Yungas Road in Bolivia (called the World's Most Dangerous Road) i.e. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Do not attempt in bad weather/rain or night. Put vehicle in low gear (don't ride the brakes) and go slow. There are places where there is just enough clearance for one vehicle and sheer drop on the driver side--you can see them in the video. We passed a couple of passenger cars (possibly rentals) going up. I would not do this in a two-wheel drive. No cell service (or services of any kind), so take provisions (food/water/vehicle repair stuff). My wife of seven months was freaking out and wanted to kill me while we were driving down. An epic, unforgettable drive!
Nice video. We'll be starting our Moab dirt bike experience in March, 2014 by doing this White Rim loop as a laid back warm up, before we wander onto the gnarly single track trails. Thanks for posting it as now I can see what to look forward to. Biggest concern is if we have enough gas on the bikes. This road is easy enough to take my Aussie, Deacon, with me. Did you do the fast forward during editing?
Great video on ideas with this area. A question I have is -- from what direction would a person be going, to be at the top of Shafer...looking "down" the canyon/switchbacks? We don't want to do the loop, but only take a photo shoot looking down the corridor. Thanks.
You enter Canyonlands NP from US191 to UT313. Near the Visitor Center are some good viewpoints of the canyon road after you passed the entrance to the trail.
awsome video. would my mid sized SUV be alright on it? it is a 2010 jeep patriot. i saw that you passed a cube van which looks like it might of struggled in a spot or two...
Thanks for sharing the video! I am curious, what year Rav4 do you have and are there any modifications made to ground clearance or tire upgrades? I will be passing through this region and would like to explore the same roads in my 1999 CR-V. I have stock suspension with slightly larger A/T tires, so about 8.5 inches of clearance. From what I can tell in different videos it seems like the route is pretty passable but yours is the first vehicle I have seen comparable to mine. Thanks!
a very nice video with nice landscapes.. video speed is inappropriate for vision.. its will great if re upload the same video with normal speed. it might be bit lengthy but will be friendly to views sight
I'll be going here next month. Does this trail start and and at or near Moab? Also, how many hours does this trail take to complete? I'll be taking my 2012 Tacoma
Great video. The "Road Of Death", American style. We did it in the same direction you did in 2012 with a 2WD Expedition. It's a white knuckle drive down the canyon, for sure. For a few laughs, here's a blog post: www.wingitworldwide.com/canyonlands-the-most-underrated-national-park/ Hope you got the chance to run around atop the Mesa Arch also. That's another adventure to be had in the same park. Cheers!
Did this two years ago in a rented Toyota Corolla sedan with front wheel drive, downhill. The switchbacks were great fun and not scary as they are maintained by the NPS. Ranger stopped me and thought I was crazy. Once out the park I began to understand her reasoning- the road was that bad I really thought I would get laid up but with careful maneuvering never even scraped bottom. None the less, the last 3/4 or the trip was nervous and tedious. Great views of the Colorado River, tho. I think if I did again I would descend the canyon and turn around and go back up. Need 4WD for that. Great trip and you made a great video. Thanks.
Fabulous video. My friend and I drove the Shafer trail in early Oct. 2006. The trail seems to be in better shape now. For us there was the odd time when there seemed to be only 3 wheels on the road. The 4th was hanging over a washout spot. It was totally frightening but once at the bottom and having "survived" we looked back in awe and said WOW!!! Several spots at the bottom were under water and a bit dicey. What an experience. I have no video but lots of photos. Loved your video. Thanks !!!
Thank you for the video. This is GREAT! My husband and I did this same drive in October 2012. It took us 3 hours, we stopped alot to take pictures. Love the speed on this. Like an amusement ride.
We stumbled onto Shafer Trail a few years ago. Breathtakingly beautiful! It remains the most exhilarating jaunt in the 50 states I have visited!
I've done this route twice myself, great video!
It's a standard RAV4 (apart from all the storm chasing attachments/antennas mounted on it). I actually passed a CRV going the other direction. I spoke to the driver and they said this was the 2nd time they had driven it. It's an amazing drive, but take it very easy at times, and don't be afraid to get out and DOUBLE check "scarier" parts of the trail before you attempt a section.
Well done! We traveled the same route this year (2013). It was pretty nerve-racking, but we prevailed . Two other vehicles we encountered opted to turn back.
Took that trail last year. Thanks for the memories!
Nice... Brings back good memories I use to take road trips out there every year from 1997 to 2005 so much to see an do in that area.
Love it! Cant wait to drive it. Thanks for the preview.
Nice work old boy. Reckon I'll mountain bike that route on my next trip and so it's good to see a flythough for the record.
i did that tiny ledge at 6:55 several times just for fun. Great video!
Looks like a blast! I just bought a 17 tacoma and am looking forward to spending my spring/summer in Utah!
Sweet. One of my favorite places in the world. I just got Cyberlink for video editing, and it has stabilization in post production, and is great for rock-and-roll videos like this. The truck hood bounces around and the scenery is smooth. I love the sped up sudden stop at the overlook - verigo and nausea. Awesome.
9:06 I got stuck on this stretch of rock! A stressful few minutes. the rest of the trail was bumpy and manageable. Just this one section almost got me
Thank You ! ... VERY interesting ! ... Spectacular landscape !.!.!.
I'm considering a GoPro purchase for such journeys. Great, thanks for posting.
That was some crazy-fast driving! :-)
I did this in my Subaru Crosstrek about a month ago.Awesome place.
It looks like an interesting drive.
That's the kind of video I like. You can see the whole route and see what it is like. You didn't mention how long it took you to do? How long was it in miles?
Great driving - probably twice as fast as I drive, and I thought i was fast!
I remember going down Shafer trail in the 60's and when you came to the switchbacks and met another car one would have to back up until you found a place where one could pull over. It was a beautiful ride.
Haha, great video!!! I was just debating whether or not to ride this stretch on my Harley, in the hopes of exploring a road less traveled. Thanks to this guy, I will forego it for paved roads instead, as I'm not that intrepid. Cheers!!!
Thank you for posting this. I was debating as to whether or not I should take the Ford Explorer on this road. Thanks to your video, I see that there aren't any spots on this road that the Explorer can't handle.
AWESOME video. Was thinking about trying this on an upcoming trip, but I think with only an AWD Subaru outback, I'll have to pass.
Any 2 wheel drive will go through these roads nowadays. Most are in process of being paved. You will find a lot of loose gravel and in some areas caterpillar threads make 3" high mounds about a foot apart for a segment. The gravel flyes against sides of car and will tear up your rocker molding. I would suggest you use two coats of blue masking tape to cover bottom and sides of your rocker panels and any plastic around it. I tore up rocker panels on my outback on gravel on Valley of Gods Rd.
Drove this 4th of July weekend 2014 in my 2010 Acura RDX AWD. Access (Route 142 to 279 out at Arches) is just pass the entry to Canyonlands NP on the left. Not for the faint of heart or inexperienced driver. Very similar in terms of danger to North Yungas Road in Bolivia (called the World's Most Dangerous Road) i.e. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Do not attempt in bad weather/rain or night. Put vehicle in low gear (don't ride the brakes) and go slow. There are places where there is just enough clearance for one vehicle and sheer drop on the driver side--you can see them in the video. We passed a couple of passenger cars (possibly rentals) going up. I would not do this in a two-wheel drive. No cell service (or services of any kind), so take provisions (food/water/vehicle repair stuff). My wife of seven months was freaking out and wanted to kill me while we were driving down. An epic, unforgettable drive!
6:04 is the Shafer Canyon camping area.
Great video. How much time did this trail run take?
excellent video, do you recall more or less how long it took you to drive? did you need extra fuel? thanks for your time!
Nice video. We'll be starting our Moab dirt bike experience in March, 2014 by doing this White Rim loop as a laid back warm up, before we wander onto the gnarly single track trails. Thanks for posting it as now I can see what to look forward to. Biggest concern is if we have enough gas on the bikes. This road is easy enough to take my Aussie, Deacon, with me. Did you do the fast forward during editing?
Great ride! Do you know the exact place of the jump made by Thelma & Louise? I thinks it's the stop at 08:33, but I am not sure! :-) Love to hear it!
The "Thelma and Louise" jump was off Dead Horse Point.
Great video on ideas with this area. A question I have is -- from what direction would a person be going, to be at the top of Shafer...looking "down" the canyon/switchbacks? We don't want to do the loop, but only take a photo shoot looking down the corridor. Thanks.
You enter Canyonlands NP from US191 to UT313. Near the Visitor Center are some good viewpoints of the canyon road after you passed the entrance to the trail.
awsome video. would my mid sized SUV be alright on it? it is a 2010 jeep patriot. i saw that you passed a cube van which looks like it might of struggled in a spot or two...
Thanks for sharing the video! I am curious, what year Rav4 do you have and are there any modifications made to ground clearance or tire upgrades?
I will be passing through this region and would like to explore the same roads in my 1999 CR-V. I have stock suspension with slightly larger A/T tires, so about 8.5 inches of clearance. From what I can tell in different videos it seems like the route is pretty passable but yours is the first vehicle I have seen comparable to mine. Thanks!
Can you drive this with a regular Hyundai? It doesn't seem that rocky.
Could that be done with a 2wd 144 sprinter?
a very nice video with nice landscapes.. video speed is inappropriate for vision.. its will great if re upload the same video with normal speed. it might be bit lengthy but will be friendly to views sight
I'll be going here next month. Does this trail start and and at or near Moab? Also, how many hours does this trail take to complete? I'll be taking my 2012 Tacoma
what kind of tires did you have ? doesn't look like mud tires are necessary
Thrilling
What time of the day did you go?
Percorso su gmap?
Doable on a street motorcycle?
Great video. The "Road Of Death", American style. We did it in the same direction you did in 2012 with a 2WD Expedition. It's a white knuckle drive down the canyon, for sure. For a few laughs, here's a blog post: www.wingitworldwide.com/canyonlands-the-most-underrated-national-park/
Hope you got the chance to run around atop the Mesa Arch also. That's another adventure to be had in the same park. Cheers!
Ok.
Next time, drive the whole thing with no stops , do a few zig zags, speed it up a little more and title it; "I lost my BRAKES!!!".
When was it "improved"? I took my Land Cruiser in 2007. Didn't seem improved then. :)
I did that in a Toyota Rav4.
I don't need to be in a Tackhawk Jeep Grand Cherokee to view a video.
Too fast to enjoy.
Real women don't need guard rails.