Exploring the Onion Creek Trail and beyond
The beauty of the rock formations on the Onion Creek Trail.
The Onion Creek Trail is more scenic and less technical than other Moab trails.
Our route from Onion Creek to Moab.
Lynn Blamires
ATV Adventures
It seemed like a good idea at the start. Both of our machines were street-legal so why not drive to the trailhead? It was warmer the night before when we were making these plans.
The good idea soured somewhat the next morning as we turned east onto Highway 128. The temperature that morning in early May was 45 degrees and at 40 miles an hour, the wind chill factor kicked in. My grandson, Mark, has a windshield on his RZR, my Kawasaki Teryx 4 does not.
About 5 miles into a 27 mile ride to the trailhead, I turned to look at my wife in the passenger seat. She was hidden under multiple blankets held tightly around her. She was wearing big ski gloves. Her hoody was pulled so tight that only her nose was showing and that looked cold. It was at that point that I knew that the situation called for better planning.
In the meantime, we made it to the trailhead and began our climb up the Onion Creek Road. The cold was soon forgotten as the day was warming up. This trail actually provides access to a ranch at the top of the trail.
I have ridden this trail before, but it is one that I enjoy riding. The trail is straighter than the course of Onion Creek, so it crosses the creek many times. The spring runoff made the water crossings deeper and fun to splash through.
Unlike some of the Moab trails, this one is more scenic and less technical. As we climbed this trail and crossed Onion Creek, we could see up the canyons cut by the flow of the creek.
We rode through the Narrows and by Stinking Spring and stopped to admire the rock formation known as the Totem Pole — a very tall, irregular rock column that looks like, well, a totem pole. Onion Creek got its name from the sometimes pungent odor of sulfur.
The canyon walls display some pretty colors on this trail — reds, whites, grays and blacks in one section. We topped out in a pretty meadow at 5,700 feet and came to a junction on the east side of the meadow that led to the ranch. We chose to turn north on Onion Creek-Hideout Road.
This is a part of the Kocopelli Trail that connects to the Gateway Road. If you’re driving from Colorado to Moab, this road provides an excellent scenic alternative to I-70. This dirt road is suitable for passenger cars and winds through the beautiful Manti-La Sal National Forest to Moab.
We followed the Gateway Road to the base of Andy Mesa at a pullout. A sign in this parking area indicated that there are dinosaur tracks to be seen close by. We took a short walk and found the tracks. They even led to the edge of a steep canyon that fell sharply away and down from Andy Mesa.
Continuing on the Gateway Road, we joined the La Sal Mountain Loop Road and then took the Sand Flats Road to Moab. This section of the trail took us to the top of the ridges where there were views of faraway canyons with green valleys. It would drop us down along the side of one canyon and across a valley to climb the side of another. This is the kind of trail that would be good to take in the summer. When the sun is reflecting hot off the slick rock, this cool mountain ride is quite refreshing.
In following the Sand Flats Road, we came through a slick rock canyon on our way back to Moab. It felt like we were squeezing our way around huge rock monoliths. It was fascinating to ride this canyon.
Coming out of the canyon, we passed by the famous Slick Rock Trails of Moab in the Sand Flats Recreation Area. These trails have names like Hell’s Revenge, Fins and Things, and Poison Spider Mesa.
Those trails are doable because alternate routes can be used to get around the really bad stuff. Others, like Steel Bender are for experts who have lifts, lockers, big tires and who aren’t too worried about body damage. Even the bypass routes are a challenge on this trail.
We came back into town on Mill Creek Drive, finishing a ride of about 86 miles. When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down and try some of the high mountain trails that Moab has to offer.