Trans-America Trail — Telluride to Moab via Paradox Valley and La Sal Mountain Backdoor (Colorado–Utah Desert Connector)

This TAT connector segment runs from the high San Juan country around Telluride northeast through Naturita and into one of the Southwest’s strangest geological features — Paradox Valley, where the Dolores River inexplicably runs perpendicular to the valley floor because the valley formed from a collapsing salt anticline, not a river. From Paradox, the route works northwest through Gateway and Unaweep Canyon before crossing into Utah and grinding through the La Sal Mountain foothills on BLM dirt roads to drop into Moab from the east. Unaweep Canyon alone is worth the drive — a deep red-walled canyon that holds relict glacial terrain and almost no traffic. The La Sal approach into Moab gives you the canyon country from above before you descend into the tourist circus below.

Most of this segment runs on maintained dirt and gravel BLM roads with sections of eroded doubletrack that require good clearance and all-terrain tires. A stock 4WD high-clearance rig handles the majority of it — locking diffs earn their keep on the wetter La Sal sections in spring. Best run May through October; Paradox Valley gets brutally hot in July and August but stays passable. Fuel at Naturita and Moab — nothing in between worth counting on. No permits needed, dispersed camping abundant on BLM land throughout. This segment rewards anyone who wants the desert without the crowds.