A few years ago, one of my best friends went to Moab with her family and posted a video of them doing an off-road jeep tour. It looked so crazy and fun, I immediately knew that if we ever went to Moab, we had to do that tour. So when we decided on a Utah spring break, I couldn’t wait to start researching jeep tours.
There are a few different off-road options – UTV, you-drive jeeps, ride-along jeeps. Having seen the terrain, I knew right away that any you-drive option was not for us. So we focused on the ride-along jeep tours and ultimately decided to use the company Outlaw Adventure Tours.
We chose the Hell’s Revenge Sunset Tour, figuring that the timing would work well on our day in Canyonlands National Park and that the scenery would be extra beautiful at sunset. And we were right on both counts! We left Canyonlands around 2:30, took a quick break at our VRBO, and then headed into Moab for the tour.
We were traveling with another family and since each jeep fit 4 passengers, we had to go in two separate jeeps. We loaded up and drove through town to the Sandflats Recreation Area. This public land area has both bike trails and 4×4 trails, as well as camping areas. Hell’s Revenge, a 6.5 mile trail that includes slickrock, rock ledges, and sand, has a difficulty rating of 6 and is recommended only for experienced drivers. With such obstacles as “Tip-Over Challenge” and “Rubble Trouble”, it is not for the faint of heart. For those who want a slightly easier (but still challenging!) path, the “Tip-Toe Through Hell” route bypasses the most challenging obstacles.
I was immediately blown away by the trail… and thankful I wasn’t driving it! The slickrock trail was narrow with steep drop-offs to the side. Our driver handled it with ease (and with one hand holding his Arizona ice tea).
We made a stop to view some dinosaur tracks from 190 million years ago. Wow! It’s amazing to imagine dinosaurs roaming the land that we were now driving around on. While a handful of the tracks were obvious once pointed out, I’ll be honest that I would have walked right past them if our guide hadn’t shown us. Even then, some of them were difficult to make out. But I’m not a paleontologist! Located on the side of the trail, the tracks are surprisingly accessible, even after the most well-formed of the tracks was stolen in 2014. Someone literally broke off a 150 pound section of sandstone that included a three toed dinosaur imprint and drove away with it. Sadly, when he realized the gravity of what he had done, the thief panicked and dropped it off the side of a bridge into the river where it could not be recovered.
After marveling at the prehistoric footprints, we got back in the jeep and continued our journey. The scenery was truly stunning. While most of the large rock domes were smooth slick rock, there were also stunning sections that featured wavy ridges.
We were behind a group or UTVs and in the distance they looked like a line of ants climbing a hill. (Funny coincidence… my oldest son found out hours beforehand that a friend from school who was in Moab was doing Hell’s Revenge that same night… and she was in that group of UTVs!) We followed them up the hill and then down the other side to a beautiful canyon view.
One of our jeep drivers picked an interesting parking spot!
From there we continued our journey along Hell’s Revenge, climbing up and down slick rock and riding side to side on some sand waves. We all watched in amazement as the Jeep off-road app tracked our pitch and roll. Our guide let us in on a little secret though – the screen maxes out at a pitch of 35 degrees but the smaller gauge on the driver’s dashboard tells the true measurement if you go beyond that. Our guide called the on-screen app the “wife version” so your wife doesn’t think you’re going beyond 35. (And yes, he did go beyond 35!)
Next we stopped at a beautiful lookout over the Colorado River. It was getting close to sunset and the light bounced off the red rock, amplifying its color. Behind us stood the ever-present La Sal Mountains, with their snow capped peaks popping against the blue sky. The views were amazing.
We were at the furthest point so had to turn back before it started to get dark. Plus they had another place in mind for the sunset… and it did not disappoint. We watched the sun set over Moab in one direction and the golden glow of light blanketing the red rocks and mountains in the other. It was stunning.
I had been looking forward to this tour so much and it absolutely lived up to my expectations. The jeep ride was full of heart-pounding excitement. The scenery was unique and the colors were especially stunning as the sun set. The experience was simply unforgettable.
