Utah Routes for big rigs

[marcimiller2@gmail.com]

Hello All. Can anyone help me decide the best routes to take touring Utah and Colorado this May and June? We are wondering if Hwy 160 from Flagstaff to Cortez, Co., is recommended for a 41-foot Monaco towing a 24-foot trailer (65 feet total). Also, is Hwy 491 from Cortz to Monticello, Utah, connecting to Hwy 191 traveling to Moab is recommended. What about diesel stations? Thank you for your help. Marci

[Guest BillAdams]

You should have no problems on those roads, but I have not been between Flagstaff and Cortez. Our trip came down from Utah to Cortez and that's an easy trip. I might suggest that if you are touring, instead you go West from Flagstaff on 40 and turn N. on 191 (exit 333 I believe). This will give you a straight shot up and you will be able to stop at Canyon de Chelly near Chinle, CO before you get to Cortez. This is a not to be missed stop and you will be able to take a guided driving tour (your 4-wheel drive with a hired native guide or one of their tour groups) through the floor of the canyon and see some of the cliff dwellings in the area.

I assume you are headed for the Moab area which is beautiful and vast so leave lots of time to visit Arches and Canyon land. If you are exhausted after all of this exploring, turn West from there and take a stop over in Glenwood Springs, CO and enjoy of couple of days in the hot springs. If you are headed for SLC from Moab you will miss this but mark in on your to-do list should your travels take you this direction in the future.

[NWJeeper]

Hwy 191 in Utah is fine, Hwy 191 in Arizona is horrible and rough. If you travel 191 in Arizona you won't have any fillings left by the end of the day. We have never traveled 160 before but it can't be worse than 191 in AZ. Plenty of diesel available in the area. Moab is a very popular tourist destination and you will see lots of big rigs there. If you haven't been to Moab before make reservations early and I mean months early. May and June things will be getting hot so campgrounds with shade are a premium in Moab. We prefer Canyonlands RV Park in town as it has lots of shade trees. The interior roads are a bit tight but the campground is loaded with big rigs so it's not unmanageable. We love that area down there and look forward to spending more time there when we can. Be sure to visit Mesa Verde outside Cortez if you can. Have a great trip.

[marcimiller2@gmail.com]

You should have no problems on those roads, but I have not been between Flagstaff and Cortez. Our trip came down from Utah to Cortez and that's an easy trip. I might suggest that if you are touring, instead you go West from Flagstaff on 40 and turn N. on 191 (exit 333 I believe). This will give you a straight shot up and you will be able to stop at Canyon de Chelly near Chinle, CO before you get to Cortez. This is a not to be missed stop and you will be able to take a guided driving tour (your 4-wheel drive with a hired native guide or one of their tour groups) through the floor of the canyon and see some of the cliff dwellings in the area.

I assume you are headed for the Moab area which is beautiful and vast so leave lots of time to visit Arches and Canyon land. If you are exhausted after all of this exploring, turn West from there and take a stop over in Glenwood Springs, CO and enjoy of couple of days in the hot springs. If you are headed for SLC from Moab you will miss this but mark in on your to-do list should your travels take you this direction in the future.

Hi Bill, thank you for the help. Sounds Great. We had heard about Canyon de Chelly before so thanks for the reminder. I have another question. After Moab, we will be traveling to Breckenridge, Co area, then on to Rocky Mountain NP, and then up to the Dakotas.......any suggestions about the route, must see, must avoid?

[marcimiller2@gmail.com]

Hwy 191 in Utah is fine, Hwy 191 in Arizona is horrible and rough. If you travel 191 in Arizona you won't have any fillings left by the end of the day. We have never traveled 160 before but it can't be worse than 191 in AZ. Plenty of diesel available in the area. Moab is a very popular tourist destination and you will see lots of big rigs there. If you haven't been to Moab before make reservations early and I mean months early. May and June things will be getting hot so campgrounds with shade are a premium in Moab. We prefer Canyonlands RV Park in town as it has lots of shade trees. The interior roads are a bit tight but the campground is loaded with big rigs so it's not unmanageable. We love that area down there and look forward to spending more time there when we can. Be sure to visit Mesa Verde outside Cortez if you can. Have a great trip.

Hi, thank you for your help with this route. Sounds like 191 in Arizona is off the list! (Boy I love this communication tool. Really helps each other.)

Maybe you too would have suggestions on our next leg of the journey......after Moab, we are traveling into the Breckenridge area, then to Rocky Mountain NP, then up to the Dakotas....any suggestions on must see, must avoid, campsites?

Thank you again for taking the time to help.

[NWJeeper]

Hi, thank you for your help with this route. Sounds like 191 in Arizona is off the list! (Boy I love this communication tool. Really helps each other.)

Maybe you too would have suggestions on our next leg of the journey......after Moab, we are traveling into the Breckenridge area, then to Rocky Mountain NP, then up to the Dakotas....any suggestions on must see, must avoid, campsites?

Thank you again for taking the time to help.

Sorry Haven't been that direction in years. Try and get to Devils Tower if you can. It's been years since I have been there but I remember it as a great place to explore. When planning a trip I like to use RV Park Reviews.com to check on and plan our campground stays. These are reviews from other RVrs like us, not paid advertising or the web sites agenda. If you plan on coming northwest instead I can be of more help.

[marcimiller2@gmail.com]

Sorry Haven't been that direction in years. Try and get to Devils Tower if you can. It's been years since I have been there but I remember it as a great place to explore. When planning a trip I like to use RV Park Reviews.com to check on and plan our campground stays. These are reviews from other RVrs like us, not paid advertising or the web sites agenda. If you plan on coming northwest instead I can be of more help.

I too love that site...RV reviews. Use it a lot. Thanks again.

[Guest BillAdams]

Maybe we are talking about different roads, but when we took 191 out of Cortez, through 4 corners to Chinle and down to I-40 there were no issues at all with the road. I don't remember it as being rough at all. It has been 2-3 years so I suppose things could have changed but the whole would have had to have fallen apart in a very short period of time.

By the way, the location of 4 corners is not really where the 4 States meet but it makes a good photo opportunity if you ignore the reality.

[NWJeeper]

We traveld the length of 191 from Wilcox AZ up to Moab in September of '08 with our rig when it was new. The entire streach in AZ was rougher than a corn cob, really beat us up. I wouldn't take it again. As soon as we crossed the state line into Utah it got much better. The worst was around Canyon D'chelley (SP?), really bad!

BTW, Hwy 191 does not go to Cortez, that is 160 and or 491

[Guest BillAdams]

BTW, Hwy 191 does not go to Cortez, that is 160 and or 491

That's correct, I was just suggesting the 191 route to get from I-40 to Chinle. The map reader would need to take the logical route from there to Cortez.

[NWJeeper]

That's correct, I was just suggesting the 191 route to get from I-40 to Chinle. The map reader would need to take the logical route from there to Cortez.

Yeah we traveled that whole route in September of '08 and it was just horid, wouldn't do it again with our RV, maybe in a car to get to Chinle otherwise I would avoid it. The worst of is was that exact section too. I guess if someone really wants to see Canyon De Chelly then there is no choice but I have seen so many beautiful areas down there especially in and around Moab that I can do with out seing that to save my rig. I just kept wondering how many bolts I was loosing every time we hit a bump and hole.