While staying at the UTV friendly Moab Condo Rental 8A3, we decided to try Dome Plateau instead of redoing Top of the World; what a great choice. Moab, Utah's Dome Plateau trail is located north of town in the Dewey Bridge area. Little did we know but Dome Plateau is one of the best all round sight seeing trails in Moab, with nearly 50 miles of adventure waiting for you. However, the trail is often overshadowed by it's more Instagram worthy neighbor across the street, Top of the World.
Sure, that one photo at the Top of the World is amazing, but the Dome Plateau trail has way more to offer that truly enhances the Moab experience. Along the way, you'll find large majestic arches, caves, old cowboy camps, mining history, and an incredible overlook. Honestly, this overlook might even beat out its more famous counterpart since you get to see the Colorado River winding away in the distance.
One of the things I absolutely love about Dome Plateau is the massive Entrada Sandstone cliffs that line a lot of the trail. The layers of pink, white, and tan are just awesome. These banded layers always make me think of Cedar Mesa Sandstone, which is south of Moab in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Entrada has a smoother look compared to other sandstones around Moab. Unlike many other cliffs in the area, the Entrada cliffs don't have any rubble at their base. It's like Mother Nature tidied them up and made them ready for visitors.
After a short but somewhat rugged start, the first thing you will notice along the trail are the huge alcoves along the cliff walls to the west. One of the biggest alcoves is right near the start of the trail, and a short spur trail leads right to it. It is a great place for kids to explore and gaze up at the unbelievably large rock formations. You can really feel like Indiana Jones playing in them and making echo sounds. The cavern is so large that it is nearly impossible to capture with a camera.
We spent a few hours exploring the top of the plateau but eventually made our way to the beautiful La Boca Arch. The way the base of the arch is formed makes for the perfect lunch spot where you can sit back and quietly observe nature. This arch is actually a good bit larger than the image above makes it appear. The arch is located on a sandstone island that is somewhat isolated from the main Entrada Sandstone cliffs you will follow to get to the arch. Due to the smooth and gentle slopes of the rock, it is easy to explore above and around La Boca Arch. This would be a great camping spot if you were interested in doing an overlanding trip. I have actually spent a good bit of time exploring around this unique rock formation.
If you get to La Boca Arch too early for lunch, you could always just continue to the Professor Valley overlook. I really love this overlook and I'm not sure why it always gets overlooked, no pun intended. Visita perfectly captures the Colorado River as it snakes its way through Professor Valley then past Castle Rock, and the distant cliffs of Porcupine Rim. If you look directly across from you, you will be greeted by views of the Fisher Towers and La Sal Mountains. The landforms of the valley have made this one of the best views in all of the Southwestern United States. Every time I see this view with Castle Valley in the distance, I am reminded of the Roadrunner and the Wile E Coyote. Keep kids and dogs close at hand in this area. The cliff is nearly 2,000 feet tall, and one false step could be a disaster.
I often feel like people rush too much and miss out on the scenery. This spot was a bit north and west of the main trail, but it had its own unique vibe. I really loved taking a break from the intense trails Moab is known for and just cruising on the smoother ones like those at Dome Plateau. The trails on the main plateau were nice and flowy, making it easy to enjoy the views as we drove. We stopped a few times to check out some rock formations, like this small canyon. The coolest thing about this area was how the rocks seemed to sprout from the ground like trees. You can see Arches National Park in the distance. If you have the time, I’d definitely suggest checking out Covert Arch.
We finally reached Cave Springs, which was our destination for the day. The cave is nestled in a stunning outcrop of Entrada Sandstone. People and animals have been using the caves and life giving springs for thousands of years. If you look closely, you'll notice traces of those who were here before us. Most of the petroglyphs are going, but there are still many cowboyglyphs near the springs. It is unlawful to mark the rocks; don't mark them in any way. If you are interested in the cowboy history but don't have the means to reach this area, I recommend visiting Cave Springs in Canyonlands National Park.
In the desert, water is at a premium so it is no wonder cowboys have been drawn here to water their cattle and horses. We found all of the cowboy relics to be very interesting and we spent a good bit of time exploring the area. This is the largest water trough I have seen in the Moab area. On the side of the La Sal Mountains, there are lots of troughs daisy chained together, using gravity to move water down the mountain. To the left of this photo, there is actually a very fun place to ride your SxS. The trail goes up and down on large sandy domes. It was a blast to floor the Polaris RZR Pro and climb the hills.
The Wind Cave caves are pretty big and a blast to explore. There are gates at the entrance to keep livestock away from the springs. It's totally fine to go past the gates and check out the area. When we were there, the spring was barely flowing, and the ground was just a bit damp. The dried-up spring is probably why the trough isn't used anymore. There are more mining spots to check out around here, but we took the wrong trail and missed them. Our out of the way adventure was still a lot of fun, and now we've got a reason to come back!
If you are planning a trip to Moab, we hope you will consider staying with us at Moab Adventure Condo. Our condos offer large double garages with plenty of room for your side by sides or other toys. We also have lots of room for trailer parking.
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