MOUNTAIN BIKING
Add Moab mountain biking or hiking to your Moab Utah vacation. Don't forget to check out all the diffrent bike shops to get just the right stuff for your Moab mountain biking or hiking adventure in Moab Utah.
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Mountain Biking
Mountain biking in canyon country can be anything from a challenging ride on the Slickrock Bike Trail to a leisurely ride along backcountry roads. This high desert environment can be unforgiving to the unprepared. Riders should carry water, food, clothing and tools and be prepared for changing weather, riding conditions and accidents. Most trails travel through remote areas where help is not readily available.
Precautions
- Wear a helmet
- Recognize your physical and technical limits
- Carry twice as much water as you think you'll need
- Make sure your bike is functioning properly
- Carry repair and first aid kits and know how to use them
- Use a map, guidebook and/or guide
- Ride with others and re-group often
- Reserve enough daylight to retrace your route if you encounter problems
Environmental Considerations
Bikes are great tools for exploring canyon country when used responsibly. The most important guideline is to stay on approved roads, trails and slickrock. Fragile cryptobiotic crusts and vegetation can take decades to recover if damaged by careless riders. Each year, individuals take hundreds of thousands of mountain bike rides in the Moab area. You can help protect this fragile land by adhering to the following minimum impact biking practices, and the Canyon Country Minimum Impact Practices.
Ride only on open roads and trails. Riding cross-country, taking shortcuts, and play riding around campsites damages plants and soils. Don't be a trail pioneer by leaving a poorly chosen path for others to follow. Help land managers keep areas open to biking by staying on established routes.
Learn to recognize and preserve cryptobiotic soil crusts. This delicate, often black, crusty-looking, complex of soil and slowly growing algae, mosses, bacteria, and lichens retains water, reduces erosion, and provides a stable base from which higher plants can flourish. It takes many years for cryptobiotic soil crust to recover from the ruts created by one bike. If you don't know what it looks like, ask someone to point it out!
Avoid skidding your tires. Locking your wheels needlessly damages trails and leaves ugly tire marks on slickrock. Stay in control by "feathering your brakes".
Ride rocky, slickrock, and sandy areas when it's wet. Soils with high clay content, e.g. the first several miles of the Monitor and Merrimac Trail, turn to slippery, chain-clogging mud when wet. Riding through these areas under wet conditions leaves deep ruts that accelerate trail erosion.
Refrain from riding through and camping in riparian areas. Riparian areas, the communities of water-loving plants along streams, are precious to wildlife. Wildlife concentrate in these areas and can be displaced by recreation use.
Protect water sources. Washing mud off bikes and bathing can introduce lubrication, soaps, and oils from sunscreen into water sources critical for the survival of small animals.
Riding Etiquette
When encountering slower-moving trail users, slow to their speed and wait for acknowledgement to pass or be passed. Always yield to horses and hikers. Remember that many mountain bike routes are also open to motorized use.
Riding in Remote Areas
If you have an accident in a remote area, it may take medical help hours to arrive. Travel with a group so that someone can be sent to obtain help and another rider can administer first aid. On a hot day, you will want to have more water than your frame-mounted bottles hold. Carry a large refill bottle on your rack. If your bike breaks down, it can be a long push back to town. Carry appropriate tools and know how to repair your bike.
Slickrock Bike Trail
Beginning point: On Sand Flats Road, 2.3 miles from the intersection of the Sand Flats Road and Millcreek Drive in Moab.
Length: 9.6 miles (main loop); 2.2 miles (practice loop)
Type of Ride: Slickrock; loop ride
Area Attractions: The Slickrock Trail possesses a terrific combination of challenging riding and scenery. The Practice Loop offers an introduction to riding on slickrock. However, the Practice Loop is every bit as difficult as the trail itself -- only shorter.
Route Description: The trail is marked by white dashes painted on the slickrock. Intersections, points of interest and caution zones are indicated with yellow paint. The Slickrock Trail was originally designed for motorcycle use. The trail is open to both dirt bikes and mountain bikes. The Slickrock Trail is the most difficult trail described here. It is both technically demanding and strenuous. Novice riders should test their riding skill and stamina on the Practice Loop prior to attempting the main route. Be certain that your brakes are in good working condition.
Lower Monitor & Merrimac
Beginning Point: Drive north on U.S. 191 for approximately 15 miles then turn left onto a dirt road just north of highway marker 141, cross the tracks and park by the bulletin board.
Length: 7 miles
Type of Ride: A combination of road and slickrock; loop ride.
Area Attractions: View of the Monitor and Merrimac buttes, Determination Towers, and the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail.
Route Description: The marked route goes up Courthouse Wash, past the historic Halfway Stage Station, and circles a large butte between Courthouse and Mill Canyon. Near the end of the loop, riders may wish to stop at the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail. This ride makes a fairly easy family outing.
Gemini Bridges
Beginning Point: On Highway 313 at a point 0.9 mile west of the Mineral Bottom turnoff (12.6 miles west of the Utah 313US191 junction).
Length: 13.5 miles
Type of Ride: dirt road; shuttle required
Area Attractions: Gemini Bridges, a pair of natural rock spans, spectacular views of Behind the Rocks, and colorful rock formations.
Route Description: The Gemini Bridges Trail is well known to local riders for its scenery and long descents. Starting from Utah 313, the trail, except for the climb out of Little Canyon, is nearly all downhill back to Highway 191. Approximately 5.5 miles from Highway 313, the spur route to Gemini Bridges is encountered. The Gemini Bridges are located at the end of this spur which is about 0.2 miles long. After viewing the bridges, enjoy the rest of the marked trail down to Highway 191. This bike route utilizes a county road and is shared with jeeps, ATVs, and dirt bikes.
Porcupine Rim
Beginning Point: 6 miles past the Slickrock Trail parking area on the Sand Flats Road.
Length: 14.4 miles
Type of Ride: 11 miles of jeep route; 3 miles of singletrack.
Area Attractions: Great views of Castle Valley and the Colorado River; exhilirating downhill riding
Route Description: This popular trail is probably the second-most difficult bike trail in the Moab area. Descending nearly 3000 feet from upper Sand Flats Road to the Colorado River, this trail demands technical riding skills. Its backcountry nature demands that riders pay close attention to the route markings found along the trail. The singletrack portion of the trail is within the Negro Bill Canyon Wilderness Study Area (WSA); therefore, it is imperative that riders stay on the trail.
Klondike Bluffs
Beginning Point: 16 miles north of Moab on Highway 191, just north of mile marker 142
Length: 16 miles round-trip
Type of Ride: jeep road and slickrock
Area Attractions: Slickrock riding; views of the Klondike Bluffs in Arches National Park; dinosaur tracks along road
Route Description: The trail starts on a maintained county road and then becomes an old jeep trail. At about the 4 mile mark, the trail ascends white slickrock fins, rejoining the jeep road at the top of the bluff. Riders must leave their bikes at the Arches National Park boundary. A short walk up an old roadbed leads to great views of the Park. No bikes are allowed in the Park. Look for the dinosaur tracks in the middle portion of the trail.
