Ecalante Rim

EDIT: I took our non-trail rated Jeep Patriot on this trail starting from Escalante Canyon and going uphill. It does not have low range. It did really well, and many crossover SUVs will be able to do this trail without difficulty. The main area of concern is the stream crossings. If the water is high, a small vehicle may not have a high enough clearance to safely cross the stream.

Difficulty Rating: 2.5. The reason for the 2.5 rating is if you start from Escalante Canyon and go up the road, low-range is not necessarily needed but would be nice. I would not want to take my Jeep Patriot up the road because it wouldn't  have the power to go over some of the rocks due to the steep hill without the low range. If you start from Delta and go down, a cross-over SUV should have no issues as long as you take care to go around the higher rocks. If you start from the Delta side, then it would be rated a 2.

Location: The trail starts near the beginning of Escalante Canyon and comes out at Delta, CO.

Trailhead: 11.9 miles north of Delta, CO from the Maverick gas station downtown. The GPS coordinates are: 38.784704, -108.246905. This is the trailhead for Escalante Canyon, and there are signs marking the turn. Take the Escalante Canyon road 6.2 miles, and there will be a turn to your left for the Dry Mesa Road and Escalante Rim Road. 0.6 miles after this turn there will be another turn to your left which is the Escalante Rim Road which is actually where the trail starts. Coordinates for this turn are 38.712819, -108.261934.

If you start from the Delta, CO side, take 5th street to the west for 6.6 miles (5th will turn into Sawmill Mesa Road). There will be a dirt road to your right with a street sign labeling it as Escalante Rim Road. The coordinates are 38.713840, -108.169419.

This trail is a short one that will take about on hour to complete. The part that makes this road fun is the climb out of Escalante Canyon. It is a moderately steep shelf road with some great views. The road is narrow enough you would have some difficulty passing oncoming vehicles. Luckily you can see an oncoming vehicle from far enough away that you could stop at one of the many pull-outs for passing. Once you are on top, you get some nice views of Grand Mesa, Delta, Olathe, and Montrose. On top it is a graded road that would be rated a 2 due to a few rough spots that would cause a passenger car to bottom out.

Here are the GPX and KML files.