Photo Tips USA – Moab and vicinity

• Altitude 1232 m (4,042 ft)
• On average, 4 million visitors per year
• Main visiting months are Apri, May, September, October

How, Where, What

Two National Parks, two State Parks, two Scenic Byways and a National Forest no more than half a day away make Moab the center of Canyonlands, burning off a veritable fireworks display of geological surprises and extremes. Approaching the town from I-70, it already announces itself spectacularly: The red cliffs to the right of the road move closer and thus appear even higher; the canyon narrows to a small passage, and once around to the left and once around to the right, the fertile green valley along the Moab Fold reveals itself for the first time. Turning left, the town can be portrayed well after about 2 mi on Potash Road (Rt-279) against the backdrop of the La Sal Mountains with the Colorado River in the foreground. It’s hard to imagine that the town became big during the uranium boom of the 1950s and not because of its tourist appeal. Unfortunately, it has not been able to retain its traditional small-town charm. Today, the Rt-191 resembles a true Main Street USA, where hotels, motels, galleries, and souvenir stores alternate in a neon-laden fashion. On the other hand, the area offers a wide range of leisure activities, including jeep rides, mountain biking, and scenic flights.

Round 1: The Colorado River Scenic Byway

Route 128 runs as a Scenic Byway from Moab to the northeast, near the Colorado River, through a green floodplain. It is 30 mi (48 km) to Dewey Bridge, the normal turnaround point. Alternately, one drives either between the towering canyon walls or toward their sometimes bizarrely shaped peaks. Often, one finds house-sized boulders right on the side of the road. The best compositions combine the red rock, green trees, and brown river. Since the route heads northeast, the second half of the day is the most favorable in terms of light, because then you’re working with the sun behind you rather than against it. The closer the sunset, the more intense the rock glows in the warm light.

At the turnoff to Onion Creek Ranch, you have a nice view of the red formations and the La Sal Mountains in the background.

The turnoff to Fisher Towers Recreation Site is at mile 21 on Rt-128, and a 2 mi long, well-traveled dust road leads to the monuments at the end of the Richardson Amphitheater. The three towers – relics of an ancient sedimentary layer that now looks like solidified mud – throne over a number of very colorful, smaller canyons. Titan, the highest, measures 300 meters (984 ft). An out-and-back 6.5 km hiking trail (4 mi, 2–3 hours) leads along its base to several viewpoints, ending at a cliff overlooking Onion Creek. From there, you have a very nice panoramic view of the towers and the Colorado in the distance. At sunset, the Fisher Towers turn completely red for a brief moment. Around the Hittle Bottom Recreation Site, where the Colorado River bends and cleverly plays into the foreground, you can capture the most spectacular image, reflecting the red towers in the water. It is important to take the shot before the lower halves of the formations are in shadow to keep the exposure range small. This is the case up to 1 hour before sunset. A focal length of 85 mm or 100 mm will capture the entire action in full format. In order to be on time, you should have started the previously described hiking trail in the early afternoon. The area has hosted the filming of 27 movies since 1949, such as „City Slickers II“ and „Lightning Jack.“

The road narrows and hairpins along the river for the next 9 miles to Dewey Bridge. Although the scenery is spectacular, the riverbank often makes it difficult to capture the river in photographs.

Cisco Ghosttown at the north end of Rt-128, already close to I-70, is worth the additional 13 mi across the Dewey Bridge. Between 1880 and 1910, long before the Interstate was built, a main west-to-east route ran here, producing a prosperous town of which about a dozen building remnants and a well-preserved truck stop still bear witness today.

Round 2: Through the La Sal Mountains

From a photographic point of view, the following route is also quite rewarding, as it makes very good use of the light: You head south in the morning from Moab via Spanish Valley Drive/Geyser Pass Road, continuing north via La Sal Mountain Loop Road. It runs below Mount Tukuhnikivatz through the Manti-La Sal Nat.`l Forest and over Bald Mesa into Castle Valley. From there, Castle Valley Road takes you onto Rt-128, the Colorado River Scenic Byway. You can follow it a bit to the north and decide where to wait for a lower sun position to add color and shade to the terrain. From/to Moab, that will be a good 60 mi (96 km). Most of the route’s length features paved surfaces. Scenic Castle Valley features Castle Rock towering over it as well as some spiky formations on Adobe Mesa, both of which have similarities to formations in Monument Valley. Although they become visibly more colorful as the sun gets lower, the Fisher Towers are more varied and spectacular. From the hill next to Castle Valley Recreation Site, watch the setting sun bathe the high cliffs at the entrance to Professor Valley to the west in changing light. Following the route in this direction, you will reach Castle Valley during the afternoon and can return to Moab via the Colorado River Scenic Byway in the early evening. The Bureau of Land Management maintains 10 campgrounds along the route, some right on the river.

Round 3: Potash Road and Shafer Trail

This day trip gives you a nice insight into the spectacular Canyonlands. If you have an off-road vehicle, or at least one with a high wheelbase, this trip takes you on a circuit from Moab via Rt-279, which is essentially a continuation of the Colorado River Scenic Byway in the western direction, also known as the Lower Colorado River Scenic Byway or Potash Road. The route initially follows the Colorado River closely. Then continue on an unpaved section over the White Rim before reaching the elevation of Island in the Sky Mesa in Canyonlands NP via the steep switchbacks of the Shafer Trail and returning to Moab via Routes 313 and 191.

Turn off Rt-191 onto Rt-279 at Milemarker 130, 4 miles north of Moab. You will pass the radioactive uranium waste storage site and the Grand River Gorge – until 1921, the Colorado River was officially called the Grand River up to its confluence with the Green River.

At mile 3.6, you will reach the Portal Overlook trailhead. From there, a 2-mile trail leads to the eponymous overlook with good views of Moab Valley, the La Sal Mountains, and Colorado.

Beginning at mile 5, Indian Writing signs feature petroglyphs in the rock above the road. Their richly varying quality bears witness to two distinct Indian cultures. For them, morning light is most photogenic. The first panel shows an incredible number of human and animal representations, as well as various geometric shapes. The second series of representations, located slightly further on, immortalizes primarily animal and hunting scenes. A short path leads up to the carvings. To capture the petroglyphs from the road, 200-300 mm of focal length and a viewpoint on the side of the road facing the river are necessary. Along this section, you can often see free climbers hanging like burrs in the steep walls.

At mile 10, you will reach the parking area at the Corona Arch Trail trailhead. The impressive Corona Arch, measuring 43 m (141 ft) in width and 30 m (98 ft) in height, is situated just 1.5 mi (2,5 km) away, nestled amidst smooth, polished rock layers. The arch’s north-south orientation, which illuminates one side in the morning and the other in the afternoon, makes the hike worthwhile at any time of day.

After 15 mi the end of the asphalt is reached at the Kane Creek Potash Mine. The village of Potash derives its name from Potash, which is potassium carbonate, the potassium salt of carbonic acid. The name comes from an old method of enriching potassium carbonate from wood ash, in which the salts were washed out with water and then evaporated in pots. So the term potassium is derived from these pots. It is called Kalium in german language. Nowadays, it is used in soaps, paints, fertilizers, and baking agents. In the mine, this material is mined and dried in large basins.

Officially, Potash Road ends here and merges into the 4WD track of White Rim Road, which circles the Island in the Sky Mesa for a good 100 mi (160 km, see Canyonlands NP).

After crossing Meander Canyon to the west and just below Dead Horse Point Overlook, the trail passes very close to the big loop of the Colorado River and straight into Shafer Canyon. The 1,312 ft (400 m) elevation gain up to Island in the Sky Mesa and Rt-313 is done via a series of narrow, steep switchbacks – not for the altitude sick!

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