Shortcut to Hidden Splendor

[utidcapaco]

Well, I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but since you guys are the experts. . . I moved out of the great state last year and must now access the Swell from the southeast. In the past, I've accessed the Hidden Splendor mine from I-70, but this time around I'll be coming up highway 24. From the Hanksville/Goblin Valley vicinity, is there any way to avoid going all the way north to Tan Seep before heading back south to Hidden Splendor? I'll have a fairly capable 4x4 pickup. I need to get a better map, I guess, but it looks like the Behind-the-Reef Road might connect northwest to that spur at McKay Flat (near upper Wild Horse Canyon). Although if it's a really rough road, that might not save me any time. Let me know if you have any ideas/experience.

The larger question might be whether it's faster to just go up through Moab to Green River, then west on I-70 to the usual exit. I'll be coming from northern New Mexico (near Santa Fe). Let me know if you've done this before or have any suggestions. Thanks!

Brent

[rock_ski_cowboy]

Well, I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but since you guys are the experts. . . I moved out of the great state last year and must now access the Swell from the southeast. In the past, I've accessed the Hidden Splendor mine from I-70, but this time around I'll be coming up highway 24. From the Hanksville/Goblin Valley vicinity, is there any way to avoid going all the way north to Tan Seep before heading back south to Hidden Splendor? I'll have a fairly capable 4x4 pickup. I need to get a better map, I guess, but it looks like the Behind-the-Reef Road might connect northwest to that spur at McKay Flat (near upper Wild Horse Canyon). Although if it's a really rough road, that might not save me any time. Let me know if you have any ideas/experience.

The larger question might be whether it's faster to just go up through Moab to Green River, then west on I-70 to the usual exit. I'll be coming from northern New Mexico (near Santa Fe). Let me know if you've done this before or have any suggestions. Thanks!

Brent

You can access it by crossing the reef on the Temple Mountain Road. We did this last year and it worked fine and was probably about the same distance to get to Green River as from I-70. I don't know the specifics, but I believe they can be found on climb-utah.com

Ben.

[Iceaxe]

You want to enter the Swell at Temple Mountain. You still have to drive by Tan Seep. The amount of dirt road is about the same from I-70 or Temple Mtn, but you will cut off 1 hour of pavement driving. The road is passable to cars in normal conditions.