My brother Gary and I have gone from Portland Oregon to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. We spent two days exploring this beautiful area, but now we're going to ride the Bicentennial Highway. This stretch of road in South East Utah has No Gas, No Food, No Water. Sounds like a good time right?
After getting some chores done we made it to the beginning of the Bicentennial Highway or Utah Route 95 which stretches across the high red desert.
Between Hanksville and Blanding there are 121 Miles with no designated rest stops, no commercial facilities, no place to buy gas or pick up food or stop for repairs. This is a pack it in and pack it out situation.
Natural Bridges National Monument is an excellent pit stop for those going through the area. They also have a campground, but it was full when we went through.
This route also passes through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area which could be an excellent spot to camp if you have an RV, or just aren’t relying on a tent for shelter -it was very windy when we passed through.
There are a few more opportunities to dispersed camp between Glen Canyon and Hanksville, but be warned that the routes at the more well established spots are very sandy.
Hanksville, UT is the ultimate launching off point to a lot of other attractions in the area. We stayed the night at Duke's RV Park in their cabins that felt like luxury with their running water and private bathrooms. They also have Tent Camping, RV Parking, and Laundry and Showers.
The Duke's Grill is in the same lot so it's easy to park the bike for the night and walk to dinner, and breakfast the next morning.
Hanksville also has two gas stations, a grocery store, UTV rentals, a motel, and Carl's Critter Garden.
Goblin Valley State Park is a short distance from Hanksville, and is well worth a visit. They have a designated campground, and behind the Butte there is actually more dispersed camping -talk to the rangers about dispersed camping in Goblin Valley State Park.
We visited Swing Arm City OHV Area as well, but just appreciated the view. This area is a mecca for off-road enthusiasts, but since we didn’t take the time to get our Utah OHV stickers and take the online education -now required for the OHV Stickers- we just appreciated the view of Factory Butte.
We stayed at Sleepy Hollow Campground which is an excellent launching off point to visit the remote northern Section of Capitol Reef National Park. This area is known as Cathedral Valley. The park suggests you do the loop road counter clockwise because there's a water crossing at the beginning of the route. This is to deter visitors from getting almost to the end of the loop if they did it clockwise and not being able to cross the obstacle. While Gary and I did not tackle this route, you can see a little of what this route has to offer over on the Bound for Nowhere channel.
Riding Gear + Luggage List
Scorpion EXO AT960 Helmet: https://imp.i104546.net/4Prne0
NoNoise Earplugs: https://imp.i104546.net/153erx
REV'IT! Sand 4 H2O Women's Jacket https://imp.i104546.net/Kedyvv
REV'IT! Sand 4 H2O Women's Pants https://imp.i104546.net/mgyoJy
Forma Terra Evo Dry-X Boots: https://imp.i104546.net/JrvX77
REV'IT! Sand 4 Gloves https://imp.i104546.net/Eag17Q
Klim Adventure GTX Women's Gloves https://imp.i104546.net/doJ5P3
Wolfman Luggage Blackhawk Tank Bag: https://imp.i104546.net/QOvL76
Wolfman Rocky Mountain Expedition Saddle Bags WP https://imp.i104546.net/R5OjKy
Wolfman Luggage Zip-R Bag WP Large: https://imp.i104546.net/n1MVM6
Wolfman Luggage Expedition Dry Duffel Bag WP Large: https://imp.i104546.net/LPyB70
SW-Motech Engine Guards & Racks: https://imp.i104546.net/jrnkV5
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