Potash Road Scenic Byway

One of the first stops along Potash Road is a signed panel known locally as the Indian Writings, where petroglyphs are pecked into the dark desert varnish on the cliff face. The images include human and animal figures and abstract shapes, left by the Ancestral Puebloan and Fremont peoples who lived in and traveled through this canyon country long before Europeans arrived.

These carvings are sacred and irreplaceable, and they connect directly to the living descendants of the region's Native peoples, including the Ute and other tribes with deep ties to canyon country. The right way to visit is to look, photograph from a respectful distance, and never touch, chalk, or add to the rock. Oil from hands and modern marks both damage the fragile varnish that took centuries to form.

Not far past the rock art, a roadside sign points up to a slab where dinosaur tracks are preserved in the sandstone, along with fossil bones weathering out of the rock. Provided binoculars or a good long look reveal the three-toed prints of creatures that walked across a very different landscape here, when this desert was a warmer, wetter world crossed by rivers and mudflats.

The cliffs above Potash Road read like a stacked history of ancient environments, layer upon layer of sandstone and shale laid down over tens of millions of years and then lifted and cut by the Colorado River into the walls you see today. Standing at the base of them, with rock art on one panel and dinosaur tracks on another, you feel the enormous span of time recorded in the stone.

The sheer Wingate walls along Potash Road are a magnet for rock climbers, and the corridor holds many well-known routes up the vertical cracks. On a good day you will see climbers as small figures high on the faces, and the wall known to climbers along this stretch is among the most popular in the Moab area. Watch for parked cars and gear at the base and give climbers room.

The road is also a favorite of cyclists and a launch and takeout for river trips on this calm stretch of the Colorado. The paved scenic section ends near the potash evaporation ponds, where a graded dirt road continues and eventually climbs the dramatic Shafer switchbacks up into Canyonlands. For most visitors the paved stretch, with its rock art, tracks, and river views, is the heart of the drive.

Spring and fall are the prime seasons in canyon country, with comfortable temperatures and long, clear light that sets the red cliffs glowing at either end of the day. Summer brings intense heat and little shade along the road, so an early start, plenty of water, and sun protection are essential. Winter is quiet and cold, with the chance of a dusting of snow on the red rock that makes for striking photographs.

This is an easy outing that pairs well with a visit to Arches or Canyonlands, but it rewards slowing down. Give yourself time to pull off at the marked stops, scan the cliffs for petroglyphs and climbers, and simply watch the river slide past below the walls. It is the kind of place where the less you rush, the more you see.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.