Off-Roading in Moab: Jeeps, UTVs, and Trails That Test Your Limits

Moab is an off-road battleground filled with Jeeps, UTVs, and rock crawlers tackling slickrock, sand, and ledges. With trails ranging from scenic to extreme and rentals for every level, this red rock playground challenges drivers and rewards them with unforgettable views.

Alexis Greenwood

April 2, 2025

Moab, Utah is an ultimate off-road proving ground, a red rock playground where adventure junkies push their limits. Every spring, the town fills with the growl of engines and the thrill of tire treads carving through legendary slickrock.

Whether you’re here to flex on boulders, tear through sand, or take the scenic route to views that will fry your retinas (in a good way), Moab delivers. And the best part? You don’t even need to own a rig — Jeeps, UTVs, ATVs, e-bikes, and custom rock crawlers are all up for rent. If you’ve ever dreamed of tackling terrain that laughs in the face of pavement, welcome home.

Jeeps and 4x4s: Get Lifted or Get Left Behind

In Moab, a good Jeep isn’t just a vehicle — it’s a rite of passage. With the right clearance and nerves of steel, you can take on bucket-list routes like the Shafer Trail, a winding descent with vertigo-inducing views of Canyonlands National Park. Feeling gutsy? Hells Revenge will chew you up and spit you out if you’re not ready for its notorious “Tip-Over Challenge.”

Rentals are everywhere, so whether you’re a newbie looking for a mellow scenic drive, or an expert ready to rock crawl until your axles cry for mercy, Moab has a trail (and a vehicle) with your name on it.

UTVs and ATVs: Because Speed is a Beautiful Thing

For those who think Jeeps are just a little too … tame, Moab’s side-by-sides (UTVs) offer the thrill of high-speed exploration with the agility to match. These bad boys are perfect for shredding the sand dunes near Kane Creek, gripping onto slickrock at Fins and Things, or threading the needle on Seven Mile Rim’s ledges. Fast, fun, and built to take a beating, UTVs give you the kind of ride that leaves your heart pounding and your teeth covered in Moab’s famous red dust. Prefer something even lighter? ATVs let you dart through narrow canyons, blast through washes, and conquer rolling slickrock like it’s your personal motocross track.

Rock Crawlers: The Big Dogs of Moab

You think your lifted Jeep is cool? That’s cute. Moab’s hardcore rock crawlers make even the gnarliest 4x4s look like toy trucks. These beasts are built to tackle terrain that would make a mountain goat reconsider its life choices. If names like Pritchett Canyon and Helldorado make your pulse race instead of your palms sweat, this is your scene. Most hardcore rock crawlers bring their own rigs, but if you’re not quite there yet, Moab’s got rental options and guides who can help you live out your extreme off-road fantasy — without rolling into oblivion.

Moab’s Trail Hierarchy: Pick Your Poison

Not all trails are created equal, and Moab makes sure you know it. Whether you want a laid-back joyride or a near-death experience, here’s the rundown:

Easy (aka “Let’s Not Die Today”)

Shafer Trail – The views are insane, the difficulty? Not so much. A dirt road with jaw-dropping scenery, zero panic attacks, and just enough exposure to keep it interesting. Since this trail is in Canyonlands, you can take your Jeep, but leave the off-highway vehicles at home.
Gemini Bridges – A chill 4×4 drive leading to natural rock bridges that will make your Instagram followers jealous.
Hurrah Pass – A gateway to stunning desert views and a warm-up for tougher trails ahead.
Chicken Corners – Winding along the Colorado River, this is your Sunday cruise—but with way better scenery.

Moderate (aka “Hold My Beer”)

Fins and Things – Think rollercoaster, but made of rock. Small climbs, quick drops, and a whole lot of fun.
Seven Mile Rim – A mix of sand, slickrock, and vistas so good they should be illegal.
Hells Revenge – The name says it all. Steep climbs, narrow ridges, and moments of sheer terror— but in a good way. This trail has some challenging optional obstacles.
Poison Spider Mesa – You’ll work for those views, but trust us, it’s worth every bump and scrape.

Difficult (aka “Better Have Insurance”)

Golden Spike – A punishing mix of ledges and obstacles that demand serious skill.
Behind the Rocks – A rock-crawling endurance test that separates the pros from the posers.
Cliffhanger – The name isn’t a joke. This trail tests your nerve and your ability to not look down.
Moab Rim – A steep, rocky climb right from the start, with tight switchbacks and a serious drop-off that keeps drivers on edge.

Extreme (aka “Good Luck, Buddy”)

Pritchett Canyon – If your idea of fun includes vertical rock faces and deep sand traps, this one’s for you.
Rusty Nail – A relentless rock-crawling challenge that demands precise driving and a well-built rig.
Coyote Canyon – Twisting, technical, and filled with ledges that will test both driver and machine. (Public land, but you’ll need a permit to send it.)

Ready to Send It?

Moab isn’t just a place — it’s an experience, a challenge, and for many, an obsession. Whether you’re crawling over boulders, blasting through sand, or taking in the views from a dusty trail, one thing’s for sure: You’ll leave with a new appreciation for what off-roading is all about — and probably a little bit of Moab’s red dirt permanently embedded in your gear.

Feature Image from Solo Travel Goals on Unsplash.

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Alexis Greenwood

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Inside Moab’s Political Divide: Land, Tourism, and the Future of Grand County, Utah

In the late 1950s, Edward Abbey took a job as a park ranger at Arches National Monument, just outside Moab. What he found there, and what he watched happen to it, would shape the rest of his life. Roads were being cut into the canyon country. Cars were replacing foot traffic. The National Park Service, in the name of accessibility, was engineering a kind of industrialization of the wilderness he’d come to love. Abbey wrote about it in Desert Solitaire, published in 1968, and the anger in that book wasn’t abstract. It came from watching something specific be changed by people who either didn’t understand what they had or didn’t care.

Grand County has long been the most reliably left-leaning county in the state, a fact that puts it in sharp contrast to nearly everything around it. To understand how that happened, and where things stand now, I spoke with longtime residents and politicians who’ve watched it from the inside, people who’ve served in local government and lived through the shifts firsthand.

Robert Greenberg.

Bob Greenberg came from New York in 1976, took a job at the community mental health center, and never left. He went on to chair the Grand County Democratic Party and serve on the county council. When he arrived, he said, “the Democratic Party was said to be able to meet in a phone booth” — and even then, its members were a contradictory bunch. Yellow Dog Democrats from the oil patch were fiscally conservative but surprisingly open socially, allowing different demographics to feel safe moving to the county.

“The town fathers were desperate to have new people come to town,” Greenberg recalls. “They just didn’t want the people who actually showed up. They wanted some other people.”

What followed was a demographic shift nobody planned. The people who filled the gap left by the bust were river guides, federal agency workers, artists, and eventually waves of outdoor recreationists discovering that southeastern Utah was among the most spectacular landscapes on earth. Tourism ended up being the only economic development avenue that actually worked. Manufacturing never had the labor force or market access, sewing factories came and went. The people the tourist economy attracted tended to be younger, more outdoor-oriented, and more liberal.

Kevin Walker.

Kevin Walker, a former Grand County commissioner who moved here in 1990 for the landscape, puts the county’s diversity in context. “Moab [is] a pretty diverse place since, I think, at least the 1950s with the uranium mining boom,” he says. “So it’s not a typical Southern Utah town.”

Part of what makes Grand County distinct is self-reinforcing. Federal agencies like the Park Service, the Forest Service, the BLM, have large presences here and pull in a different demographic than surrounding counties. People looking to live in Southern Utah with certain values gravitate toward the place where those values already have a foothold. Over time, that critical mass has made Grand County what it is politically, while neighboring counties went in very different directions.

The defining conflict in Grand County has always been over land.

In the 1970s and 80s, it was extraction versus preservation in the starkest terms. County commissioners floated toxic waste incinerators. A plan emerged to site a high-level nuclear waste repository at the entrance to Canyonlands National Park.

“It really, really galvanized environmentalists everywhere, but particularly in Grand County,” Greenberg says. Activists put up signs at the park entrance, watched them get chainsawed down, and came back with steel reinforcement. That stubborn, physical, unglamorous persistence became part of the local political character.

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