Poison Spider Mesa

Rating: 6
The difficulty of this trail is higher than many of the other trails on this blog, however I had no difficulties in my Jeep Cherokee with 33" tires and no lockers. This trail has multiple obstacles that make this a fun trail, even for the experienced driver, but not difficult enough to cause frequent breakdowns or body damage. I would rate this as an easy 6.

Location
Moab, UT

Trailhead
This is an out-and-back type of trail. The GPS coordinates of the trailhead are 38.533407, -109.607578.

The trailhead is easy to find. It is on the Potash Road, UT-279. The trailhead is located 5.9 miles south down UT-279 (Potash Road) measured from  the intersection of US-191 and UT-279. The trailhead is marked with a sign for Dinosaur Track and Poison Spider Trail.


Description
This is an enjoyable, popular trail in Moab. Expect to see many vehicles during the trip through Poison Spider. The first section is about 5.5 miles long. This section will be traveled in both directions. After this section you follow a 4 mile loop and then return down the original section.

The trail is a combination of dirt, ledges, sand, and slickrock which makes this a varied trail in the types of obstacles that you see.

There are two named obstacles that I am aware of. One of them is called "The Waterfall." This used to be a fairly easy obstacle, but weather and travel have worn away the sand causing this to be harder than when I was a kid. There are multiple lines, and if you stay high and to the right it isn't difficult.

There is another obstacle that makes for great pictures. I grew up calling this obstacle "The Wedge," but I have heard it referred to as "The Wedgie" and the Red Rock 4 Wheelers page calls it the "V-Notch." This is a "V" shaped notch or crack that you straddle to get across. I have seen where a vehicle didn't go high enough on the driver's side and the tire slipped into the wedge and hit the side body panel on the slick rock. If you go slow and make sure you keep the vehicle fairly level you shouldn't have any problems. Some people opt on dropping a rear tire into the wedge at the very end to pose for a picture with a front tire in the air.

There are many other ledges, slick rock climbs, and loose climbs that keep this trail interesting. The number of unnamed obstacles is part of what makes this trail enjoyable and popular.

The scenery is also spectacular. One of the highlights is an overlook at Little Arch. this is an arch at the top of the cliff overlooking the Colorado River. It is a short hike of about 100 yards from the parking area. If you are daring (or an idiot like my Mom would say), you can even walk across the arch.

Download the GPS file here! This kml file is from the Red Rock 4 Wheeler's website.