Moki Dugway
Personal Notes
This page presents our personal notes on our visits to the Moki Dugway in Utah.
We visited Goosenecks State Park and, from there, we drove north to the Moki Dugway along Highway 261. The pavement ends there for a three mile stretch and becomes a gravel road up a series of tight switchbacks. The road climbs over 1,000 feet in less than a mile as the crow flies. It's pretty spectacular. From the top, where there is a view point, you can see the twists and turns of the road, look out over Monument Valley and the Goosenecks, and you can see the dirt road leading into the Valley of the Gods to the east.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
1:12 p.m.
We passed near White Canyon and Natural Bridges National Monument, and then took Highway 261 south across Cedar Mesa. We saw the Kane Gulch Ranger Station, which is there to help protect the Grand Gulch Wilderness Area. There appear to be restrooms, informational kiosks, and permits. As we passed it was 75 degrees outside and partly cloudy. Along the road we spotted several entry points into Grand Gulch. That is an area we intend to explore in the near future.
We came down off of Cedar Mesa at the Moki Dugway. There was not much traffic but for one truck coming up. Near the bottom we encountered a group of motor cycles just beginning the climb. And that answers a question that we’ve been asked at least twice: can road motorcycles make it up the gravel road of Moki Dugway. The group we encountered were heading up. We noticed that they spaced themselves out, probably to avoid the rocks getting kicked up by their tires. They were also driving slower than normal. It's best to be cautious.
