Within an hour’s drive of Blanding, Utah, you can be riding in Colorado, Arizona, or New Mexico. The prominent geographic feature looking east is Sleeping Ute Mountain, a gorgeous landmark located one state over in southwestern Colorado and one of four major landmarks trail riders in this area use for navigation. To the south lie the Chuska Mountains in Arizona. To the north, the Abajo Mountains. In the west, you can spot the Bear’s Ears, located on Elk Ridge in beautiful southern Utah.
Blanding is surrounded by thousands of acres of forest—including the Manti-La Sal National Forest in southeastern Utah, which is riddled with hundreds of miles of trails. The Forest is divided into three land areas: the Manti Division, the La Sal Division at Moab, and the La Sal Division at Monticello.
The Manti Division is part of the remnant Wasatch Plateau and features high elevation lakes, stunning scenery, and points of geologic interest.
On the La Sal Division-Moab, mountain peaks, canyons, and forest add scenic contrast to the hot red-rock landscape of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. The La Sal Division-Monticello offers timbered slopes to provide a welcome middle ground and background contrast to the sand and heat of Canyonlands National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, and the surrounding desert.