The Shafer Trail: One of Our Favorite Scenic Drives in Southern Utah

While on our way to Dead Horse Point State Park to spend the night in one of their yurts, we decided to drive the Shafer Trail in southern Utah from the bottom up. Starting in Moab, we picked up the trail at the end of Potash Road and followed it to the rim of the canyon inside Canyonlands National Park. It was a thrilling drive and one we would happily do again when road conditions are right.

At the bottom of this post, we have included an audio clip from Episode #36 of The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, recorded from the yurt just after finishing the drive.

Our hearts were racing

The Shafer Trail is one of the most memorable drives in southern Utah, but it is not for the faint of heart.

Located in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands, this unpaved road drops roughly 1,500 feet from the mesa top to the White Rim below in just a few miles. The descent includes a series of tight switchbacks carved into a near-vertical cliff. From above, the road looks intimidating. From behind the wheel, we found it manageable as long as we took our time and paid close attention.

Indigenous people originally built the trail as a narrow footpath to get up and down the mesa. In 1916, John “Sog” Shafer widened it into a cattle trail to move livestock. Then in the 1950s, as the Cold War was heating up, it was further widened so mining trucks could haul uranium ore to Moab.

Today it’s a thrilling drive inside a national park

Today, the park regularly maintains the Shafer Trail, but conditions can change quickly. The National Park Service recommends a high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicle. Uphill traffic has the right of way, since backing down a switchback is far more dangerous than backing up.

At the bottom, the road connects to Potash Road, where electric blue evaporation ponds sit against red rock cliffs. Nearby is the filming location for the final scene of Thelma & Louise. Although the movie claims it is the Grand Canyon, the scene was filmed along this stretch of road.

Listen to Our Shafer Trail Experience

Below is the audio clip we mentioned above, where we talk about driving the Shafer Trail.