Where Asphalt Ends: A Wild Drive on Shafer Canyon and Potash Roads in Canyonlands

Canyonlands National Park, located in southeastern Utah, is one of the most geologically fascinating landscapes in the world. Its dramatic canyons, towering mesas, sheer cliffs, spires, arches, and bizarre rock formations tell a deep and complex story of Earth’s history that spans hundreds of millions of years. Perhaps there is no better way to experience the scale of this landscape than by driving down into it; that’s where the Shafer Canyon and Potash Roads come in.

To start off, earlier today we hiked 6.3 miles along the Neck Spring trail into one of the smaller fingers of Taylor Canyon in the Isle of the Sky district of the national park. The views were stunning and gave us a sense of the isolation and immensity of this National Park.

Shafer Canyon Overlook

Perched 6,000 feet above sea level at one of the the Island in the Sky mesa overlooks, you get a different perspective on Canyonlands spectacular landscape.

These views were the nudge we needed to take the next step and drive into the South Fork of Shafer Canyon via the Shafer Canyon and Potash Roads. I had already researched the drive and prepared for the eventuality of this adventure by renting a four-wheel-drive Jeep Grand Cherokee with high-clearance and traction management systems. My only concern was if we would have sufficient time to complete the drive in daylight.

The Asphalt Ends

The Shafer Trail at the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park is an iconic road that descends through a colorful, massive sandstone cliff. Its function has changed through the years; from a route made by Native Americans to access resources on the mesa top, to a trail for sheep herders moving flocks to better foraging in winter time, and then a road for trucks moving loads of uranium from the backcountry to market. Today, the Shafer Trail is a challenging, unpaved backcountry road for recreational users seeking the experience of a lifetime.

The Shafer Trail is named after the Shafer family, who were Mormon pioneer settlers. From 1914 to 1915 John and Frank Shafer improved the trail so they could herd livestock from summer pastures on the mesa top to winter ground on the White Rim. The asphalt ends and in short distance, we begin skirting along cliffs.

Just a mile or so into the drive, the scenery changes dramatically. In this photo looking back at our route, you can see how the gravel road has narrowed and the cliffs around us have become steeper.

The road we'll be driving through the canyon appears as the light brown straight line running diagonally across the center of this photo.

Being on the passenger side gave Dave a chance to get used to the road or at least that's what I hoped.

The Real Adventure Begins - Shafer Switchbacks

After nearly 2 miles, we arrived at the Shafer switchbacks. The expression on Dave's face shows his excitement about driving this gravelly, rugged, and rocky road with steep drop-offs just inches from our tires.

The most spectacular view of the switchbacks can be seen from the overlook located several hundred feet above where we are. I captured this photo this morning from the mesa. In the photo, Shafer Road is visible on the right side, clinging to the cliffs, while the beginning of the switchbacks is on the left. The switchbacks plunge about 1,000 feet in just a few miles, zigzagging their way into the depths of the canyon.

With sharp turns and no guardrails, it's not for the faint-hearted, but it offers an unforgettable experience. Conditions used to be worse, The initial version of the road was very narrow. Some of the switchbacks were so tight that trucks would have to back up one section and go forward on the next as the turns were too tight to navigate in one turn.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos because I was 100% focused on the road and there were no pull-off spots to SAFELY taking pictures. However once the road straightened a bit, I managed to take this photo. Dave was not pleased.

One final photo looking back at our descent from the canyon rim (top center). In just 15 minutes we had plunged almost 1000 feet into the canyon.

Even though the drop-offs and switchbacks vanished, the road continued a long descent into the canyon.

After driving 45 minutes, we reached the end of the first segment of the adventure. There was a smile on Dave's face but we only have a short respite before our next significant challenge.

The views from this pull-off were stunning with towering red sandstone cliffs rising 1,000 feet above us.

While we were stopped, a car passed us as it began its climb up the switchbacks. I’m not sure how comfortable I’d be with two-way traffic on those tight turns.

As the livestock industry waned in this area and mining and drilling efforts ramped up, the road saw further improvements. In 1952, Moab resident Nick Murphy helped to arrange financing for the work to expand the cattle trail into a passable Jeep and mining road.

This area was the center of the 1950s uranium boom, when US government incentives and stories of prospectors who became millionaires overnight after discovering rich uranium deposits propelled widespread exploration. Prospectors modified existing and built new roads that still scar the park landscape but enable more people to recreate in the Canyonlands National Park. Few parts of the Shafer and Potash Roads were as well graded as this section.

We were no longer looking into the canyon, we were surrounded by it.

These rock hammers form from erosion along cracks or joints in the rock. When water collects in the rock cracks or joints; the cracks then consolidate the water, causing more erosion in these areas, further widening the cracks until only individual spires are left.

Driving the Primitive Potash Road

After traveling over 5 miles, we arrived at the intersection with White Rim Road. We turned left onto Potash Rd, which would eventually lead us back to Moab. Unfortunately, we didn't stop to take a photo of the sign. At this point, we simply wanted to keep driving. The road conditions changed drastically, to say the least it was a primitive road. Our challenge now was to prevent the car from bottoming out on rocks and avoid getting stuck on fallen rocks or in loose sand and deep ruts. There were more than a few white knuckle driving moments.

There were times when each wheel of the jeep was on a different surface and at different heights. The constant rocking and nonstop bouncing of the entire vehicle made me glad that this wasn't our personal car. If this wasn't basic 'rock crawling', then I don't know what is.

Besides the stunning scenery, reaching Gooseneck Overlook made the trip worth every nerve racking mile. The river is 940 feet below Gooseneck Overlook. It’s not possible to see the entire meander from here, but standing nearly a thousand feet above the river at a point that is also a thousand feet below the canyon rim is incredible. Sandwiched between the river and the rim; what a feeling and what a view.

At this point, the Colorado turns abruptly north below the overlook and then bends around to the south again, tracing out a 180-degree arc that is four miles long. The entire meander is not visible from the overlook but that doesn't diminish the impact of this viewing spot.

A meander is another name for a bend or curve in the river channel that forms when the water flow velocity diminishes in the river. The river erode sediments on the outer bank and deposits sediments on the inner bank. On the left is the meander at Gooseneck Point and on the right is probably one of the most famous meanders Horseshoe Bend. This iconic landmark' located near Page, Arizona, is a horseshoe-shaped incised meander carved out by the mighty Colorado River over millions of years.

My best photo of the meander was captured from Dead Horse State Park, which we visited the day after driving along Shafer and Potash Road. The drop from the state park to the Colorado River is almost 2000 feet. Geologically, this view encompasses 150-200 million years of sediment and rock layers, stretching from the top of the far-right mesa down to the river.

In this elevation profile of the Island in the Sky drive of the from Shafer Road to the paved portion of Potash Road. The steep drop from miles 2.5 to 5.0 indicates the start of the switchback and the continuation of the road as it descends into the canyon. The 'X' marks the elevation at Gooseneck Overlook.

We made a few additional stops on this section of this mostly flat road. It was difficult balancing between taking photos and making sure we were on the paved road before nightfall.

But these views were too much of a temptation.

Unfortunately, toward the end of Potash Road, conditions deteriorated significantly. We were climbing rock steps at one moment only to then descending into a deeply rutted gully filled with deep sand. The traction management system was so helpful navigating this section. More than once we thought, 'this can’t be the right way.'

Adding to the pressure was this reminder that we were running out of daylight.

It was a relief when we first saw the sign of the potash mining operations located near the end of the unpaved portion of Potash Road. Most potash forms in arid regions when inland seas or lakes dry out. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind potassium salt deposits. Over geologic time, sediment buries these deposits and they become potash ore. The ore at Moab—which actually lies about 3,900 feet below the surface and within the Paradox Formation—began to form about 300 million years ago.

In Utah, the miners pump water deep underground to reach the potash ore. Potash is soluble, so water dissolves it into a brine. That brine gets pumped into underground caverns, where the potash continues to dissolve. Eventually, a highly-concentrated brine is pumped all the way to the surface and into one of the evaporation ponds shown in this photo. As the water evaporates, potash and other salts crystallize out. This evaporation process typically takes about 300 days. The water is dyed bright blue to reduce the amount of time it takes for the potash to crystallize

Once again my best photo of the potash evaporation ponds was taken during our visit to Dead Horse State Park. The Potash Road can be seen as the light brown line stretching from the bottom right corner to the immense evaporation ponds at the center of the image.

We finished in the nick of time. The 17.5+ mile drive took 2 hours and 25 minutes. My only regret is not starting the drive sooner, which would have allowed us to 'relax' more and make additional stops. Nonetheless, it was still one of the most incredible adventures we've experienced in the five Utah national parks.

Dave with a well deserved drink or two before dinner. Looking at our food that night, I couldn't help but wonder whether the potash mine we passed by tonight played a role in bringing our food to us. The Intrepid Mine produces muriate of potash, a potassium-rich salt commonly used by farmers in fertilizers.

My pride in handling the drive took a hit when I came across this photo from 1965 showing a Volkswagen Bug navigating Shafer Road. How was this possible, when I struggled with a high-clearance AWD Jeep Grand Cherokee?

Interesting Side Day Trips Along Potash Road

A few days before driving the Shafer and Potash Roads, we drove the paved section of Potash Road from Moab to explore petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks. The petroglyphs are visible from Potash Rd/Highway 279 in the rock climbing area referred to as Wall Street.

The petroglyphs are situated approximately 25-30 feet above the road's surface. Before the construction of Highway 279, a talus slope would have existed at the base of the cliffs where the petroglyphs are found. During the highway's construction, this talus was removed, resulting in the petroglyphs (within the blue circle) appearing to be high up on the cliffs.

Archaeologists believe that most of the rock art was created by the Fremont people (450-1300 A.D.)

Our next stop was just a short distance away at the Poison Spider Trailhead. There is a simple explanation for how they got here.

Around 90 million years ago, a sandy area extended over most of Utah. Between dune fields were scattered flat areas of wet sand, shallow ponds, and small streams. Dinosaurs crossed these flats and left their footprints, which were sometimes then covered by the shifting dunes and preserved intact. Millions of years later, after the sands had turned to stone, blocks containing the tracks have fallen from the cliffs above and split along the bedding planes, exposing the tracks to the sun once again.

This slab contains the tracks of at least 10 different meat-eating dinosaurs, ranging in size at the hip from 17 inches to more 5 feet. The tracks are from theropod (bipedal carnivorous) dinosaurs. The larger tracks are named Eubrontes and the smaller tracks are named Grallator.

Eubrontes is the name of the footprints, identified by their shape, and not of the genus or genera that made them, which is as yet unknown but is presumed to be similar to a Dilophosaurus. At about 23 feet t in length, with a weight of about 880 pounds, they were one of the earliest large predatory dinosaurs.

Who would have thought there was so much to do in the Moab area besides hiking?