Utah 97-Moab's Potash Road

During a 1997 visit to Arches National Park at Moab, UT, the weather wasn/t as cooperative as I would have liked. Looking like it was about to rain, I decided to take a drive. Of course, the sun came out just as I finished the 40 minute drive to Moab, but I stuck with my scenic drive plans anyway.

North of Moab and south of the entrance to Arches National Park is a road that heads off to the west. Utah Highway 279, or the Potash Road. According to my map, it follows the Colorado River until it simply deadends at a settlement called ... (more)

Potash Road Petroglyphs
One stop along the Potash Road is at a rockface covered with petroglyphs.

Potash Road Corona Arch
A parking area along Potash Road marks the trailhead for a short hike out to...

Potash Road Jughandle Arch
Don't quote me on the name of this arch, but I think it's called...

Potash Road Colorado River
The road does follow the Colorado River, so I figured I'd better...

article published 3/4/2001

bookmark with del.icio.us

Comments

Add a comment

jug handle arch
There is a canyon up the turn off next to this arch. We drove it in our Malibu. It was beautiful and bit scary at times. They do the 4x4 tours on this drive. We did not see any Big Horn sheep, but saw plenty evidence they were there. We made it to the point where the hugh rock tipped and made a tunnel. It looked a little too much for our car after that sowe turned around. It took a few hours, but well worth the drive.
— Joan, October 15, 2003

Keep Going!
Once past the potash ponds, keep going until you reach Canyonlands NP via Shafer Trail road. This is the best road ever (4WD) - a little scary, but the views are incredible! You pass underneath Dead Horse State Park and begin the climb up the wall of the canyon! Incredible!
— John Dirksen, July 30, 2002

Must see
Wish we would have gone west on this road. Instead, we went NE on 128 (also N. of Moab & S. of Arches. We actually camped on this road next to the Colorado River. This is really a beautiful area, but then Utah as a whole has magnificent natural sights everywhere. Thanks for the interesting article. Will also check out your website and you may want to take a peek at our: http://traveltrips.homestead.com/openingpage.html I'm just starting to add our pics to this wonderful Worldisround site. So far I've uploaded only Bryce from Utah. Happy traveling!
— Val Cawein, January 30, 2002