I went to the Vernal area expecting to check some trails off a list. What I got was a full reconnection with why desert hiking works on me the way it does. Six trails over a few days, each one different enough from the last that the trip never settled into a routine. Slickrock loops, river canyon walks, a 2,000-foot overlook, and a half-mile through rock formations that look like they were sculpted by something other than weather. Here’s how it went.
Battleship Loop
I started with the Battleship Loop at Red Fleet State Park, and it immediately had me back in love with desert hiking. Short trail, slickrock throughout, the kind of terrain that demands your full attention as you push up the steep sections and pick your way back down. The reservoir views through the canyon are worth every step.
Then the storm clouds showed up. Lightning started flashing more frequently and I transitioned from hiking to trail running, fast. I still carry some PTSD from getting caught in a lightning storm on Mount Nebo, and I had no interest in a repeat performance. Not the relaxed start I planned, but it set the tone for the whole trip.
Moonshine Arch
The Moonshine Arch hike turned into a weather gamble. More rain threatened and I drove back into Vernal to wait it out. Two hours later the forecast opened up and I took the window. Good call.
The hike to the arch was better than expected. About halfway in I noticed the dirt road approach offered an off-road option but I was already committed to the trail and didn’t mind. Seeing the arch from multiple angles on the approach, then sitting underneath it with some trail mix, taking in an 85-foot sandstone span with nobody else around. That’s a good hour.
Green River Trail
The next morning opened with an easy walk along the Green River Trail. Flat riverside path, canyon walls reflecting in the water, the whole scene impossibly green against the surrounding desert. There’s a short steep overlook climb partway through that I had to take. Standing up there looking down at the river moving through the canyon below. Ideal way to start a day.
Sound of Silence Trail
Right next to the Green River area, the Sound of Silence Trail was the most fun trail of the trip. The terrain changes every quarter mile: soft desert sand, then slot canyon sections where the walls close in, then out onto slickrock, then a ridge with a full desert panorama. The final descent back into the wash makes you feel like you’re actually on an adventure rather than just walking. I was grinning the whole way around. Best trail of the week.
Harpers Corner
Harpers Corner required committing to a 31-mile drive on the Colorado side of Dinosaur National Monument. Worth every mile. The Harpers Corner Trail weaves through pinyon-juniper woodland with canyon views building on both sides until it terminates on a narrow peninsula 2,000 feet above the Green and Yampa River confluence. I had started the day at river level on the Green River Trail. By afternoon I was looking down on the same river from a distance that made it look like a blue thread. That perspective shift is the whole trip in one afternoon.
Fantasy Canyon
The trip ended at Fantasy Canyon. Forty miles of dirt road southeast of Vernal to reach half a mile of loop trail through the most alien landscape in Utah. The formations look like melted wax, dragon figures, twisted columns, balanced spires that should not still be standing. The place does not look like it belongs on this planet and I mean that as a compliment. No crowds, no fee, no infrastructure. Just the canyon and whatever you brought with you. Fitting way to end a trip. The strangest place last.
Final Thoughts
Six trails, all within range of Vernal, all different enough from each other that the trip never felt repetitive. The Uinta Basin and Dinosaur National Monument area is one of the most underrated hiking destinations in Utah, and these trails are the reason. Full guides for each one are linked above. Click through for parking details, GPS coordinates, what to bring, and the complete breakdown.
Chase the Quiet
Desert hiking reconnects something. The scale of canyon country, the physical demand of slickrock, the quiet of places like Fantasy Canyon and Moonshine Arch where almost nobody makes the drive. That’s the whole reason for the trip. Not the checklist. The reconnection.
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Theo Maynard is a landscape photographer and adventure blogger based in Salt Lake City. He chases remote desert and mountain light across the American West, documents it all solo, and shares the journey through Unicorn Adventure. He’s on the autism spectrum, and that’s not a footnote, it’s the whole story. He creates to inspire others to get outside, chase what lights them up, and live their best possible life. Unapologetically himself.