Exploring Utah By All Means

I recently had the privilege of attending two events that brought me to Utah two weeks in a row. Utah is, and has been, one of my absolute favorite places to visit. Since I first laid eyes on its mars-esque landscapes, I was hooked. Every cross country ride or drive I take, I route them through Utah. I’ve passed through more than I’d like to admit, while only stopping to enjoy parts of the state a handful of times.

Lately, I’ve been scheming as to how I could get back to the beehive state do some more remote exploring. Dual-sport or adventure riding through Utah for days or weeks on end fill my daydreams as I sit at my computer. I want to truly experience the terrain. I want to be a part of it. I want to explore Utah by all means. In my most recent trip, Kawasaki helped me come a closer to turning those daydreams into reality. 

By Motorcycle

We began our first day of exploring Utah’s southwestern corner on the Kawasaki Versys family. For the first half of the day we had a few Versys 1000 LTs and a 650 at our disposal. I opted for the 1000 because, well, more is more. The Versys 1000 is a great steed for chomping up miles comfortably, complete with side cases for storing your necessities, a 1043cc inline-Four providing plenty of smooth power, and an all-day comfortable riding position.

Starting out from the Sand Hollow Resort, we pointed our front tires toward Snow Canyon State Park. The 7,400 square acre state park is nestled among lava tubes and sandstone cliffs which provide a striking backdrop for a myriad of activities, hiking, biking, and climbing being some of the most popular. Though the park was created in 1959, the canyon has long been used by humans. The Anasazi Indians inhabited the region beginning in 200 A.D. with the Paiute coming into the area around 1200 A.D. Both used the canyon for hunting and gathering.

That’s basalt, brotha!

By taking some time to learn about an area’s history, from geology to ecology, you can appreciate passing through even more. In Snow Canyon, you cruise through the towering ancient sand dunes, some of which are more than 1.4 million years old, that have since hardened into orange and creamy white Navajo sandstone up to 2,500 feet thick. Piles of large basalt deposits from lava flows approximately 27,000 years old can be found roadside throughout the park as well as lava tubes, some only a short hike off the main road. Riding through Snow Canyon State Park is nothing short of breathtaking.

Rolling through Pine Valley, UT epitomized the exact Fall weather and scenery I miss living in California. Brisk air, the smell of autumn leaves turning, and the charming townof Pine Valley itself felt like the purest embodiment of what Autumn means to me.

After Snow Canyon, we made our way northwest, skirting in and out of Dixie National Forest, Utah’s largest national forest at nearly two million acres. Passing through the quaint town of Pine Valley, UT, it was difficult to imagine a more picturesque interpretation of fall.

We then began to head up in elevation, and consequently down in temperature, to Cedar City for lunch. After filling up on artisanal pizza and some of the best espresso I’ve had this side of the Atlantic, we swapped our cush Versys 1000s for the newest and youngest member of the family, the Versys-X 300.

Though the off-road section was mostly fire roads with embedded rocks, being on a lightweight like the Versys-X 300 makes controlling the bike over loose terrain an easy affair.

I have had many fond experiences on the Versys-X 300, from blitzing down rocky trails in Big Bear, CA, in hopes of not smashing its vulnerable head pipes, to riding on the beach in Baja, Mexico, the wee Versys and I have had a whole lot of fun together. Some may think jumping from a 1043cc touring bike to a 296cc parallel-Twin may be a shock to the riding senses. It is. Though not in a bad way. We used the Versys-X 300s to shoot up the mountain on rocky fire roads to get a taste off off-highway riding. The initial plan was to ride from Cedar City to just north of Zion National Park off-road, but we were told recent snowfall at elevation made the route impassible in four-wheel drive trucks, so we were diverted back to asphalt.

Fully accessorized Versys-X 300. I’m not sure you could fit both of those monstrous auxiliary lights in one of those panniers…

Making our way south onto some fantastic two-lane highway, we flanked the northwest portion of Zion National Park. If you’ve been to Zion, you’re aware the scenery is absolutely stunning, though what I was beginning to learn, was that the entire state is immensely beautiful, or at least the small corner I had just toured. There is so much to see via back roads, state parks, and small towns. The Versys-X 300 makes you slow down to enjoy it. Don’t forget to stop every once in a while, too.

By UTV

It’s a while since I’ve had the chance to jump on any other type of powersport vehicle than a motorcycle. Growing up in the Midwest, I was raised on four-wheelers, which I’m told is a Midwest term, and the occasional side-by-side as I got older and UTVs became more popular. Dirt bikes seemed to be less popular in my neck of the woods, but there were still some sprinkled around.

I find it odd when readers of a motorcycle publication get so bent out of shape about Slingshots, Spyders, or heaven-forbid a UTV or Jet Ski gracing the pages (or pixels) of their beloved moto mag. Am I alone in the fact that I truly enjoy spending time on any sort of motorized vehicle I have the chance of planting my buttocks upon? I can’t imagine that’s the case.

Half of our second day in southwestern Utah would be spent getting sandy in Kawasaki Teryx4 UTVs in Sand Hollow State Park. I was excited, giddy like a child. We strapped into our respective rides, were given a quick rundown of the controls and told to keep the speed down until we entered the park. That went over about as well as you might think turning a bunch of throttle jockey editors loose in UTVs might. “Just getting used to the throttle, Jon!”

Accessorized to the max.

We made out way into the sandy orange landscape of Sand Hollow and followed our ride leader to the Top of the World, an actual vantage point in the park. We were told on a clear day, you can see the Vegas strip, Virgin River Gorge, and the treetops of Cedar City. My mind was preoccupied with taking in the vast beauty of the park itself. Thinking about seeing the Vegas strip right now sounded about as appealing as gargling razor blades.

Jumping back into the Teryx4, I cranked the radio to some nice Mexican jams, the only thing that would come in clearly, and descended a massive sand dune. Keep the wheels straight, turn into the slide, we were told. You’d be tumbling for a while should things go rubber side up. Making it to the bottom I began feeling really comfortable in the Teryx4. Sure, there are sportier UTVs on the market, but the Teryx4’s relatively tame 783cc V-Twin engine and trail focus made for a perfect homecoming to the four-wheeled powersports world. Additionally, having a roll cage around you, as a motorcyclist, makes you feel invincible! I was ready for all Sand Hollow had to offer.

Why wasn’t anyone else jamming any tunes? Turns out I had snagged the fully accessorized Teryx4 complete with auxiliary lights, winch, extra protection, and stereo. Too bad, for those guys.

I’ve got a cage around me! I’ll try anything!

We made out way further into the park crawling over small rocks here and there and railing through sandy trails that snaked deeper into Sand Hollow. After watching the single editor in our group who actually works for a UTV publication try something that looked more challenging, both myself and the other moto editor were eager to give it a go. Having more fun by the minute I couldn’t wait to find more rocks to crawl over. I began giving myself some space between our lead rider and myself just to play catch up by pinning the pedal to the floorboard and using the sand berms and throttle for steering.