Permits Required

First off you have to have a permit to go into Canyonlands National Park back country.

There are day permits for those wanting to go to muscle man arch and drive back out. Additionally there are overnight permits, however the overnight permits are not easy to come by!

Disbursement Camping Moab

Moab has intermittent BLM land which used to have quit a bit of disbursement camping aka boon dock camping near Canyonlands and Arches National Park. We were in Moab in May and scouted out where we planned to camp on BLM land when we returned in September. However when we returned in September much to our horror the once available disbursement camping we scouted was now closed down permanently!

Talking to rangers we have been informed that people miss use the sites by

1. Bringing in foreign wood which spread plant disease and weeds (buy fire burning wood at local stores once you arrive to you camping destination).
2. cutting down and collecting wood to burn from the surrounding areas
3. leaving human waste above ground
4. leaving garbage and broken glass
5. ignorantly burning fires during fire bans and outside designated areas.

Driving five minutes in any direction near Canyonlands you will find many campers and RV’s poaching the private, federal, and closed BLM land. As terrible as it is often sites are left with everything listed above as mentioned or worse.

Low Clearance Vehicles Not Allowed on White Rim Road

There are signs warning people not go beyond the permit only points for good reason!!! We witnessed many foolish people unsuccessfully attempt to drive with their cross over vehicles and other low clearance vehicles just 7-8 miles beyond both park entrance points. While being confused as to why anyone would go beyond the “Low clearance vehicles Do Not Enter Beyond This Point” signs I did get a great deal of satisfaction watching these people get stuck and have to turn around and go back.

On the 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser we ran 31″ tires with a 1″ lift and stock mounted tire underneath. On the West half of white rim we were scraping the spare tire or the toe hitch receiver. We bottomed out and hit so hard that the spare tire was knocked loose from its mounted location. 

Ranger Tips and Tricks

We ran into two rangers in the same day and during our stay we saw a total of 3 rangers.

1. Do not spit your toothpaste onto the slick rock because it does not biodegrade and it stains the rock. Instead use the eco spray method, by walking 200ft away from any campsites, trails, and water sources before spitting. Watch this video for further demonstration of the high pressure eco spray method. Eco Spray demonstration
2. No dogs or pets allowed in the National Parks rangers will write tickets! The parks aren’t suited to handle the amount of fecal and urine waste along with the amount of foot traffic damage caused by both humans and animals in the back country.
3. Don’t burn fires
4. Don’t collect or cut wood from any forested area (desert, beach, etc..)

Downed tree’s and other biodegradable matter is necessary for the continuation life cycle of the environment in which it occurs. This is blatantly obvious with state and federal controlled burns and when people disrupt that cycle by stealing the downed wood it inhibits future growth necessary to both plant and animal life. Some plants only release seeds when they are burned and I have seen people go through the forest and collect burnt wood not understanding that the wood is playing a vital role in the reproductive ecosystem of the forest or desert.

White Rim Road Back Country Camp Sites

We stayed at Gooseberry, White Crack, Murphy Hogback, and Labrynth over six days. Check out from your camp site is 10 am and can be found on your overnight permit. I have linked the white rim trail map that I used on our trip. Please check the National Parks web site for updated versions.

Island in the sky white rim road map 

 

 

 

Water

 It is recommended to carry 1 gallon/person/day so we took in over 10 gallons of drinkable water and additional washing water for a total of over 20 gallons of water. We went at the end of September which wasn’t very hot and used 5 gallons of grey water and maybe a few gallons of drinking water.

However when we went to Zion National Park at the beginning of September we were completely unprepared and burned through so much drinking and washing water that we couldn’t keep track and thankfully we were close to stores and staying inside the park camp site because we were caught off guard by how much water we were drinking and using. The camp site where we stayed inside Zion offered water faucets for using and we must have filled our 5 gallon tub 3 – 4 times over the time we were there and took countless trips to the store for additional drinking water.

Gas

We did the entire 100+ mile loop and drove back into Moab on 15 gallons of gas. In preparation for this trip we bought and carried a 4 gallon Rotopax which we mounted to the top of our roof rack. The rangers said that they routinely carry an extra 4 gallons of gas with them when doing the loop. The rangers gas is not for public use!

Bathrooms

There are vaulted toilets that are frequented by both campers and those traveling the white rim road. Most facilities are located 10+ miles apart from one another. So we carried our own toilet system and Travel John disposable urinals. When we did get to camp the toilets often times were farther than we cared to travel to or were out of toilet paper so we used our set up for late night and early morning bathroom runs.. not pictured here is our pop up privacy tent for the bathroom/shower.