Arches!!!! The trail is called Klondike Bluffs. I have only one tip... when driving on the "washboard" part of the road... drive a little faster (but safely)... the faster you drive, the less rattle rattle rattle rattle you get from the washboard.

I made that trail in my stock Jeep... but I did have to turn around when I took the entrance near Balancing rock because of the deep sand. (Near the Eye of the Whale arch) But there is another entrance further up the road to the Tower Arch. If you go that way, you'd be going down hill on the sand part and gravity would be working with you.

 

I would definitely do Arches. We did the 4x4 trail there as well and had no issues. I was a bit nervous at a few points but that is because I really don't have much off-road experience (I've been working on getting more). We did it in a stock X w/ Rubi tires, but I think the factory pizza cutters would have done fine.

The if you need any guidance the staff in the ranger station by the park entrance is very helpful. If you start early you will have time to make some of the signature hikes in the park as well as run the 4x4 trail in one day.

Also like xerofall stated above start on the north end of the trail and go south. You will run into some deep sand but you will be going downhill so gravity will make real easy. Actually this was one of the parts of the trail I really liked as it felt a little like surfing my JK down the hill.

Linked below are some photos and videos of my girl and I on the trail. Have fun!

http://picasaweb.google.com/erichelm...eat=directlink

 

Actually, the road that goes to Balance Rock is called Willow Springs (Klondike Bluffs is further north and doesn't go into Arches, it dead ends at the boundary). Willow Springs Road was the original entrance into Arches.

My suggestion would be to take the main entrance into the park and then follow Salt Valley Road to the Tower Arch trail. Make the short hike to the arch and then head back on the Eye of the Whale Arch trail. This will bring you back near Balance Rock where you could either take the pavement back out of the park, or you can follow Willow Springs Road back out to the highway depending on time. There's also some dinosaur prints along Willow Springs you might want to stop and check out This would make a nice Arches loop.

I have the GPS tracks for all of the tracks noted above under the 'Moab | Arches & Yellow Cat Areas' here: http://www.myxj.net/blog/trails/utah-gps-tracks

 

I missed the dino prints last time I was there, I'll have to remember that for my next run. That would be really cool to see. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Actually you can come into the park from the north on the Salt Valley Road if you wanted.....bypassing the main entrance. But if you are coming from town, this route doesn't make much sense as it will be out of the way

Willow Springs is another way into the park, too.

 

Good information Randy, and funny to stumble on you here instead of GLJT.

To the OP, lots of good information so far. I didn't see it mentioned but if you have time, I might suggest also trying to make your way up to the Top of the World Trail. A little challenging but can easily be done in a stocker. I would definitely suggest picking up the Charles Wells book for Moab. You can find it from his site on funtreks or most any online book store. As for the trails, depending on if you're running a stocker you should be able to run most of the trails up to difficult without many problems provided you're smart about how you approach it. Good luck and have fun.

 

That is exactly correct--start at the northern entrance (my book calls it Tower Arches Trail, BTW) and exit at Balanced Rock. It's not all washboard road--there are some short stretches of rock crawling, so be prepared. Lower tire pressure (I use 15 psi) to make those washboard roads tolerable.

Fins and Things: I've seen a stock JK do it. Wells rates it difficult. The first part (south side of main road) is a little easier. If you find that not too difficult, then you might take the last part, which Wells describes a "a roller coaster ride you won't soon foget!"

Gemini Bridges Trail is a pretty easy trail with a neat double arch. My son and I did it in my mostly stock JK a couple years ago.

If you want someone to run with, head to City Market to find someone--in the center of town.

Wells book: Must have! Order it directly from him instead of Amazon so you can get the spiral wound edition.