The ground and who manages it
The Congressional Research Service splits Utah’s 33.2 million federal acres among five agencies: the BLM with 22,759,900 acres, the Forest Service with 8,193,219, the Park Service with 2,098,111, the Fish and Wildlife Service with 110,567 and the Department of Defense with 78,468. BLM Utah rounds its own share to 22.8 million acres and runs it from five district offices: Canyon Country in Moab, Color Country in Cedar City, Green River in Vernal, Paria River in Kanab and West Desert in Salt Lake City, with the state office in Salt Lake City.
Two field offices hold most of the country people come for. Moab covers 1.8 million acres and Monticello nearly 1.8 million more, from the Colorado River to Cedar Mesa and Indian Creek. Inside them sit two national monuments. Grand Staircase-Escalante covers nearly 1.9 million acres and was established in 1996; its own planning pages also describe it as nearly 2 million acres, roughly 2,968 square miles. Bears Ears is approximately 380,759 acres after the proclamation of July 13, 2026, and is run jointly by the Monticello Field Office, the Manti-La Sal National Forest and the Bears Ears Commission, which represents five tribes.
The forests are the other half of the state and the reason summer is bearable. The Manti-La Sal is a 1.4-million-acre forest in central and southeastern Utah, with the Arapeen system of more than 350 miles of ATV and 4x4 route on the Wasatch Plateau. The Dixie occupies almost two million acres and stretches about 170 miles across southern Utah, from 2,800 feet near St. George to 11,322 feet at Blue Bell Knoll. The Ashley holds 1,384,132 acres in the northeast, 276,175 of them High Uintas Wilderness, and tops out at 13,528 feet on Kings Peak. The Fishlake and the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache fill in the middle and the north.
One kind of land is not public at all. The Trust Lands Administration manages 7.8 million acres of state trust land and says outright that trust lands are not public lands, though access for camping, hunting and off-highway riding is allowed in limited areas. The blocks a driver will meet:
- 01Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (BLM): nearly 1.9 million acres, established 1996
- 02Bears Ears National Monument (BLM and Forest Service): approximately 380,759 acres
- 03Moab Field Office (BLM): 1.8 million acres, with 38 campgrounds and over 600 campsites
- 04Monticello Field Office (BLM): nearly 1.8 million acres, including Cedar Mesa and Indian Creek
- 05San Rafael Swell Recreation Area (BLM): close to 217,000 acres, with travel planning completed in December 2024
- 06Sand Flats Recreation Area (BLM and Grand County): 9,000 acres, 140 first come sites and almost 30 miles of jeep trail
- 07Manti-La Sal National Forest: 1.4 million acres, and the Arapeen system of more than 350 miles of route
- 08Dixie National Forest: almost two million acres across about 170 miles
- 09Ashley National Forest: 1,384,132 acres, 96,223 of them in Wyoming
- 10State trust land: 7.8 million acres, which is not public land
Source 1
Seasons: heat, wet clay and snow
NOAA describes Utah as a dry state with a wide range: elevations from about 2,500 feet in the Virgin River Valley to 13,500 feet in the Uintas, annual precipitation from less than 5 inches in parts of the Great Salt Lake Desert to more than 40 inches in parts of the Wasatch, mountain temperatures around 20°F in winter, and southern lowlands that pass 100°F on summer days. Most of the state’s water arrives as snowpack. The Park Service puts the same swing on one road: temperatures on the Hole-in-the-Rock Road range from over 100°F in summer to near 0°F in winter.
Rain is the thing that closes roads here, not cold. The BLM says flash floods on Grand Staircase-Escalante are most common in July, August and September, and that driving wet or flooded dirt roads, especially those crossing high clay content soils, cuts ruts that harden and ruin the road for everyone. The Park Service says spring and summer rains and winter snow can leave the Cathedral Valley roads muddy, washed out and impassable, that sudden heavy rain can make the Hole-in-the-Rock Road impassable even to a four-wheel drive, and that the Flint Trail in the Maze crosses clay slopes that are extremely slippery when wet. Smithsonian Butte, the BLM’s nine-mile byway south of Zion, is described the same way.
Snow sets the calendar in the north and on the plateaus. North Skyline Drive, the gravel road along the Wasatch Plateau, is closed in winter and becomes a groomed snowmobile trail; the Forest Service gives May as its season of use. The Flint Trail is often closed during winter, and the Park Service tells Maze drivers to carry chains for all four tires especially from October through April. In the south, the same months are the good ones: the BLM warns that summer on the slickrock is hot, and the parks and monuments see their heaviest use in spring and autumn, when demand for White Rim permits exceeds the supply.
Source 4
What Utah asks of a vehicle
Low range, where it is asked for, is a rule and not a suggestion. The Park Service requires a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle with low range on the White Rim Road and on every backcountry road in the Maze. It says ATVs, UTVs and OHVs are not permitted anywhere in Canyonlands, even if they are street legal, and that motorbikes must be licensed for interstate travel. Elsewhere clearance matters more than gearing: the Hole-in-the-Rock Road is passable to a high-clearance two-wheel drive in dry weather, Valley of the Gods suits passenger cars when dry, and the Cathedral Valley loop asks for high clearance rather than four-wheel drive.
Size closes roads faster than difficulty in Utah. Nothing over 21 feet, including racks and trailers, may use Elephant Hill in the Needles, where the maximum width is 85 inches, only three vehicles per group are allowed and each group must start at least 30 minutes apart. The same 21-foot limit applies north of the Teapot Rock campsite in the Maze. The Burr Trail switchbacks, which climb about 800 feet in half a mile inside Capitol Reef, are not considered suitable for RVs or vehicles towing trailers, and the La Sal Mountain Loop is not suitable for large RVs or trailers either.
Carry the recovery and the water. For the Maze the Park Service lists at least one full-size spare, extra gas, extra water, a shovel, a high-lift jack and chains for all four tires, and warns that towing fees from the backcountry run in excess of $1,500; its general driving page puts backcountry towing in excess of $2,000. The Park Service recommends at least one gallon of water per person per day on the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, which it says is not routinely patrolled by any agency. Cell coverage is thin: the BLM calls it sparse if at all across Grand Staircase-Escalante, and the Park Service says service diminishes greatly once you enter Canyonlands.
Source 27
Passes and routes
-
A loop below the Island in the Sky mesa, reached from the Shafer Trail or Mineral Bottom
The Park Service calls it a 100-mile loop around and below the mesa top and says most visitors take two to three days. A day-use permit is required for a single day trip and an overnight permit for anything longer. In high water on the Green River, sections on the west side flood and the full loop cannot be driven. 28
- Vehicle
- High clearance, four-wheel drive with low range. No ATVs, UTVs or OHVs, even street legal
- Season
- Year round when passable. Demand for overnight permits exceeds supply in spring and autumn
-
Shafer Trail and Potash Road
35 to 40 miles to Moab
Island in the Sky down to the Colorado River and Moab by Highway 279
The Shafer Trail descends 1,500 feet through the cliff below Island in the Sky and reaches the White Rim junction after 5.2 miles. No day-use permit is needed for the Shafer or the Potash Road, and the Park Service allows dogs in vehicles on them, which it does not on the White Rim. Allow three hours or more for the run to Moab. 27
- Vehicle
- High-clearance four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive highly recommended
-
Elephant Hill, The Needles
The Needles district, with an exit southwest toward Beef Basin and BLM land
One of the most technical four-wheel-drive roads in Canyonlands: steep grades, loose rock, stair-step drops, tight turns and backing. Only three vehicles per group are allowed and groups must start at least 30 minutes apart. A day-use permit is required. The two-wheel-drive access road to the trailhead is a separate six-mile round trip and needs no permit. 27
- Vehicle
- High clearance, four-wheel drive with low range. Maximum 21 feet long and 85 inches wide
-
The Maze and the Flint Trail
41 miles from Hans Flat to the Doll House
Hans Flat Ranger Station to the Land of Standing Rocks and the Doll House
The Park Service calls these roads extremely remote and very difficult, with considerable risk of vehicle damage, and says they should not be attempted by inexperienced drivers. It asks for a full-size spare, extra gas and water, a shovel, a high-lift jack and chains. The Doll House is six hours or more from Hans Flat. Towing out runs in excess of $1,500. Fires are not permitted. 29
- Vehicle
- High clearance, four-wheel drive with low range, and the equipment to repair the vehicle yourself
- Season
- The Flint Trail is often closed in winter. Chains for all four tires are advised October through April
-
Cathedral Valley Loop
57.6 miles
A loop north of Highway 24, east of the Capitol Reef visitor center
Six to eight hours around, starting with a ford of the Fremont River 11.7 miles east of the visitor center. The Park Service says the ford has a hard packed, rocky bottom and water is normally a foot or less deep. Hartnet Road runs 27.8 miles to the junction; Cathedral Road returns 29.9 miles to the highway and avoids the ford. 31
- Vehicle
- High clearance recommended. The river ford may need high clearance four-wheel drive
- Season
- Spring and summer rain and winter snow leave the roads muddy, washed out and impassable
-
Burr Trail and the Notom-Bullfrog Road
Boulder on Highway 12 across the Waterpocket Fold to Highway 24 or Bullfrog on Lake Powell
The Burr Trail is paved from Boulder to the Capitol Reef boundary, then 8.5 miles of graded dirt inside the park that includes switchbacks climbing about 800 feet in half a mile. The Notom-Bullfrog Road meets Highway 24 nine miles east of the visitor center, is paved for its first 15 miles and is maintained dirt after that. Together they make the loop the park calls Loop the Fold. 32
- Vehicle
- The switchbacks are not considered suitable for RVs or vehicles towing trailers
- Season
- Both are graded dirt in part and change with the weather
-
Hole-in-the-Rock Road
62 miles one way
Escalante to the rim above Lake Powell, through Grand Staircase-Escalante
The Park Service says most of the road is passable to a high-clearance two-wheel drive when dry, that the last few miles inside Glen Canyon are best walked, cycled or driven in four-wheel drive, and that nearly all the side roads need four-wheel drive. It is not routinely patrolled by any agency, temperatures run from over 100°F in summer to near 0°F in winter, and a gallon of water per person per day is the recommendation. 33
- Vehicle
- High-clearance two-wheel drive in dry weather; four-wheel drive for the last few miles and the side roads
- Season
- Sudden heavy rain, most likely in summer, can make it impassable
-
Cottonwood Canyons Scenic Backway
46 miles
Cannonville on Highway 12 south to US 89, through Grand Staircase-Escalante
The BLM gives 46 miles, paved for the first nine between Cannonville and the Kodachrome Basin turnoff and dirt after that. The south entrance is 64 miles east of Kanab on US 89. The monument’s own warning applies here: wet clay roads rut badly and are best left alone until they dry. 16
-
Valley of the Gods Road and the Moki Dugway
17-mile loop
Highway 261 northeast of Mexican Hat to US 163 west of Bluff
San Juan County Road 242 runs 17 miles of graded gravel and clay through the sandstone, with a few sharp turns and several wash crossings, and takes one to two hours. There are car camps along it, but no campfires are allowed. Above it the Moki Dugway climbs to Cedar Mesa, and the BLM’s map and guide for the area gives 1,200 feet of climb in three miles of graded gravel at an 11 percent grade. 17
- Vehicle
- Passenger cars when dry. The Moki Dugway is not advised for motor homes or vehicles towing
-
La Sal Mountain LoopPaved
60 miles
US 191 south of Moab, over the west side of the La Sals to Castle Valley and Highway 128
The Forest Service describes a 60-mile paved loop that starts about 8 miles south of Moab, climbs through the La Sals and drops by switchbacks into Castle Valley to meet Highway 128 along the Colorado River. It takes two and a half to three hours. There are no services on the route, so carry fuel, food and water for the day. 36
- Vehicle
- Suitable for passenger cars. Not suitable for large RVs or trailers
- Season
- A mountain road above the desert, and the Forest Service publishes no opening dates for it
-
Buckhorn Draw Road, San Rafael Swell
9 miles of canyon
The northern San Rafael Swell, from Castle Dale country to the Swinging Bridge on the San Rafael River
The BLM calls Buckhorn Draw the main artery for the northern half of the San Rafael Swell Recreation Area, with 26 numbered campsites at $15 a night along nine miles of canyon and the Buckhorn Pictograph Panel partway down. Sid’s Mountain and Mexican Mountain wilderness frame the draw, and no motor vehicles or bicycles may enter those. 19
- Vehicle
- Most sites suit any vehicle; a few are down deep sand needing high clearance and four-wheel drive
-
Nine Mile Canyon Back Country Byway
78 miles
Wellington, south of Price, with a loop possible by Gate Canyon to Myton
The BLM gives about 78 miles for the byway and two hours of driving. Its own page for the canyon calls it the 46-mile-long Nine Mile Canyon, so the two figures describe different things. Rock art panels, granaries, stage stations and settler cabins line the road, and much of the canyon bottom is private land. 8
-
Bull Creek Pass Back Country Byway
10,478 ft 68 miles
A loop through the Henry Mountains, between Capitol Reef and Canyonlands. It leaves Highway 95 about 21 miles south of Hanksville
The BLM says the byway runs 68 miles and climbs nearly a mile, from badlands and canyons through spruce and ponderosa to the alpine ground at Bull Creek Pass. Developed campgrounds sit on the route at McMillan Springs and Lonesome Beaver. It is run from the Henry Mountains Field Station in Hanksville. The BLM publishes no elevation for the pass, so the figure shown is the USGS measurement at its mapped location. 9
- Vehicle
- A single-lane dirt road with rough sections, steep grades and blind curves
- Season
- Allow six to eight hours. The BLM publishes no opening dates for it
-
North Skyline Drive
27 miles
US 6 south along the Wasatch Plateau to Highway 31
A gravel road that climbs from US 6 and runs the spine of the plateau for 27 miles, with views into the Lake Fork and Fish Creek drainages. South of Highway 31 the road continues as South Skyline Drive, which the Forest Service describes as a rugged 4x4 experience for most of its 58 miles and the backbone of the Arapeen system. 35
- Vehicle
- Suitable for passenger cars; the Forest Service lists high-clearance vehicles under restrictions
- Season
- Closed in winter, when it is groomed as a snowmobile trail. The Forest Service gives May as the season of use
-
Mirror Lake Scenic BywayPaved
Kamas east into the Uintas on Highway 150, with access points into the High Uinta Wilderness
The Forest Service calls the Mirror Lake Highway one of the most popular mountain routes in the state, with numerous access points into the High Uinta Wilderness. Its high point is Bald Mountain Pass at 10,715 feet, below the 11,943-foot summit of Bald Mountain. Corridor passes run $10 for three days, $20 for seven and $60 for a season. 39
- Vehicle
- Any car. A recreation pass is required to stop in the corridor
Rules worth knowing
- Trust land is 7.8 million acres, and camping is capped at 15 days
- The Trust Lands Administration manages 7.8 million acres, and states that trust lands are not public lands, though public access for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and off-highway riding is allowed in limited areas. Camping is allowed on most trust land for up to 15 consecutive days. Travel is only on routes designated open under agency rules, and cross-country travel is not allowed except for over-snow vehicles. 10
- Grand Staircase-Escalante is nearly 1.9 million acres
- The monument covers nearly 1.9 million acres and was established in 1996. Its own Plan Your Visit page gives nearly 2 million acres, roughly 2,968 square miles; both are the agency’s and the smaller is used here. It is the largest single piece of BLM ground in this guide and the one with the longest distances between anything. 11
- A free permit for dispersed camping, or none, depending which page you read
- The BLM’s Plan Your Visit page for Grand Staircase-Escalante says a free permit is required for dispersed camping outside developed campgrounds; its Safety and Conditions page says overnight stays on the monument do not require a permit. Both are published by the same agency. Get the permit: it is free, it takes minutes, and it settles the question. 12
- Flash floods peak in July, August and September
- The monument states that flash floods can occur at any time of year but are most common in July, August and September, that cell phone coverage across it is sparse if at all, and that travelling on wet or flooded dirt roads, especially those crossing high clay content soils, creates ruts and causes damage. Those three sentences are the whole safety brief for southern Utah. 13
- Bears Ears is 380,759 acres after the 2026 proclamation
- A presidential proclamation on 13 July 2026 modified the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument, which is now approximately 380,759 acres of public land administered jointly by the BLM and the Forest Service, managed by the Monticello Field Office with the Manti-La Sal National Forest and the Bears Ears Commission. Boundaries here have changed more than once, so the current proclamation is the thing to check rather than any map. 14
- The Moki Dugway is three miles at 11 percent
- The BLM’s own brochure describes the Moki Dugway winding 1,200 feet from top to bottom on three miles of graded gravel at an 11 percent grade, and says most vehicles can travel it safely but caution is advised for motor homes or vehicles pulling trailers. The Valley of the Gods loop below it is a 17-mile graded gravel and clay road, San Juan County Road 242, with sharp turns and wash crossings, suitable for passenger cars when dry, and there are car camps along it but no campfires. 18
- The San Rafael Swell has a new route network
- The San Rafael Swell Recreation Area is close to 217,000 acres, and the BLM completed travel planning there in December 2024, introducing an updated network of routes available for motorised use. That means older maps and older trip reports are describing a different legal network from the current one. 20
- Nine Mile Canyon has two published lengths
- The BLM’s byways page gives the Nine Mile Canyon Back Country Byway as approximately 78 miles, allowing two hours, with visitors usually approaching from Wellington south of Price and a loop possible through Gate Canyon to Myton. The BLM’s own visit page calls it the 46-mile-long Nine Mile Canyon. Both are the agency’s; the byway figure is the route and the canyon figure is the canyon. 21
- Sand Flats is 140 first-come sites above Moab
- The Sand Flats Recreation Area covers 9,000 acres with 140 first come, first served campsites and six group sites, and sees over 250,000 visitors a year. A private vehicle pays ten dollars for a seven-day pass and camping is 20 dollars a night per vehicle. It is the closest legal camping to the Slickrock country and it fills early in spring and autumn. 22
- The Moab office holds 1.8 million acres of canyon country
- The BLM’s Moab Field Office encompasses 1.8 million acres of canyon country, which is most of the ground between Arches, Canyonlands and the state line. Route designations, closures and permits for the famous trails around Moab come from that office rather than from the parks. 23
- Monticello administers nearly 1.8 million acres more
- The Monticello Field Office administers nearly 1.8 million surface acres across San Juan County, including the Valley of the Gods and the BLM share of Bears Ears. Between Moab and Monticello, southeast Utah is effectively one very large BLM holding run by two offices. 24
- The Price office covers the Book Cliffs and Nine Mile
- The Price Field Office holds the country north of the Swell, including Nine Mile Canyon and the Book Cliffs. It is the least travelled of the three eastern Utah offices and the one whose roads change most with the weather. 25
- There is no fuel in Canyonlands, and the distances are published
- The park states there is no food, lodging or petrol available inside Canyonlands. The nearest services to Island in the Sky are in Moab, 32 miles; to the Needles, Monticello, 48 miles; to the Hans Flat Ranger Station, Hanksville at 61 miles or Green River at 84. Once you enter the park, cell service diminishes greatly. Those four distances are the trip plan. 30
- The Manti-La Sal runs 350 miles of ATV and 4x4 route
- The Manti-La Sal National Forest is a 1.4-million-acre mountain range, and its Arapeen system includes over 350 miles of ATV and four-wheel-drive route. The backbone is South Skyline Drive, a rugged four-wheel-drive experience for most of its 58 miles from Utah Highway 31 north to the Fishlake boundary south. It is the largest organised motorised network on Utah forest land. 34
- The Ashley holds Kings Peak at 13,528 feet
- The Ashley National Forest carries 1,384,132 National Forest System acres with elevations from 6,000 feet to 13,528 at the summit of Kings Peak, the state high point. Of that, 276,175 acres are High Uintas Wilderness, with a further 180,530 acres of the same wilderness on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache. The wilderness is why the Uintas have so few roads for their size. 38
- A passenger-registered vehicle needs no Utah OHV permit
- Utah requires a non-resident permit for off-highway vehicles brought into the state to operate on public land, at 35 dollars valid for 12 months on the live page and 30 dollars plus processing in the 2025 brochure. The state answers the question this guide’s readers ask directly: if your machine is registered as a passenger vehicle, it does not require a Utah non-resident OHV permit, because it is not considered an off-highway vehicle. 43
- The education course requirement, and who it reaches
- Utah requires off-highway vehicle operators to complete the state’s education course, with exemptions the division publishes on its own FAQ. As with the permit, the requirement follows the machine and the operator rather than the road, so read the exemptions before assuming a licensed driver in a plated vehicle is covered by it. 44
- The printed brochure and the web page disagree on the fee
- The 2025 Utah Off-Highway Vehicle Laws and Rules brochure prints a non-resident permit fee of 30 dollars plus processing; the division’s live page says 35 dollars valid for 12 months. Both are the state’s. Budget for the higher figure and check at purchase. 45
- Traction law can now be enforced a day before the storm
- A November 2025 rule change means the Department of Transportation can enforce traction requirements up to 24 hours before a storm begins, and adds a Class Three designation allowing stricter enforcement during major storms, requiring vehicles in the Cottonwood Canyons to have at least 5/32 inch of tread. If you are driving the Wasatch in winter, tread depth is now a legal measurement rather than a judgement. 48
- Where the elevations in this guide come from
- Town and pass elevations here are read from the 3D Elevation Program surface at the coordinates the Geographic Names Information System holds for the place, rounded to the nearest foot, unless an agency publishes its own figure for it. Where both exist, the agency’s is used and ours is named beside it. 51
- Fourteen days, and only in a site someone has used before
- BLM Utah allows free dispersed camping throughout its land except where posted, with no fee or permit, and sets a 14-day camping limit while occupying any campsite. Its other conditions are as firm: travel only on designated routes, camp only in previously disturbed sites and not near developed recreation sites, stay at least 300 feet from range improvements such as corrals and livestock waters, do not trench or level a site, and pack out all trash. 7
- Around Moab, camping means a designated site
- The Moab Field Office maintains 38 campgrounds and over 600 campsites, and because the area sees more than 3 million visitors a year the BLM has restricted camping to campgrounds or designated sites in the popular country closer to town. Dispersed camping is limited to marked sites on Dubinky Well Road, Gemini Bridges Road, Black Ridge Road, Pack Creek Roads, the Mill Canyon and Blue Hills roads and the Blue Hill area south of Moab. Look for a brown post with a tent symbol. 6
- A plated truck needs no OHV permit; an ATV does
- Utah requires non-residents to buy a non-resident OHV permit for any ATV, UTV, off-highway motorcycle or snowmobile they bring into the state to use on public land. The Division of Outdoor Recreation lists it at $35, valid 12 months; its 2025 laws brochure still prints $30 plus processing. A vehicle registered as a passenger car, which the Division says includes a Jeep, a Tacoma or a Land Rover, needs no permit. Utah also requires every OHV operator to hold its education certificate, once in a lifetime, but says snowmobiles and 4x4s registered as normal road vehicles are exempt from the course. 42
- The parks run on permits, and ban OHVs outright
- In Canyonlands a day-use permit is required for four-wheel-drive travel on the White Rim Road, Elephant Hill, Lavender Canyon and the Peekaboo and Horse Canyon roads, and every overnight trip in the backcountry needs an overnight permit. ATVs, UTVs and OHVs are not permitted in the park at all, even street legal ones, and motorbikes must be licensed and equipped for interstate travel. Vehicles and bicycles must stay on designated roads. 27
- Cedar Mesa has its own rules inside Bears Ears
- On Cedar Mesa the BLM requires a permit to hike and backpack, and a separate permit to visit Moon House. Camping is allowed only in well-established sites, with a 14-day limit at campgrounds and dispersed sites alike, and no new campsites may be created. All motorized vehicle and bicycle travel is limited to designated roads. Where fire restrictions allow a campfire, it must be contained in a metal fire pan. 15
- State trust land is not public land
- The Trust Lands Administration manages 7.8 million acres and says trust lands are not public lands, with access for camping, hunting, hiking and off-highway riding allowed only in limited areas, and permits required for some of it. Camping on most trust land is capped at 15 consecutive days, some areas are held to 7 and some are closed to camping; a longer stay needs a right of entry permit. Cross-country travel is not allowed at all, except over snow with enough cover, and everything else must stay on routes designated open. 41
- Fire restrictions come from the state and from each agency
- Utah’s State Forester issues fire restriction orders that cover all state lands and all unincorporated private lands, though not private land inside city limits. Stage 1 bans open fires outside established facilities in improved campgrounds and day-use areas, bans smoking outside a vehicle or a cleared area, bans cutting, welding or grinding metal in dry vegetation, bans fireworks and exploding targets, and bans running a motorcycle, chainsaw or ATV without a working spark arrester. Violations carry up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Federal offices post their own orders at Utah Fire Info. 46
- Traction law: two classes, and a third in the Cottonwoods
- Under Utah Administrative Rule R920-6, when conditions warrant on a Class I traction segment every vehicle over 12,000 pounds gross weight must be traction device equipped. On a Class II segment every vehicle must be traction device equipped or be a four-wheel or all-wheel drive with mud-and-snow or three-peak mountain snowflake tires on all wheels. A vehicle under 12,000 pounds with three-peak snowflake tires on all wheels counts as traction device equipped. In Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons a Class Three designation adds a 5/32 inch minimum tread and lets UDOT enforce up to 24 hours before a storm. 47
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
Road
Primitive Road
Road
Primitive Road
Trail
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area
