Overlanding on a Moab Trail Rarely Traveled : Rimrocker

We started out at mile one in Moab on Rimrocker Trail and didn't know what to expect, but we thought for sure that the trail would be crowded with other Jeeps. To our surprise, as we made our way out of Utah and into Colorado and we only passed one vehicle the entire time. Oddly enough, it was another Jeep Gladiator overlanding with a similar set up to ours.

We camped just west of the Colorado border at dispersed camping on public land surrounded by cattle and deer and were treated to a beautiful show of shooting stars over the Las Sal Mountains.

After crossing into Colorado, there is a lake called Buckeye Reservoir that has camping spots and restrooms. We just didn't get to film this because we got sidetracked with trying to get the pent up energy out of our dogs that were amped up from all of the animals around us all night at our camp. Go figure that Australian Cattle Dogs want to chase every hooved creature.

We couldn't see if from the trail, but when we flew the drone, we realized that we drove right past an old mine. When we looked at the map later, we actually couldn't even figure out which mine we got on film because there are so many mines dotted all over that area that we were oblivious to.

Rimrocker Trail is not very technical, but some parts of it are slow going because of there are several areas with small boulders all over the path and tons of narrow shelf roads. We were happy to take our time and just enjoy the everchanging scenery.

If you decide to check this trail out, as with all other trails, be sure to check to see if it is open. There are trail reports on the Rimrocker website https://rimrockertrail.org/ that are updated frequently. When we were there in July, there was an area that was affected by a washout, but it was still passable.

We ended up exiting Rimrocker Trail at mile ninety-eight from Moab in the tiny town of Nucla, Colorado. You can find gas, food, and restrooms there, but we decided to head toward Ouray, Colorado on paved roads. If we had more time on our trip, we would have driven to Montrose, but we wanted to make it to Engineer Pass before heading home.

If you have a high clearance vehicle with four wheel drive and a place to lay your head, it doesn't matter if it is a decked out overlanding vehicle with a rooftop tent like ours or your own creation that gets you out there, Rimrocker trail is a wonderful place to explore!

If you are interested in wanting to adventure more, the best way to begin is to do a little research and get out there with what you have. There are plenty of amazing places that you can go with any vehicle! We started out with a 1998 VW Beetle that was held together with Duck Tape and love, a ten year old leaky tent, and a lot of determination.


If you are curious about our equipment:

2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
AEV Duel Sport XP Suspension System with High Capacity Springs
35 Inch Nitto Ridge Grappler Tires
Icon Rebound Pro Rims
Fishbone Offroad Full Rack
Go Fast Superlight Rooftop Tent
KC HiLites Flex Era 4 Spot Lights
KC Cyclone Rock Lights
Warn Zeon 12000 LB Winch with Synthetic Line
Warn Grill Guard
Three 3 Gallon Gas Rotopax
Two 2 Gallon Water Rotopax
Smittybilt Traction Boards

Camera Gear:

Sony A7Siii
Sony A7iiii
DJI Mavic Mini 2 Drone
Go Pro Hero 10
Go Pro Hero 12