Dome Plateau Trail

by The Flatlander for

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Summary: The 3 rated Dome Plateau trail explores the large highland area east of Arches National Park and North of the Colorado River.

Location: The trail head is near the Dewey bridge crossing of the Colorado River around 30 miles northeast of Moab on Highway 128.

Scenery: Arches near and far, a Colorado River overlook, and pinyon and juniper forest grace the landscape.

The Trail: The trail is mostly dirt. One hill has some rock ledges and loose rock. The "Again and Again Hill" may require strapping for some vehicles.

4X4NOW Same Day
Jeep Safari Trail Report
Saturday, April 15, 2000

It was raining when we left for the trail lineup.  But there was promise of dryer weather and some sunshine for the afternoon.  

It took about an hour of scenic driving along the Colorado River on Hwy 128 just to get from Moab to the trailhead just the across the Dewey Bridge crossing.  A new upscale subdivision graces the area.  So new that only one new home had been constructed.  We drove off the paved subdivision road onto the Kokopelli Trail and began enjoying the Entrada Sandstone cliffs above us.  The rain had settled the dust and the soil seemed to have more sand than clay and wasn't muddy.  Our Trail leader, Ron Johnson, took time to point out several arches that would have been missed by most.

About a third of the way through the trail we approached "Again and Again Hill".  Several of our group that didn't have lockers continued the tradition that gave the hill its name.  Without lockers a certain amount of momentum is required, and care needs to be taken not to apply too much momentum and loose control.  The vehicles in the group with lockers had few problems and were able to proceed more slowly and deliberately.

The highlight of the trip is the Colorado River Overlook off the south extreme of the trail loop.  Even with the sunlight just only beginning to peak through, the views of the of the distant landscape from 1,700 feet above the Colorado River were breathtaking.  On a sunny day they must be even more spectacular.  The location is know as lunch rock since the Safari groups take their lunch here.  Our trail leader allowed us an hour to admire the views.

The sun broke out as Ron lead our group to explore and photograph a massive arch farther down the trail.  We took turns getting our photographs taken under the arch as others explored the area adjacent to and above the arch.

The last stop of the day were some old caves in the Entrada Sandstone once inhabited by the Anasazi.  Remember to take some good flashlights if you plan to explore very far into these caves.

The return to Hwy 128 paralleled the way we came in but to the north and above the sandstone cliffs we admired on the way in.  The trail on top is rockier and bumpier.  We reached Hwy 128 and the Colorado River at about 5:30 pm.  We were back in Moab a little after 6:00 pm. - 9 hours after we lined up for the trail that morning. But with a good trail leader, a good group and the great scenery it was well worth it.

For a trail report from a sunnier day see Bob Norton's Dome Plateau trail report.

34th Annual Easter Jeep Safari (2000)
33rd Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1999)
32nd Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1998)
31st Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1997)
30th Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1996)
Moab, Utah, 4WD Trails Map with Links to all 30 Trails
Trail Difficulty Ratings

Utah Trail Guidebooks, Trail Maps, and Trail Videos

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