Rock crawling park has plenty to offer stock 4x4s

Visitors to Rangely’s rock crawling park are used to seeing custom-built four-by-fours navigate steep inclines flanked by unforgiving slick rock and sheer cliffs. While challenging climbs like Megasaurus, Raptor and Broken Chain lure hundreds of hard-core crawlers to the park each year, the area has plenty to offer even the most casual four-by-four driver.
In a few weeks the Rangely Rock Crawlers hope to show just how much. Along with its fourth annual lady drivers’ competition on Saturday, June 9, the group is hosting a poker run and kids’ ATV rodeo. The new events aim to highlight park trails that can be easily navigated by stock four-wheel drives.
“We want to get more local people involved,” Rangely Rock Crawlers coordinator Tami Williams said. “We’re getting more and more local people who go out and watch, but people don’t realize they don’t have to have a (custom-built) buggy to do some of these trails. If somebody’s got a four-wheel drive pickup, they can do it.”
The five-card draw poker run will take drivers through some of the tamer park trails to retrieve their cards. Hands are $10 each with no limit to the number of hands drivers may purchase; $200 for high hand and $50 for low hand will be given at the free participants’ barbecue held after the event.
Women ready to test their four-wheel drives on six different climbing courses can also compete in the lady drivers’ event. Drivers are judged on how quickly they can scale the courses without knocking over set boundary cones. The courses’ difficulty ranges from mild to moderate.
The kids’ ATV rodeo will feature, among other challenges, a pole race and egg and spoon race, with prizes given to winners.
All vehicles participating in the day’s events need to have current registration or an up-to-date OHV (off-highway vehicle) tag.
To get to the rock crawling park, turn south on River Road from Main Street and follow the signs approximately two miles to the turnoff. From there, signs will direct participants to the sign up area. The day’s events begin at 10 a.m.
“We’ve gotten the reputation that the park’s courses are for custom rock crawlers because our drivers want to find the hard stuff,” Williams said. “But if people want to do the easier stuff, they can have at it.”
With questions or for more information, contact Tami Williams at 675-8975.