Moab • Seven Mile Rim • 2022
Seven Mile RimTrail Report
Buttes, slickrock and one ledge everybody stopped to watch: a day on Seven Mile Rim with a pack of Land Cruisers.
The Trail Nobody Puts on the Poster
Moab has its celebrity trails. Seven Mile Rim isn’t one of them, and that’s a big part of why it’s good. It has huge scenery, enough slickrock to keep you interested, a ledge or two that draws a crowd, and bypasses for anyone who’d rather not.
We ran it on April 29, 2022, with a group of about ten rigs: 80 Series and LX450s, 100 Series, FJ40s, a couple of FJ Cruisers and at least one Jeep that got invited anyway. Clear sky, dry trail, red dust on everything by lunch.
The Basics
According to Utah.com, Seven Mile Rim is about 10 miles long and rated a 3 on its scale. The trail leaves Highway 191 just north of Highway 313, about 11 miles north of Moab. It’s mostly two-track dirt road with a sandy hill, a wash bottom and some slickrock, and both the toughest section, around the south side of Merrimac Butte, and the sandy hill near the end can be bypassed.
Along the way you pass the old Cotter uranium mine, Uranium Arch (which you can walk across), Merrimac and Monitor Buttes, and views into Sevenmile Canyon, toward Arches and out to the Book Cliffs. Wipe-Out Hill is an optional detour nearby for anyone who wants to make their spotter earn it.
TRPLOK Goes to Moab
I brought TRPLOK, my LX450, wearing its retro Lexus stripe, a snorkel, an ARB bar and enough decals to qualify as a rolling sponsor list. Seven Mile Rim is not a trail that needs a triple-locked truck on 37s. That has never stopped me.
The Ledge
Every good trail has the one spot where the whole group stops, gets out and starts pointing. On our run it was a steep, broken red-rock ledge in the early afternoon. Spotters came out. Everybody else found a rock to sit on. One by one, the rigs went over: a black 80 Series with a snorkel and roof basket, a gray Lexus, a 100 Series and a red FJ40 that made it look easy.
Slickrock and Old Toyotas
The FJ40s were the stars of the slickrock. Short wheelbase, low weight and no interest in doing things the gentle way. A red caged 40 stepped up ledges like they were curbs, and an olive soft-top looked exactly like what every FJ40 owner pictures when they say “someday.”
Should You Run It?
Yes, especially if it’s your first Moab trip or you’re bringing a stock-ish truck. The scenery is better than the difficulty, the hard parts have bypasses, and you still get enough slickrock to feel like you did Moab. Bring a spotter for the ledges, air down for the slickrock, and leave time to walk across Uranium Arch.
If you’re still deciding what to bring, Which Land Cruiser Should I Buy and the 80 Series buyer’s guide are good places to start. And for more Moab, see Cruise Moab 2026: The High-Angle Highlights.
Air down. Look up.
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