NW Colorado: Road 318 near Sunbeam or Maybell

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

My second night camping from Seattle will be in the Flaming Gorge Rec Area. It appears that there is a road that connects from the Dutch John, UT area to this CO State road 318. If it is a viable route, it would be much more direct than heading south the Vernal, UT and then east again.

 

Has anyone been on this road 318? Is it paved? What can you tell me about the portion in Utah?

[steveknapp]

I found this site very helpful:

 

http://www.mesalek.com/colo/

 

Looks like 318 is paved on the CO side, but gravel on the Utah side.

 

191 was a nice road through the NRA.

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

Looks like 318 is paved on the CO side, but gravel on the Utah side.

Looks perfect!

[DouglasR]

I've been over 191 via Rock Springs, Dutch John and Vernal many times and it's an outstanding route, just gorgeous with canyons and high mountain streams, evergreens and aspens. The ride down into Vernal is an outstanding series of switchbacks that will have you grinning ear-to-ear and throwing sparks off your footpegs. From Vernal East past Dinosuar is kinda desert but it's a nice road, and Dino NP is cool (but I'm a geologist!). My buddy Wayne and I stopped for a photo op above Flaming Gorge on our way to Spring Torrey last year:

 

 

The maps I have show the Dutch John to Colorado border road as "improved dirt" and about 25 miles long. I probably wouldn't be interested in that if I were on my RT, but surely on the GS!