Camping in Moab during Jeep Safari Week?

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I'll report back to you guys when a pain train of Jeeps manages to ride up and over me on Ahab.

[Hott Butt Mud]

Moab during Jeep week sucks. The solution is (and at all times of year) to never actually go in to Moab proper.

If you have to pass through town, just go super early in the AM.

There really are so many ways to do a Moab trip without actually ever going in to town. I always take all the gear/food/beverage I need loaded up in the vehicle and have a few go to camp spots that are right next to trails. Don't ever need to go in to town. Everyone I know at least has seen Moab, so we don't need to go in to town and fill up gas or get a breakfast burrito at whatever the hot spot is.

Also avoiding Mill Creek nowadays, which I do kind of miss, but it's such a shit show with parking and dumb fucking people, that it's not worth it most of the time.

[beaterdit]

I went with black shackles I do think the red ones are cool looking but I didn't want to look like every other #gotos #toolbagoverlander

and jesus fucking christ
moab was sooooo coool twenty years ago
yeah when I got off the greyhound bus in breckenridge twenty something years ago it was a fuck ton cooler too

goto moab have fun

if you misanthropes don't like people that much I have a long list of solid camping places in moab and a boat load of other towns out west where you can pound one out standing next to your #goto's rig with no one around to see you

and junciton fruita? huh that's where all the whiney people who think moab sucks go to ride bikes

and PS the top of palisade plunge start is under 3 or 4 ft of snow bring your rock skis

18 rd. is where the whiny people who think Moab sucks go to ride bikes, which I said avoid of course. You probably know but there's a whole world of trail in that part of the world that's way better than 18 rd. though.

Also Palisade Rim, not Palisade plunge. Guarantee the rim is dry, it's also a better trail, if a lot shorter.

I also arrived in Breck on the greyhound, 30 years ago this year, fun town for sure but I moved out in '96 cause it was too crowded, just like Moab is now. Been going to Moab since I first moved to Breck, riding Porc on rigid bikes. The trails are way better now and make it worth it for the most part, I can leave the rest. Misanthrope who doesn't like people? Guilty as charged.

[snowaddict91]

Dude.

STFU.

Too late. Every bro from Denver and SLC already booked their campsites. I'll be riding...somewhere else. If beaterdit doesn't blow it up first.

[alias_rice]

Moab can definitely be a good time during Jeep Safari if you go in with the right attitude. Enjoy the spectacle, meet new people who may enjoy different methods of recreating than you, and be patient with the over crowding and you can have a blast.

Assume everyone is a douchebag redneck destroying your desert solitaire and it will be miserable.

[fastfred]

Fuck off Fred. I wandered into Moab in the fall of 1984 and spent 2 weeks camping in Arches and eating shrooms after moving out from Indiana, mind blown! The birds sounded very funny to me.

No one had ever heard of a Mountain Bike...... not really but you get the picture.

Moab was done as soon as Outside started pimping the place. Had some great times but I am on the same page as Beater, shoulder season stealth missions only.

ok booomer


not sure if I need to wear my "ok boomer" shirt or the one that says "I was alot cooler when I was younger"

[Bunion 2020]

Even when you don't wear them your message is loud and clear.

Moab can definitely be a good time during Jeep Safari if you go in with the right attitude. Enjoy the spectacle, meet new people who may enjoy different methods of recreating than you, and be patient with the over crowding and you can have a blast.

Assume everyone is a douchebag redneck destroying your desert solitaire and it will be miserable.

Oh really? Reminds me of when I was camped up on Sandflats road before it was civilized. Jeep week but we were leaving to do the White Rim in a day or so.

About 1 in the am a group of 5-10 jeeps was near my site, off trail and trying to rip a juniper out of the ground using chains, plan was to make a bonfire. I got up and went over to their gathering and asked them to kindly move on. Some drunk chick said, "Kick his ass". Fortunately there was little appetite for fisticuffs. They eventually moved on but destroyed that tree. Good people.

[muted reborn]

eh, most mountain bikers are assholes in their own way too. Most jeepers are extremely polite IME, but get them drunk yes they will do dumb reckless shit.

Thanks to this thread I realized my Moab WFA course next Friday is during jeep week, I forgot about the class until this morning. Which means I have to find a camp site late Thursday night, ha! At least i can plan ahead now and not go in blindly.

[AdironRider]

Moab can definitely be a good time during Jeep Safari if you go in with the right attitude. Enjoy the spectacle, meet new people who may enjoy different methods of recreating than you, and be patient with the over crowding and you can have a blast.

Assume everyone is a douchebag redneck destroying your desert solitaire and it will be miserable.

This.

I speak Jeep so can handle the rednecks better than others but there are certain traits that IMO, make camping easier than many other weekends a year there.

1) They don't boondock. They have toy haulers and big trucks and will stick to Sand Flats Road if they camp at all.

2) They eat out. Getting sand in their burger vaginas is a non-starter.

3) They all are richer than you think. Jeeps are expensive. Hotels in Moab during Jeep week bring the highest nightly rate of the year. These guys aren't camping to save cash.

4) They aren't going off the beaten path. The Safari routes are well marked and well known. You aren't going to see people off those designated routes.

Moab proper is crowded all the time. Jeep week is not unique and shitting on Jeeps is just you shitting on people who are different than you. But I have honestly seen more asshole behavior (riding off trail, camping in unauthorized sites, new fire rings, shitting everywhere, late night partying) from the 20 something Front Range MTB crowd than any Jeep person. The SXS crowd is distinctly different and does suck for the in-town residents though.

[toast2266]

The SXS crowd is distinctly different and does suck for the in-town residents though.

I agree with most of what you said, but these days, Jeep week is essentially side by side week. The entirety of the dispersed camping areas north of town will be completely clogged nuts to butts with side by side groups. And they'll have their generators out, their PA systems blasting Freebird, and their "Fuck Biden" flags hoisted as high as they can get them. If that's your scene, then by all means go and enjoy. But if it's not your scene, it's tough to avoid. Yes, you can boondock further out and [maybe] get away from them, but you're going to have a long drive to any trailhead, much less town.

[raisingarizona13]

eh, most mountain bikers are assholes in their own way too. Most jeepers are extremely polite IME, but get them drunk yes they will do dumb reckless shit.

Thanks to this thread I realized my Moab WFA course next Friday is during jeep week, I forgot about the class until this morning. Which means I have to find a camp site late Thursday night, ha! At least i can plan ahead now and not go in blindly.

Don't get me started.......

[Dantheman]

Moab during Jeep week sucks. The solution is (and at all times of year) to never actually go in to Moab proper.

If you have to pass through town, just go super early in the AM.

There really are so many ways to do a Moab trip without actually ever going in to town. I always take all the gear/food/beverage I need loaded up in the vehicle and have a few go to camp spots that are right next to trails. Don't ever need to go in to town. Everyone I know at least has seen Moab, so we don't need to go in to town and fill up gas or get a breakfast burrito at whatever the hot spot is.

Also avoiding Mill Creek nowadays, which I do kind of miss, but it's such a shit show with parking and dumb fucking people, that it's not worth it most of the time.

Campsites right next to (good) trails that aren't taken by Wednesday is a little hard to believe, but otherwise this is spot on. 100% self-sufficient, don't even go into town unless it's to drive out Kane Creek to the Amasa TH. It's been a few years now, even with the shitshow I really miss Moab sometimes. Gotta get my kid on the classics.

[jackstraw]

Oh man this thread title made me laugh.

We had a jeep way back living in Taos. We take off on road trip to nowhere, but everywhere. Swing into Moab for the first time and as we're getting close all these jeeps are going by and waving to us. We're nice, but thinking it's a bit odd, so we're waving back. Then it was, man there are a lot of jeeps around here? Then we pull into town and the big banner says, "welcome to jeep weekend!" We couldn't get out of there quick enough! We ended up in Baja tripping on mushrooms talking to snails.

[muted reborn]

but otherwise this is spot on.

The problem with Moab IMO is not crowded supermarkets and burger joints, it's crowded trails, trailheads, N. Parks and campsites. Avoiding Moab proper is not going to solve any of that.

[skaredshtles]

<snip> We ended up in Baja tripping on mushrooms talking to snails.

[climberevan]

Yeah, that Baja trip sounds like a great outcome.

[Touring_Sedan]

Just talked to the boss man again, he said he thinks this year is going to be particularly bad. He said the last couple of years were light because of the pandemic. With all the restrictions lifted, he said folks are coming from as far as Canada. I guess you sign up for trails during the week so they don't get over run. He said the sign ups filled up months sooner than usual.

[Dantheman]

The problem with Moab IMO is not crowded supermarkets and burger joints, it's crowded trails, trailheads, N. Parks and campsites. Avoiding Moab proper is not going to solve any of that.

You're not wrong, but avoiding the town shitshow still improves the overall experience, at least for me.

[muted reborn]

Ha. And to anyone who doesn’t know, 500 west avoids all the downtown strip and the Village Market is a fantastic locals alternative to City Market if you forgot something

[MakersTeleMark]

I heart enchiladas and the moab jail is the cheapest place in town.

[fastfred]

Ha. And to anyone who doesn’t know, 500 west avoids all the downtown strip and the Village Market is a fantastic locals alternative to City Market if you forgot something

yeah totally like I think a fall or two ago that was a great work around when town was at max capacity and the highway was under construction not really since everyone has a phone now and the phone tells them to take 500 west around town

maybe I'm just used to the suck of gapers and tourons the total clusterfuck of industrialized tourism so it doesn't bother me too much to be in a crowded city market full of groups shopping together crowded trail heads traffic fuckery in a tiny town sure it's fun complain about it scratch your head and ram somones cart at city market because they are in the way and then they appologize and you act like it was an accident

industrialized tourism

[fastfred]

I heart enchiladas and the moab jail is the cheapest place in town.

$30.00 plus for b fast for two at the moab jail a month ago is cheap?

[Canada1]

Campsites right next to (good) trails that aren't taken by Wednesday is a little hard to believe, but otherwise this is spot on. 100% self-sufficient, don't even go into town unless it's to drive out Kane Creek to the Amasa TH. It's been a few years now, even with the shitshow I really miss Moab sometimes. Gotta get my kid on the classics.

During Covid, I started going again. Starting my youngest on Klondike and Big Mesa and working up to Ahab and Portal. It's been good. I'll be over for a century loop early next week. My first on the mountain bike. We are generally the first into a parking lot and finish to them overflowing. I've had a lot of fun over there over the last couple years. My youngest (daughter) is about to outgrow your bike. Hell, for your boys that stuff will seem tame, but just stop on some of the biggest sandstone formations and let them free ride and they will have a blast!!

[skaredshtles]

I heart enchiladas and the moab jail is the cheapest place in town.

Man... that reminds me... there used to be a place in Fruita that did breakfast rellenos. Those things were f'n delicious. Now I'm hungry for rellenos.

[jmedslc]

Man... that reminds me... there used to be a place in Fruita that did breakfast rellenos. Those things were f'n delicious. Now I'm hungry for rellenos.

I love the relleno burrito from Giliberto’s. And Jilberto’s! Haha