Rugged · 21 days · 21 nights
Grays and Torreys to Malibu · Twenty-nine photo stops
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Hike 
Roadside stop 
Attraction 
Technical outing Text-only exploration 
Sleep spot Sleep-planning corridorRoad routing is a planning aid. Verify closures, access, and conditions before driving.
The first day's GPS route begins here. Every later day begins at the prior night's sleeping location.
39.663519, -105.878888Make it your trip
Follow the line exactly, or reshape it around weather, energy, access, and the places that deserve another hour. The best trip keeps the hard mornings safe and leaves room for surprise.
Road and hike times are planning estimates. Recheck weather, closures, permits, and access before departure. Check current Arches entry and parking conditions ↗Plan your days
Daily stops, drives, and camps, with room for weather and rest.
Start before dawn for the traverse from Loveland Pass over Cupid and Grizzly to Torreys and Grays. Choose a clear summit-season weather window and turn back early enough to avoid afternoon storms. After the hike, drive south to camp near Turtle Rock.
1 photograph from this location, made Aug 3, 2022.
Planning allocation · 6h
Drive to · Loveland Pass trailhead parking 39.663519, -105.878888 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Give the Turtle Rock outing its own uncrowded morning, then return to the same route-local camp before the US 50 crossing.
An Turtle Rock climbing-area outing near Buena Vista. The atlas records the location; use a current climbing resource for routes and access.
Planning allocation · 2h 30m
Drive to · Turtle Rock parking 38.881521, -106.146784 Mountain Project · Turtle Rocks ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Use Dillon Pinnacles as the day's walk, then continue by normal passenger highways to Mr. Crowmeister's preferred Peach Valley OHV base. The BLM staging area allows camping for 7 days / 6 nights, has no water, prohibits open wood fires, and keeps full-size vehicles on roads.
1 photograph from this location, made Sep 6, 2022.
Planning allocation · 2h
Drive to · Dillon Pinnacles trailhead parking 38.470495, -107.253058 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Drive to the South Rim and give the Gunnison Route album its full outing. The route begins near the South Rim Visitor Center and requires the current wilderness reservation or permit; 2026 fire effects add unstable burned-area hazards. Return to Peach Valley for the night.
11 photographs from this location, made Sep 8, 2022.
Planning allocation · 7h
Drive to · Black Canyon South Rim visitor parking 38.554719, -107.686432 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Follow Colorado 141 to the dispersed camping corridor. Fill up on fuel and supplies before leaving, and allow time to find a campsite. Check the access road and posted camping rules on arrival.
5 photographs from this location, made Sep 8, 2022.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · CO 141 photographed roadside access 38.574616, -108.921924 Open vehicle-access pin ↗Resupply in Moab, visit the roadside overlook near Owl Rock and Elephant Butte, then spend about 30 minutes at Buck Canyon Overlook before camping at Horsethief.
Three different uses share this photographed start area: Owl Rock is a climbing outing, Elephant Butte is technical, and the roadside overlook is available without committing to either route. The public pin records the shared area rather than route guidance.
Planning allocation · 5h
Drive to · Moab passenger-road access 38.573297, -109.549724 NPS · Arches climbing rules and closures ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗12 photographs from this location, made Sep 12, 2022–Sep 13, 2022.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Buck Canyon Overlook parking 38.345886, -109.861063 NPS Canyonlands hiking ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Give Devil's Garden its own substantial morning hiking block, then use US 191 and UT 211 to stage at Lockhart Road South for the Needles day.
4 photographs from this location, made Apr 14, 2022.
Planning allocation · 4h 30m
Drive to · Devils Garden trailhead parking 38.782811, -109.595028 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Approach Elephant Hill from the UT 211 passenger-road side, give Elephant Canyon–Chesler Park the full outing, and return to the same Lockhart Road South base.
27 photographs from this location, made Sep 15, 2022–Oct 6, 2023.
Planning allocation · 6h
Drive to · Elephant Hill trailhead parking 38.141685, -109.827597 NPS Canyonlands hiking ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Collect Needles Overlook and Anticline in northbound order, then continue west to the San Rafael Reef view area and sleep at the Black Dragon base. Each significant overlook receives 30 minutes. This removes the old Lockhart-to-overlook-to-Lockhart repetition.
A developed BLM overlook reached by the Needles Overlook Scenic Backway in Canyon Rims Recreation Area.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Needles Overlook parking 38.259939, -109.696065 BLM Canyon Rims ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗3 photographs from this location, made Sep 16, 2022.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Anticline Overlook parking 38.464700, -109.627431 Open vehicle-access pin ↗1 photograph from this location, made Jun 6, 2022.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · San Rafael Reef view-area parking 38.920774, -110.431256 Open vehicle-access pin ↗Continue west through Black Dragon and Ghost Rock, then hike Chimney Rock before settling at the Highway 24 base.
2 photographs from this location, made Jun 6, 2022.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Black Dragon Canyon viewpoint pullout 38.940108, -110.482210 Open vehicle-access pin ↗1 photograph from this location, made Jun 6, 2022.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Ghost Rock Overlook parking 38.863352, -110.813920 Open vehicle-access pin ↗Capitol Reef lists Chimney Rock as a strenuous 3.6-mile loop with 590 feet of elevation change.
Planning allocation · 2h
Drive to · Chimney Rock trailhead 38.315731, -111.303211 NPS trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Give Navajo Knobs through Rim Overlook the full hiking block and return to the same dispersed camp.
12 photographs from this location, made Sep 18, 2022.
Planning allocation · 5h
Drive to · Hickman Bridge / Navajo Knobs trailhead parking 38.288733, -111.228365 NPS Capitol Reef trails ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Cross Highway 12, walk Lower Calf Creek, and finish at the free Henrieville Creek base positioned for Bryce.
A developed BLM trail covering six miles round trip to a 126-foot waterfall; sandy sections can make the hike more difficult.
Planning allocation · 3h 30m
Drive to · Lower Calf Creek Falls trailhead parking 37.830845, -111.414856 BLM trail information ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Give Fairyland Loop the main outing, then transfer to the broad free BLM sleeping corridor from North Creek toward Lambs Knoll. The North Creek end is closer to Zion and avoids some of Lambs Knoll's after-dark tour traffic.
A 7.8-mile Bryce Canyon loop with 1,900 feet of ascent, starting at Fairyland Point or near Sunrise Point.
Planning allocation · 4h
Drive to · Fairyland Point parking 37.633336, -112.165063 NPS Fairyland Loop ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Use the Canyon Overlook and Progeny Peak pairing for the final Utah block, then continue to the free BLM site near the Arizona Strip highway. Mountain of the Sun and East Temple belong to the harder alternate pairing. The highway-side camp is convenient but not private, and cellular service may be weak.
1 photograph from this location, made Apr 9, 2022.
Planning allocation · 1h
Drive to · Canyon Overlook trailhead parking 37.214681, -112.939592 NPS Zion hiking ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗2 photographs from this location, made Jun 14, 2023.
Planning allocation · 4h 30m
Drive to · Zion–Mount Carmel Highway designated pullout 37.213888, -112.933676 Open vehicle-access pin ↗Use the westbound transfer to reach the Wheeler Pass Road North campground. Confirm current land status, signs, fire rules, and road conditions before settling in.
Keep the day open for travel, rest, or exploring.
Get directly into the Death Valley basin with Dante's View, Artist's Palette, and Devil's Golf Course before settling at Wildrose. Heat, road status, and the actual free-time margin can shorten this dense day.
1 photograph from this location, made Feb 22, 2026.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Dante's View parking 36.220652, -116.726516 NPS Death Valley ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗A paved pullout on Death Valley's one-way, nine-mile Artists Drive; vehicles longer than 25 feet are prohibited.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Artist's Palette parking 36.363532, -116.802734 NPS Artists Palette ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗10 photographs from this location, made Feb 19, 2026.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Devils Golf Course roadside access 36.292401, -116.808146 NPS Death Valley ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Cross the northern park for Grapevine and Ubehebe Crater, then use the paved campground road to Mesquite Spring. Continue toward the eastern Sierra on the paved park highways.
3 photographs from this location, made Feb 20, 2026.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Grapevine roadside access 36.974058, -117.346392 NPS Death Valley ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗A Death Valley scenic stop and trailhead at a volcanic crater roughly half a mile wide and more than 500 feet deep.
Planning allocation · 1h 30m
Drive to · Ubehebe Crater parking 37.010941, -117.454928 NPS Ubehebe Crater ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Use paved park highways from Mesquite Spring to give Manzanar National Historic Site the time and attention owed to it before continuing to the free Movie Road base in Alabama Hills.
1 photograph from this location, made Feb 22, 2026.
Planning allocation · 2h
Drive to · Manzanar cemetery parking 36.725515, -118.162048 Open vehicle-access pin ↗Use the Alabama Hills album for the morning outing, linger if the light earns it, then cross the southern California interior to the legal Oak Flat Campground. Rowher Flat is an OHV staging/day-use area, not a documented overnight campground, and is no longer used as the sleep anchor.
5 photographs from this location, made Feb 22, 2026.
Planning allocation · 2h
Drive to · Alabama Hills roadside parking 36.611285, -118.124942 Open vehicle-access pin ↗Take a rest day at camp and check conditions for the next leg of the trip.
Keep the day open for travel, rest, or exploring.
Reach the photographed Point Mugu coast from the legal Oak Flat base and follow Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. Give the significant roadside stop 30 minutes, then leave the remaining margin open. Legal camping near Los Angeles is unusually difficult to secure and can feel insecure. Mr. Crowmeister has historically resorted to stealth city sleeping, but this itinerary does not present that as legal camping; reserve Leo Carrillo or another confirmed legal sleep before arrival.
2 photographs from this location, made Nov 4, 2022.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Point Mugu Pacific Coast Highway access 34.074933, -119.021347 Open vehicle-access pin ↗Keep moving
After the Malibu finish, continue north on the Pacific route.