Lets Go Camping in the Abajo Mountains!

Ok kids, it's time to go camping in the Manti-LaSal National Forest located in the Abajo Mountains.  Yes, this forest is also located in the LaSal Mountains, but we're not going that way yet...too much snow blocking the roads.

Recently, I went on a tour of the four National Forest Campgrounds located in the Abajos (also called The Blues).  Our tour guide was Autumn Ela, Recreation Specialist out of the Moab Field Office (435-636-7155).  Also on the tour was Pam Hanson of San Juan County Economic Development; Linda from the Moab Welcome Center; Garry and Stacy from the Monticello Welcome Center (I'm with this crew also).  We spent six hours touring the sites, breathing in fresh air, feeling cool breezes, seeing wildlife and serene landscapes; and enjoying the quiet.  Going back to work at the WC afterwards was hard, very hard; but now we all had tons of information and knowledge about the campgrounds.

Autum Ela at the Bear Box; Pam Hanson, Linda (Moab WC), Garry (Monticello WC), Stacy is hiding and I'm dong the camera work.

If you want information, click on "camping in the Manti-LaSal National Forest" up above; or go to National Recreation Reservation Service (http://www.recreation.gov ) or call 1-877-444-6777, to reserve your site.  The four do have first come, first serve sites, as well as reserved spots; so if you can't decide, you can just show up and hope there is a spot open for you.

Dalton Springs (located 4.5 miles from the Monticello Welcome Center)

$10/night for a single campsite; up to 14 days; $30/night for the one group spot...all first come/first serve. There are bear boxes there if you don't have secure food storage of your own; dumpsters for ALL garbage.  There are vault toilets, and faucets for potable water only; no connecting hoses to the RVs.

Buckboard (located 5 miles from the Monticello Welcome Center)


Basically the same information as Dalton Springs, except there are two group sites at $40/night, and you can reserve sites for single use or groups.

The host for Dalton Springs also looks after Buckboard.  These two campgrounds are also known bear travel areas (reason for the bear boxes), and there have been NO attacks on humans or pets.  Pets must stay at the campsites and not be allowed to roam; in other words, no annoying the other campers, or the wildlife in the area. 

 

Turkey Tracks at Buckboard

Devil's Canyon  (About 12 miles south of Monticello, off Highway 191)

Half this campground is reserve only, while the other half is first come, first serve; all sites are $10/night; vault toilets, potable water, and a host onsite.  At the far end of the first come/first serve section is a Nature Trail; only takes about 30 to 45 minutes to get through and is not difficult at all.  Just before you take the loop back to the beginning, the ruins of a cave granary can be seen across the canyon.

 Reserved Site

First Come, First Serve Site

The Nature Trail Begins.

The dirt road that goes past the campground leads into the Manti-LaSal National Forest; six miles along is the trailheads for Camp Jackson and Wagon Wheel; there is dispersed camping (must have a stone fire ring), ATV trails and beautiful landscape.  I'll be writing about this, with photos included, in a future blog post.

Nizhoni (located on FR079/Johnson Creek Road; easy access Blue Mountain Road in Blanding)

Single sites are both reserve or first come/first serve at $10/night; the two group sites are $40/night and must be reserved.  There are vault toilets, potable water and a host onsite.  While we had a leisurely lunch hour there, the mule deer wandered on through, but didn't beg for food, and we did NOT throw any to them.  Can it get anymore serene???

There are NO dumpsters or bear boxes in Nizhoni; whatever you bring in must be brought out.  Keep it clean, so everyone can enjoy the sites, not just you!

Group Sites

Here is your basic information about the four campgrounds around the Monticello/Blanding, Utah areas; remember to do your own research, get all the i's dotted, t's crossed and have a good time....that good time does depend on you!

Mary Cokenour

A Drive Through the La Sal Mountains.

The La Sal Mountains have already had a light snow on them, twice, in this past month.  It quickly melts away, but reminds us that winter is just around the corner.  Anyone wanting to take the ride through the mountains, via the La Sal Loop Road, should do it as soon as possible; for once it snows deeply, well...

Roy and I took advantage of a warm, partly cloudy Sunday to take the ride; instead of beginning on the Creek Road (Grand County Road 128), we began on the Old Spanish Trail Road.  This road can be accessed from Route 191 near Ken's Lake, or Old Airport Road; just follow the signs.  As we ascended, we were now on San Juan County Road 127 (CR 127); yep, the La Sal Mountains span across both counties.  At the first high corner turn there was a pull in area; the Moab Rim could be seen in the distance.

Twisting and turning through the mountains and forest was so relaxing; occasionally passing a lake or campground.  There were many signs for ranches, but the majority rented out cabins to visitors for the warmer months. Eventually you'll see a sign indicating County Road 1704; you've just entered Grand County.  At one point, we looked down into a valley (Brumley Ridge) full of log homes or chalets; almost like a scene from the Swiss Alps.

At Bald Mesa we got our first viewing of Castle Valley; when you take the La Sal Loop Road off of CR 128, you will drive through this area.  Two formations you'll see immediately will be Castleton Tower and The Rectory (looks like nuns standing before a priest).

A little ways, as we began a downward descent, is the trail to Miners Basin; a miners ghost town with cabins still standing.  It's a three mile hike, one way, and we were not prepared to do this, so another addition to our to-do list.  We did pull in just past the trail to take a photo of the area in that direction.

Some of the curves do narrow in spots, but vehicles coming in opposite directions can still pass each other easily.  As we rounded one corner, we got our second viewing of Castle Valley, and our first viewing of the Porcupine Rim.

 The Porcupine Rim

We knew we were getting closer to the end of the La Sal Loop Road as Castle Valley became more and more into focus.  Suddenly we came to a junction, to the left was CR 128, the River Road that led back to Moab, or up to the ghost town, Cisco.  However, Road 207 led to Gateway...Gateway, Colorado; oh we had a choice on our hands now!


Castle Valley



Castleton Tower and The Rectory

So, back to that question of which direction we chose to go in; well you'll just have to wait for the next posting on this blog for the answer.

Mary Cokenour

More Roads North of Monticello, and ATV Trails to Explore.

First off, a little self advertising info; the SUV is now sporting, on the passenger doors, an advertising panel for this travel blog.  It has the main header photo which happens to be an overlook of the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park, the name of the blog and its link.  Pretty snazzy, huh?



This next foray onto the county roads north of Monticello is into an area I refer to as the lower part of the Manti-La Sal Forest.  Most folks travel up Abajo Drive/CR101 and then down Harts Draw Road to Route 211; or they travel the forest road to Blanding all of which is at a higher elevation.  I was out here for about five hours finding roads or trails that continually looped into one another; also found some wildflowers I'd never seen before.  Yeah, it was a great ride!  Better give you the map now or you'll be totally confused.

I began this adventure down a road I've been on several times before, CR 103, which leads to Spring Creek and many a campsite.  The sides of the road are not as closed off as some of the other county roads I've written about; the occasional abandoned homestead can still be seen.  Getting into the forest area comes rather quickly; the quiet does surround you.






An ATV trail goes off to the left at the 3.2 mile mark and splits to another trail going left, or straight.  There are camping areas; the trail straight opens up to a spectacular view of the Abajo Mountains.

At mile mark 4 is another trail to the left; there's a pond along the way, but it dead ends at a homestead, so this isn't a good place to consider camping in.

At 4.9 miles was another ATV trail leading to the right; like many of the ATV trails, it was unmarked and more than likely made by local riders.  I'm going to jump to the end of CR 103 to mile mark 7.3; at this junction is CR 105 in the middle which brings you to CR 101 (mile mark 9) and only one mile from Foy Lake and the turn to Harts Draw Road; to the left is CR 103/105 which will bring you directly to Monticello Lake (mile mark 7 on CR 101); to the right is CR 165 which dead ends at a road maintenance area.

So, backtrack to mile mark 5.2 to CR 160 and if you enjoy riding loops, then you're in for a treat on this road.  This section of the Manti-La Sal forest is where I spent most of those five hours; just as I thought I'd found a new road or ATV trail, there I was back on CR 160.  Buckle up, pay attention and have patience; good thing I wrote it down and mapped it out, or I might still be looping around those trails.

On this section of CR 160, it's only 1.2 miles before you reach a junction; an unmarked ATV trail to the far left, 119 is an ATV trail slightly left and to the right is the "Wildlife Study Plot".  This trail splits at 9/10s of a mile; the left loops around to CR 160; the right is CR 166 which eventually loops back to...you guessed it, CR 160, but with more ATV trails along it.



119 is an ATV trail; it becomes more narrow and rutted further downward.



View from the Wildlife Study Plot Trail.

CR 166

6/10th of a mile - ATV trail 5382
2.4 miles - ATV Trails 5123 and 5383; 5123 loops back to CR 160 near the 119/Wildlife Study junction.
Total loop in mileage is 4 miles.

Get ready for a little more confusion, it's not done with yet.  After looping around for a couple of hours, I finally went back to CR 103 and Route 491.  There was another road further north I wanted to check out which turned out to be CR 160/FR 175 - Peters Point (Chaining).  Do I really have to say where it loops to?



Here we go again folks!  1.7 miles along the road will be a junction; to the right is a dead end to private property; to the left is ATV Trail 5115 which comes to another junction after 1.6 miles: ATV Trails 5123 and 5383 (sound familiar?).  I simply took the trails back to the 119/Wildlife Study/CR 160 junction, then back to CR 103.  Well now I needed to relax and what better way than to go into the Manti-La Sal Forest, but at a higher elevation. 

Instead of directly back to Route 491, I went to the 103/105/165 junction, made the first left and followed the road to Monticello Lake.  Heading east on CR 101 (towards Monticello) I spied ATV trail 5128; oh what the heck; and off I traveled on it.  It was a little harrowing in spots where the road was more rock and potholes than road itself, but I finally ended up in a flat area with campsites.  Amazing views!!!

The Abajo Mountains



City of Monticello lies below.



Another possible ruin pile?

Wait, wait, wait...there's more!  The wildflowers were amazing during this jaunt through the lower region of forest.

Arrowhead Balsamroot - only found in the areas covered by the Great Basin; San Juan County is not one, but this plant is here.



Datil Yucca (Agave family)

Eaton's Penstemon (Figwort family)



Dwarf Evening Primrose




Many-Flowered Goldeneye (Aster family)

Preuss' Milkvetch (Pea family), rear is Silvery Lupine (Pea family)

Stinking Milkvetch (Pea family)



Western Blue Flag Iris



Field of Western Blue Flag Iris

Yellow Salsify (Aster family)

To say I was exhausted by the end of this is an understatement.  Home for lunch and a nap!  So much to see, so much to do and enjoying every precious minute of it.

Mary Cokenour