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4 Corners Attractions

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Eminence

Well-Known Member
Planning on vacationing with my family (wife/toddler/mother) in May/June down near the 4 corners area, and am looking for any/all recommendations on destinations. In particular was looking for recommendations for a home base. Will be in the area for a bit over a week. Never been down there before.

So far places I was leaning towards:
-Arches
-Mesa Verde
-the 4 Corners
 
Eminence said:
Planning on vacationing with my family (wife/toddler/mother) in May/June down near the 4 corners area, and am looking for any/all recommendations on destinations. In particular was looking for recommendations for a home base. Will be in the area for a bit over a week. Never been down there before.

So far places I was leaning towards:
-Arches
-Mesa Verde
-the 4 Corners
Click to expand...
Not sure why the 4 corners itself would be an attraction, but that general area is packed. Near Zion, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, etc. Can't lose.

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Gameface said:
Not sure why the 4 corners itself would be an attraction, but that general area is packed. Near Zion, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, etc. Can't lose.

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Click to expand...

Uh, 4 corners is on the other side of the state from Zion and Bryce Canyon. It’s the southEAST corner. They’re something like 400 miles apart. Arches, Dead Horse Point, and Moab are on that side.


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bigb said:
Uh, 4 corners is on the other side of the state from Zion and Bryce Canyon. It’s the southEAST corner. They’re something like 400 miles apart. Arches, Dead Horse Point, and Moab are on that side.


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So skip 4 corners is what you're saying?

In my mind it's all **** that is south of here.
 
Gameface said:
So skip 4 corners is what you're saying?

In my mind it's all **** that is south of here.
Click to expand...

I’ve never been to 4 corners, so I couldn’t give an opinion on it. I was just pointing out that the awesome places you mentioned aren’t within a reasonable driving distance of it.


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Went to 4 corners once. Had the kids stand in different states. That was about it. Not as spectacular as any of the other Parks. Ok I guess from a desert Southwest kind of vibe. We planned 4 days, stayed 2 and went to the Grand canyon for the rest. It isn't even hyped very much but it still felt over-hyped.
 
bigb said:
I’ve never been to 4 corners, so I couldn’t give an opinion on it. I was just pointing out that the awesome places you mentioned aren’t within a reasonable driving distance of it.


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Yeah, so instead of going to 4 corners, there are other things in the "general" area that if you skipped 4 corners you could see that are WAY more impressive than a pretty meaningless spot where 4 states share an arbitrary border. Like it's a marker in the ground that is like "here's where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet..." There is nothing "there" there. I can't imagine it as a destination. It would be like flying to SLC so that you could enjoy the beaches of the Great Salt Lake.
 
Gameface said:
Yeah, so instead of going to 4 corners, there are other things in the "general" area that if you skipped 4 corners you could see that are WAY more impressive than a pretty meaningless spot where 4 states share an arbitrary border. Like it's a marker in the ground that is like "here's where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet..." There is nothing "there" there. I can't imagine it as a destination. It would be like flying to SLC so that you could enjoy the beaches of the Great Salt Lake.
Click to expand...

I’ve always considered it as something to stop and see/take a picture while you’re driving through.


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Eminence said:
Planning on vacationing with my family (wife/toddler/mother) in May/June down near the 4 corners area, and am looking for any/all recommendations on destinations. In particular was looking for recommendations for a home base. Will be in the area for a bit over a week. Never been down there before.

So far places I was leaning towards:
-Arches
-Mesa Verde
-the 4 Corners
Click to expand...

June is hot as hell. If you are driving around off the beaten path bring a lot of water. Very early morning is best if you plan on hiking, as in sunrise. I recommend renting a side x side for a day if you can swing it. You can do it on your own or go with a tour/driver if you want to do rad stuff but are nervous. I recommend you drive yourself if you are at all a badass. There are a lot of places in Moab that can dial you in. Alternately there are some great dirt road or asphalt drives that are stunning if you have a truck or SUV. You can do some of them in a 2WD car no problem. LaSal mountain loop or Cane Creek to Chicken Corners, also Shafer trail. Some short hikes good for your toddler are Negro Bill Canyon and Corona arch. Arches is cool as a drive and has some short hikes too. Again, don't underestimate the heat of that red rock once it heats up, predicted temps don't tell you everything.
 
bigb said:
Uh, 4 corners is on the other side of the state from Zion and Bryce Canyon. It’s the southEAST corner. They’re something like 400 miles apart. Arches, Dead Horse Point, and Moab are on that side.


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Not 400 miles unless you mean the whole loop. Hanksville, otherwise known as nowhere, is a more central position. If I was gonna do that trip, I'd want three weeks and an RV, and I'd spend some time on Boulder Mountain. Lakes and fish, tall trees, daily rain in the summer. My wife likes the east side, I'm from Westside Story, judging my penchant for writing different realities. yo, meenie.
 
Eminence said:
Planning on vacationing with my family (wife/toddler/mother) in May/June down near the 4 corners area, and am looking for any/all recommendations on destinations. In particular was looking for recommendations for a home base. Will be in the area for a bit over a week. Never been down there before.

So far places I was leaning towards:
-Arches
-Mesa Verde
-the 4 Corners
Click to expand...

Haven't had much luck with Arches or the Four corners(not really tried), but Mesa Verde is gorgeous. Just north of that is Grand Mesa national forest, which is a fun little mountain area with lots of little lodges that have cabins to rent. A buddy of mine just went out just enjoyed the area. It was like hanging out in a tiny town that was super wildlife friendly. Fishing, Kayaking, campfires, hikes galore. You can get all of that in Utah, but you can pick up your martian on the way. Good frickin times.
 
Engorged On Unborn Gore said:
https://www.nps.gov/cach/index.htm

Go to Spider Rock in Chinle, Arizona. It’s about a hour and 45 minutes south west of four corners, in Canyon de Chelly. Spectacular and beautiful.
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Yeah, I did the full day tour of Canyon de Chelly, with a Navajo guide. I recall we picked up an elderly Navajo woman along the way, and dropped her off right at Spider Rock. You could see her hogan in the distance up a side canyon.

Moab was a good base for both Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park. If you stayed in Moab, you could see if the Moab Rock Shop still offers tours into Canyonlands.
The rock shop is run by Lin Ottinger, a legendary man in the SW, the dinosaur man of Utah.

I did all the national parks in Utah, starting at Zion, then Bryce Canyon-Capital Reef-Arches-Canyonlands, so I went from the SW corner to the SE corner. Not far from Moab is Bears Ears National Monument as well, and Hovenweep National Monument is in the SE corner. This was all years ago. Have no idea what the lines are like entering these parks now.

Highly recommend Mesa Verde as well. Not that long a drive east from Moab.

So, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, and Canyon de Chelly would be a great trip.
 
Red said:
Yeah, I did the full day tour of Canyon de Chelly, with a Navajo guide. I recall we picked up an elderly Navajo woman along the way, and dropped her off right at Spider Rock. You could see her hogan in the distance up a side canyon.

Moab was a good base for both Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park. If you stayed in Moab, you could see if the Moab Rock Shop still offers tours into Canyonlands.
The rock shop is run by Lin Ottinger, a legendary man in the SW, the dinosaur man of Utah.

I did all the national parks in Utah, starting at Zion, then Bryce Canyon-Capital Reef-Arches-Canyonlands, so I went from the SW corner to the SE corner. Not far from Moab is Bears Ears National Monument as well, and Hovenweep National Monument is in the SE corner. This was all years ago. Have no idea what the lines are like entering these parks now.

Highly recommend Mesa Verde as well. Not that long a drive east from Moab.

So, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, and Canyon de Chelly would be a great trip.
Click to expand...

This confused me. Moab is in the East, semi-southeast. Not southwest as I feel your text indicates.
 
Wes Mantooth said:
This confused me. Moab is in the East, semi-southeast. Not southwest as I feel your text indicates.
Click to expand...

OK, I read what I wrote and I said I drove from the southwest corner to the southeast corner of the state. I didn't say Moab was in the southwest, where Zion is located, so I'm not sure why you thought my comment put Moab in SW Utah. Anyway, yeah, Moab is more east then extreme SE, it's somewhat south of east I guess, but a couple of people had brought up the Moab area as an option, and I went with my own impressions of that part of Utah. Bears Ears and Hovenweep are more accurately SE Utah, both worth seeing.
 
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