Trip Report: Minnesota to Utah & AZ National Monuments

[Budman]

We are long time National Park visitors and hikers. Hit them all, some several times. For this 2 week trip we went much more off the beaten path....

Moab area BLM lands
Bear's Ears National Monument in Utah
Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah
Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona
Dixie National Forest (near Bryce Canyon NP)

2025 Dual Motor R1T Max Pack. Nokian Outpost nAT tires. Thule bed top tent plus an awning and Yakima water tank on cab roof crossbars. A very inefficient setup..... 3,957 miles with an overall efficiency of 1.86 m/kwh.

Charging: Uneventful. I got my first R1T (yes, I'm on my 2nd one because I put a lot of miles on...) in 2023 and have done this Minneapolis to Denver and beyond route once or twice a year. Since that time the charging infrastructure has vastly expanded and improved. EA, IONNA, Pilot Flying J, ChargePoint, Tesla. Used all those networks on this trip with no issues.

Some overnight Level 2 charging did come in VERY handy on this trip though. In Bluff, Utah around Bear's Ears we stayed at Bluff Dwellings Resort which had 2 11 kW Tesla chargers. And, critically, to visit the White Pocket and South Coyote Buttes in the Vermillion cliffs we staged out of Cliff Dwellers Lodge in Marble Canyon which has mutilple L2 chargers. It would have been much more difficult to do this trip without Cliff Dwellers L2 chargers. Nice place, highly recommend.

The heart of the trip was an overnight stay at the White Pocket and a hiking in South Coyote Buttes the next morning. If you are not familiar, these places are in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. it requires lengthy drives on single track, rutted, sandy roads to visit. You need to apply to a lottery to get a permit for South Coyotes Buttes much like the more famous North Coyote Buttes (aka; "The Wave"). I'm 0 for 6 on winning a Wave permit lottery..... The Wave is famous and relatively easy to get to. The White Pocket and South Coyote Buttes are less famous but in the opinion of many better. But much, much harder to get to. I got the Outpost nAT tires specifically to do this trip and glad I had them on.

We departed Marble Canyon with 100%. 44 miles (but 3 hours!) to White Pocket. Overnight at White Pocket. About 1.5 hours and 15 more off-road sandy miles to South Coyote Buttes. Then about 60 miles to Kanab, UT. ABRP said I would arrive in Kanab with 50% charge left. But ABRB does not know about deflated tires for deep sand nor the overnight battery drain for cooking and electric blanket heating. I actually arrived in Kanab with around 26%. 26% is about the lowest I would want to be on a trip like this. It's possible to do it but watch your energy........

The White Pocket and South Coyote Buttes are incredible places to go. Takes planning, they are off the beaten path to be sure, make sure you know what you can handle but well worth the visit.

A few other notes: Bear's Ears exceeded expectations. Great hiking to Native American stone dwellings. Natural Bridges was very cool. Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley are very over rated... The Dixie National Forest is like a mini Bryce Canyon that my wife and I liked better.

In the image below note the tiny figure of my wife slightly right of center for a sense of scale

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[rdonovan491]

That is epic
Thank you for sharing and using these vehicles as intended

 

[Johnbuckley100]

I really appreciate this report. My wife and I did White Pocket and South Coyote Butte in March — I agree with everything you wrote.

And this is very helpful to know. We live in Jackson, WY and I have wanted to take my R1T to Southern Utah, but have been concerned about the charging infrastructure. Now that there’s a RAN charger in Monticello, and Kanab, Bluff and Moab are reliable, that takes care of the east part of Southern Utah. But I keep saying my life would improve if only Hanksville got a RAN charger like Green River has. For me, it’s still too risky to do the Hanksville area, Capitol Reef, and Escalante/Boulder.

i hope someone reads this and says I’m wrong! And in fact, I’ll be in Hanksville later today (in a rental SUV), and will scope whether there have been improvements.

Thank you for this report, and I admire your gumption!

 

[BigSkies]

Looks like a great trip!

I started exploring that area with my R1T a few summers back, but I only got to the well known places like Bridges and Valley of the Gods.

I was surprised how accessible it was then, and it's only gotten better. My recent trip from Denver to Moab almost exclusively used chargers that didn't even exist when I was there in 2023.

 

[Budman]

I really appreciate this report. My wife and I did White Pocket and South Coyote Butte in March — I agree with everything you wrote.

And this is very helpful to know. We live in Jackson, WY and I have wanted to take my R1T to Southern Utah, but have been concerned about the charging infrastructure. Now that there’s a RAN charger in Monticello, and Kanab, Bluff and Moab are reliable, that takes care of the east part of Southern Utah. But I keep saying my life would improve if only Hanksville got a RAN charger like Green River has. For me, it’s still too risky to do the Hanksville area, Capitol Reef, and Escalante/Boulder.

i hope someone reads this and says I’m wrong! And in fact, I’ll be in Hanksville later today (in a rental SUV), and will scope whether there have been improvements.

Thank you for this report, and I admire your gumption!

Thanks for the kind words.

For us, the key enabler for this trip was the level 2 charging at Cliff Dwellers Resort in Marble Canyon. We were going to explore Escalante as well staging out of Kodachrome Basin State Park with the 14-50 outlets there but the bottom dropped out of the temperature forecast and 40 mph winds so we cut the trip short.

I neglected to put in the Rivian eye-candy photos so I'll add a few of them here.

 

[skyguyscott]

thanks so much for this. hope to do the same some day

 

[Joules Burn]

Really nice write up and images!

The drive to White Pocket is MUCH easier than a hike to the Wave. I've done both and White Pocket is "more better".

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/california-to-white-pocket-az-in-our-r1s.36796/

An L2 at a hotel is "free gas" for an EV - even if it's $10 for the night.

 

[Budman]

Really nice write up and images!

The drive to White Pocket is MUCH easier than a hike to the Wave. I've done both and White Pocket is "more better".

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/california-to-white-pocket-az-in-our-r1s.36796/

An L2 at a hotel is "free gas" for an EV - even if it's $10 for the night.

I remember reading your post and it gave me confidence I could do it to. Good to know it can be done on tires like the Defenders.

 

[Joules Burn]

I really appreciate this report. My wife and I did White Pocket and South Coyote Butte in March — I agree with everything you wrote.

And this is very helpful to know. We live in Jackson, WY and I have wanted to take my R1T to Southern Utah, but have been concerned about the charging infrastructure. Now that there’s a RAN charger in Monticello, and Kanab, Bluff and Moab are reliable, that takes care of the east part of Southern Utah. But I keep saying my life would improve if only Hanksville got a RAN charger like Green River has. For me, it’s still too risky to do the Hanksville area, Capitol Reef, and Escalante/Boulder.

i hope someone reads this and says I’m wrong! And in fact, I’ll be in Hanksville later today (in a rental SUV), and will scope whether there have been improvements.

Thank you for this report, and I admire your gumption!

Check Plugshare for lodges in the area that have overnight L2 chargers. The one in Boulder is next to Hells Backbone Grill. NYT called it one of ten best restaurants in the country.

in the country!

 

[Doug]

Thanks for the write up and pictures. We are from MN too and plan to go to Moab area this fall. It did not look like you had rock sliders in the pictures. Can you do most medium trails without worrying about scratching the truck. I have a new 2025 TRi and would prefer not to scratch it up.

 

[Budman]

Thanks for the write up and pictures. We are from MN too and plan to go to Moab area this fall. It did not look like you had rock sliders in the pictures. Can you do most medium trails without worrying about scratching the truck. I have a new 2025 TRi and would prefer not to scratch it up.

No rock sliders. Not much risk in that regard. I did pick up some minor scratches, maybe from trail side brush or from out tent hardware???

we did the Onion River Road in Moab. Easy driving but very scenic.

 

[Budman]

Thanks for the write up and pictures. We are from MN too and plan to go to Moab area this fall. It did not look like you had rock sliders in the pictures. Can you do most medium trails without worrying about scratching the truck. I have a new 2025 TRi and would prefer not to scratch it up.

No rock sliders. Not much risk in that regard. I did pick up some minor scratches, maybe from trail side brush or from out tent hardware???

we did the Onion River Road in Moab. Easy driving but very scenic.

 

[Doug]

Thanks for the info. That is one of the roads we were thinking of doing.

 

[Budman]

Thanks for the info. That is one of the roads we were thinking of doing.

We happened to see a preproduction R2 on that road!

 

[Doug]

That's awesome! We are thinking of either getting a R2 tri or a Gen3 R1S. Any other recommendations of medium to difficult roads around Moab area that are scenic but not too technical?

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