Navigating Utah in Kawasaki’s Beloved Teryx
Embarking on a Wild Ride through the Rugged Beauty of Warner Valley, Where Off-Road Meets Nature’s Breathtaking Playground
Words & Photos: Logan Gallagher
With so many people flocking to Utah for fun, and moving to its colorful regions, everyone must be wondering what the hype behind the Southern Utah’s Off Road scene is. As part of the Grand Staircase of Utah, Warner Valley sits between Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon but below one of the greats, Sand Hollow Utah State Park. The red sandstone is the prominent soil of the area with plenty of rocks to crawl and with all types of vehicles such as the Kawasaki 1000 SE eS that have been recently added to the immaculate 2024 lineup that they released this past spring.
I spoke with Carey McCandless from Candle Motorsports, a man who has been building and racing all types of side-by-side various forms of racing in the Western United States, who had never seen what the newly developed and upgraded Kawasaki 1000 SE eS can do out in its natural habitat. Without too much convincing, we headed out to both of our backyards to Warner Valley, Utah.
Carey McCandless took me off on a rip around his local desert loop that just so happens to be in Warner Valley. Aboard the Kawasaki Teryx 1000 SE eS, we headed down Black Mountain Road. This trail is also the start of what Carey uses as his proving and testing grounds for his car and other customers’ desert racing race cars. Five miles down the road is a Gypsum mine where you can explore and dig up crystals with you and your friends. Surrounded by awesome southwest mesas, the area has a great feel to start any adventure.
Heading further south into the Utah and Arizona border, we loop the valley around to Fort Pearce Creek. Easily accessible with Kawasaki, we head up the dry wash surrounded by rainweeds and rocks in between more beautiful southwest mesas in which the history is palpable, giving you the feeling that you’re traveling back to the John Wayne era.
Back on the Warner Valley Road, just about 15 miles down the dusty road, we got to the main valley of Warner Valley where there are endless opportunities for Side-By-Side enthusiasts to rip trails or overlanders to look for a calm place to camp. For those who are more skilled the two-wheel motocross scene has plenty of natural jumps and sandy trails to let loose.
We ended up coming across what is called the Purple Hills. Completely different from the rest of the terrain of the valley, the area is eroded by rain and wind. The hills have an otherworldly purple-grey tint that feels as if you’re roaming the Moon or Mars. A well-ridden spot with thirty-foot to five-foot burned-out hills, jumps, and snake runs make for a perfect place for groups and families to come and enjoy the scenery. Whether you are new to the Offroad scene or have years of skills and knowledge there is plenty of fun to be had at this location. Not to mention, it is an ideal camping spot with a great expanse of space to camp away off the beaten road to start your long weekend campout.
Now for the explorers of the off-road and side-by-side scene, there is one must-do in this valley and it’s actually how this place came about. The Honeymoon trail is one of the most southwestern points of the beautiful valley. When the early Mormon settlers in the late 1800s wanted to come down the mountain from Apple Valley and Colorado City Arizona, they built a trail just wide enough off the cliffside of the Mesa for their horses and carriages.
This led them into the Warner Valley which resulted in the town of St. George is getting married hence the name “Honeymoon Trail”. It is highly recommended for a high-clearance vehicle. From our experience, the Kawasaki 1000 trekked right up the steep rocky trail that winded up to the top with one of the most stunning views of the Valley. Even on the windiest days like this day, it was still enjoyable to stop and enjoy a cold one and admire what Carey and I have in our backyard.
Fast Forward millions of years later, after the water had dried and the Dinos went extinct, 12 miles down Warner Valley road is Fort Pierce. During the Black Hawk War that started in 1865 and lasted ’til 1872, the LDS militia, more well-known as “Mormons”, had forts like such to protect their people from the Ute Tribes.
The Ute Tribes who were sometimes accompanied by the Navajo Tribes, would try to steal their herds of cattle or attack their ranches to drive them out of the land that they once owned. Built by 19 men with local rock and sediment, it spans as long as 42 feet and 22 feet wide over Fort Pierce Creek. You can still see Fort Pierce as it is now a protected monument for the public to come see or a great place to take a break in between your long days.
Heading back north on the Warner Valley road all the way to the Pipeline Road Trail will lead you to the top of the Valley in the Sand Hollow OHV trails. From the restrooms at the Pipeline and the FaultyLine intersection, as you head up the hill is the start of the North Rim where there are lots of rock features that are awesome to learn throttle control and placement of tires to create traction. It really is a great trail to take the Kawasaki and gain more confidence in your driving skills.
As you head up the mellow but fun trail which is rated as a 4 out of 10, the view on the right is hard to put into words because no words do it justice. You just have to see it for yourself. Once getting near to the top of the mesa you can see erosion happening in front of your eyes. These sandstone hoodoos and knolls that have lasted and endured the elements of wind and rain make a unique ride going in between what seems to be hallways for us to go through.
Standing in some cases 30-50 feet tall, along the cliff these rocks have the best view looking over the Warner Valley. Definitely gives an out-of-this-world feel to your ride experience. We are just the visitors of this area so it’s advisable to take care of what we have to play in. BLM reminds us to not litter, write or mark up these amazing features unless it’s on the trail of course with your vehicle.
About a five-minute ride, at the end of the North Rim Rail, is the “Top of the World”. A nice local touch is a tower of various signs built by locals that has another 360-degree view. Looking northeast you can see the tips of the West Temple peak of Zion National Park, more east there are the Sand Hollow Dunes. Hence the name Sand Mountain. The eroded sandstone has accumulated over hundreds of years and has turned into dunes. An amazing area to get familiar with and build skills of dune riding in your side-by-side.
To end our 80-mile loop, we shredded some turns in the perfect tool for fun, the Kawasaki 1000. Not to forget that the Kawasaki 1000 Es Ev is equipped with the Fox live valve suspension, softening the ride for these dunes and making it even more comfortable for our day out in Warner Valley.
If you haven’t been to southern Utah, let alone the Warner Valley public lands, I highly suggest you come out and see it for yourself. Regardless of the skill level, everyone can have some fun out here and enjoy what Utah has to offer. I’m sure you will fall in love and see why this town has an exploding market. Everyone is moving here in all directions to raise their families around the Offroad scene.
With that being said, this exact place that we enjoy calling public lands is being threatened as you read this. Land is being sold and big plans for the Warner Valley to become a town of its own. This might sound appealing to the average person looking for new opportunities but we as an Offroad community must take action and save some of these areas from being developed because they will not be public lands for much longer if we don’t take a stand. It will soon be privately owned and not accessible for off-roading.
You can do your part and attend city council meetings and hearings to get info and to also have your voice heard if you don’t want this place to disappear before our eyes. Please find more information at https://www.wcwcd.gov/infrastructure/reservoirs/