Moab to Escalante Route Suggestions

[Commodore]

I'm planning on meeting a friend in Moab on December 1st and trying to go west to Escalante (or even to St. George) on as much dirt as possible. We are not looking to destroy either truck although his is likely more durable than mine. Does anyone have any insight or route suggestions. I have been looking on Onx but keep running into a problem crossing with that little thing called the Colorado river. I know guys like @OverlandGearGuy have a bunch of experience in this area.

 

[Lars]

From Kanab Utah, head east to Cottonwood road. Head north to Tropic Ut. Travel on pavement till Boulder. Head east on the Burr trail and after passing through the Waterpocket fold, head North. You can head East over the Henry Mountains (if no snow) or continue north until pavement. From there you can go north, cross-country, on Factory Butte road and Wild Horse road (Muddy River crossing could be dicey if high flow) to Goblin Valley state park. From there hit pavement to Moab, or not. More dirt possible from there, but that's probably enough for one trip.
Great trip, mostly Easy some Moderate, but I wouldn't do this route alone.

 

[Commodore]

From Kanab Utah, head east to Cottonwood road. Head north to Tropic Ut. Travel on pavement till Boulder. Head east on the Burr trail and after passing through the Waterpocket fold, head North. You can head East over the Henry Mountains (if no snow) or continue north until pavement. From there you can go north, cross-country, on Factory Butte road and Wild Horse road (Muddy River crossing could be dicey if high flow) to Goblin Valley state park. From there hit pavement to Moab, or not. More dirt possible from there, but that's probably enough for one trip.
Great trip, mostly Easy some Moderate, but I wouldn't do this route alone.

Much appreciated. I have had dinner at Hell’s backbone grill in Bolder before. Anyone in the area should plan on a meal there. Definitely not traveling this alone. Weather could greatly impact plans but as we like to say “we don’t have plans, we have ideas”. The other truck is a custom build Ford Expedition body on a F350 chassis rolling on 37’s. It’s a beast.

 

[Lars]

Much appreciated. I have had dinner at Hell’s backbone grill in Bolder before. Anyone in the area should plan on a meal there. Definitely not traveling this alone. Weather could greatly impact plans but as we like to say “we don’t have plans, we have ideas”. The other truck is a custom build Ford Expedition body on a F350 chassis rolling on 37’s. It’s a beast.

Yes weather...forgot to add it's probably impassible after significant rain because of the Bentonite clay. You'll be retaining bits of Utah in your chassis' nooks-and-crannies for the life of the vehicle. Snow chains on all 4 tires is supposed to help.
Good you are going with someone else so you can winch him out of trouble...

 

[pmatusov]

From Kanab Utah, head east to Cottonwood road. Head north to Tropic Ut. Travel on pavement till Boulder. Head east on the Burr trail and after passing through the Waterpocket fold, head North. You can head East over the Henry Mountains (if no snow) or continue north until pavement. From there you can go north, cross-country, on Factory Butte road and Wild Horse road (Muddy River crossing could be dicey if high flow) to Goblin Valley state park. From there hit pavement to Moab, or not. More dirt possible from there, but that's probably enough for one trip.
Great trip, mostly Easy some Moderate, but I wouldn't do this route alone.

That's an awesome route.
A couple of times, we've gone over Aquarius Plateau - there's a very steep trail going from the parking area near the pass on Highway 12 to the top of the plateau, and come down straight to Escalante.
On the other end, Elephant Hill to Beef Basin, or Bear's Ears, are great. Elephant Hill would be a royal bitch in a Super Duty, though.
Agree with alone comment generally - when my wife's LR4 died on Cottonwood Canyon Rd., there was no cell phone service anywhere even on the shark fins.