La Sal Mountain Loop Self-Guided GPS Audio Tour

The journey, in full

This is a popular campsite with a lake set against a stunning backdrop of the La Sal Mountains. From the lake, you can hike a short distance to a small waterfall. The Brumley Arch trail is only two miles round trip, but it's pretty steep and strenuous. You’ll also need to drive on an optional gravel road to get to the trail. At the end, you will be rewarded with a waterfall and the Brumley Arch rock formation. Oowah Lake is a small lake popular for rainbow trout fishing. Sitting at 8,800 feet or over 2,600 meters, this Alpine lake often shows the reflection of the La Sal Mountains, which makes it truly picturesque. Warner Lake is slightly smaller than Oowah and is also great for rainbow trout fishing. Both lake areas are pretty serene on most days, but during holidays or summer weekends you can expect to find a small crowd. And although there are many trails in the area such as Boudreaux pass and Schuman Gulch, the most popular trail is the 1.6-mile round-trip hike that connects the two lakes together.  This is a must stop on the drive as you'll enjoy a sweeping panoramic view of the Colorado Plateau below LaSalle. You'll also be able to see the Porcupine Rim, Castle Valley, Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park. This place is famous for dinosaur tracks left in the ground around 200 million years ago during the Jurassic period. No hiking is needed but you'll need about 30 to 40 minutes for the detour. This is a series of sandstone towers with names like Castleton Tower, the Rectory, and Sister Superior, that rise as high as 1,400 feet.  The summit of Parriott Mesa stands over 6,000 feet or 1800 meters in elevation. It looms over the Castle Valley like a guard. Stretching more than 1.5 miles long and a third of a mile wide, this sandstone summit is another magnet for climbers. There is a three-mile, round-trip hike there, but it's pretty challenging and you need to be very well-prepared Fisher towers has a popular hiking trail that features beautiful sandstone formations like towers, spires, hoodoos, ravines, and terraces. But there's more to Fisher Towers than just scenery. In fact, there's a pretty good chance you've already seen Fisher Towers before as the backdrop to many hollywood movies, like Austin Powers 3 and 6 Underground. The museum is part of the Red Cliffs Lodge. Many films like Wagon Master, Rio Grande, Taza Son of Cochise, City Slickers, Thelma & Louise, and more than a hundred different television commercials were shot in the area. The museum has a great selection of memorabilia, including early pioneer artifacts and photos of Hollywood stars who worked on the motion pictures. And there's no charge to go in, either. This is where the Salt Wash River joins the Colorado River. If you have a kayak, you can follow the salt wash upstream and eventually pop out near Delicate Arch inside Arches National Park. This is where most of the kayaking and rafting trips end along the 13-mile Moab daily section of the Colorado River. The courthouse wash pictograph was created by the Fremont people some 2,000 years ago. It does require a short hike of about 500 feet from the parking area.