Moab, Utah is one of those places that is an off-roaders dream. Moab has so many famous routes and trails but one that gets often overlooked but shouldn't is Lockhart Basin. The trail itself runs north and south. Rated a 6/10 on the OnX Offroad app it has plenty of technical sections to challenge the crawler in you. The 2024 East meets West event took this trail from the South end and headed North back to Moab. We took two days to get it done. From the South, the entrance is just East of Canyonlands National Park and the Needles are visible right from the start.

A majority of the first day ran under the large cliffs that contain Needles overlook and Canyonlands Overlook. Red dirt filled the air and the dust was not something most of us were prepared for but despite only doing about 40 miles off road the trip took nearly all day. Multiple stops for views and pictures. The first 30 minutes of the drive meant a couple of rigs nearly getting stuck in the soft sand and lots and lots of picture/video taken on the cliffs on the entrance to the trail. The crew followed the trail all the way to Lockhart Canyon trail and followed it all the way to the end.

The river was blocked off by fencing from Canyonlands National Park(which requires permits to camp in). Lockhart itself is BLM lands and dispersed camping is allowed. The crew found a campsite not far away and tucked away in the cliffs of the canyon. 

Day 2 had everyone coming out of the canyon and almost immediately up. The difficulty of the trail showed itself quickly as it was by far the more technical portion.

Day 2 was only 50 miles but would take nearly 12 hours due to mechanical breakdowns and technical trails. Plenty of technical climbs and a couple of really edgy spots that required very good spotting to get through cleanly. The views though on the north half of the trail are absolutely worth every tough spot. 

We finished the trail in the dark which is a shame considering some of the Colorado overlook was just below us. We talked about coming back and doing the trail North to South...I'm sure we will. It's a trail that makes you want to come back and do again which is why it makes it our first, "Trails you have to take"