Moab - route suggestions

[sbornia]

Have you ridden in Moab recently and have trail recommendations to share?

I'm headed there next week and am looking for blue-rated mtb routes around 10-15 miles with 1000-2000 feet of elevation gain. My 12 year-old daughter can ride fairly technical terrain, but we're going to skip trails with a lot of exposure like Porcupine.

I've got a great map and see many of the local shops list individual trails on their websites. Where I could use some help is piecing together several shorter trails into a larger loop. If you've done something like that yourself and can share your experience I'd appreciate it.

Can't wait for this adventure, aside from the two days in the car to get there!

Steven

[.RJ]

Its been a very long time since I've been out there, but I think the Bar M loops might fit the bill from what I remember riding.

[sbornia]

Originally Posted by .RJ

Its been a very long time since I've been out there, but I think the Bar M loops might fit the bill from what I remember riding.

Thanks, those are on my list for sure.

[sbornia]

Related question - if you used one of the many guide services in town for a day-long tour I'd be interested in hearing about it, too.

[notsew]

I'm sure others can speak to it more, but I went a couple years ago.

There are tons of great blue level trails in the Navajo Rocks region and Mag 7. Really pretty (as everywhere there). Could spend a day at either area. Lots of fun.

We also got a shuttle and did the whole enchilada. From my recollection, I didn't feel particularly exposed at any point, and I'm pretty chicken about that kind of stuff. I'm not sure I'd even rate it a black, unless you are unwilling to walk a few sections. Fun to go downhill for 25 miles (or whatever it is)!

EDIT: But yeah, probably too huge a ride for a 12 year old!

[pdonk]

I haven't been since 2014, but my favourite trail network was Mag 7, lots of varied terrain, nothing too difficult and lots of typical views.

MOAB brand was less fun, but an interesting ride, similar to slick rock.

In terms of a guide, a good map is all you really need for most of it. Only place we wish we had one was Poison Spider Mesa, which is long hard ride, that I would l=not suggest to anyone.

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by pdonk

I haven't been since 2014, but my favourite trail network was Mag 7, lots of varied terrain, nothing too difficult and lots of typical views.

Hmmm are there two Mag 7's? When I went in 2019, we did a long day of not terribly hard riding, and then my two buddies i went with decided to do an after-dinner Mag 7 run. They'd never done it, and they said to meet them at the campground with the car at whatever time it was. They were hours late and it got dark and i was seriously worried about them. They finally made it to the car and said it was the sketchiest, hardest ride they've done, and they are very seasoned riders. They said a bunch of the technical sections were un-ridable and they had to walk their bikes a ton.

Now that im writing this, maybe it was one of the connecting trails to Mag7 that they did which had the super technical stuff in it. I obviously didnt do it, so I cant recommend it.

OP: I will say that the "whole enchilada" was a lot of fun! But not for a pre-teen. It isnt as techie as some other trails there, but there was definitely a lot of sketchy/dangerous sections. Also its an all day thing. We went in May and the top of the mountain still had a ton of snow, so we got shuttled up only most of the way.

[sbornia]

I think that at this time of year most of the Whole Enchilada is snowed in, so the shuttles only go partway up (maybe just to Lower Porcupine).

Based on our experience riding in Sedona when my daughter was 10, I know she she can handle new challenges. But I have to manage risk and stress from the terrain, so exposed trails on the edges of cliffs are not for us. I probably wouldn't enjoy them too much, either.

I've also learned that compared to the Bay Area trails we ride regularly, blue trails in places like AZ, UT, and CO are often much harder than our own.

Today I talked with Moab Cyclery about doing one of their half-day tours, which we'll probably sign up for once we know our schedule. The rest of the time I'll lead us on our own routes on some of the trail systems you all have mentioned here.

[TheseGoTo11]

+1 for Navajo Rocks. Good mix of terrain with plenty of slick rock sections.

[bikser]

It's been a long while since I've been there. Although I broke my leg pretty badly on Porcupine Rim, I don't remember much exposure there. I'd suggest Gemini Bridges, part of it is four wheel drive road and it's pretty cool when you get to the overlook. I remember doing Barlett wash a few times. Again, 4 wheel drive roads there, but the rock formation is cool to ride on. You can even go down the toilet bowl.

[pdonk]

Originally Posted by fmradio516

Hmmm are there two Mag 7's? When I went in 2019, we did a long day of not terribly hard riding, and then my two buddies i went with decided to do an after-dinner Mag 7 run. They'd never done it, and they said to meet them at the campground with the car at whatever time it was. They were hours late and it got dark and i was seriously worried about them. They finally made it to the car and said it was the sketchiest, hardest ride they've done, and they are very seasoned riders. They said a bunch of the technical sections were un-ridable and they had to walk their bikes a ton.

Now that im writing this, maybe it was one of the connecting trails to Mag7 that they did which had the super technical stuff in it. I obviously didnt do it, so I cant recommend it.

OP: I will say that the "whole enchilada" was a lot of fun! But not for a pre-teen. It isnt as techie as some other trails there, but there was definitely a lot of sketchy/dangerous sections. Also its an all day thing. We went in May and the top of the mountain still had a ton of snow, so we got shuttled up only most of the way.

I think Portal is the trail you are referencing.

I think that if you ride it as the Magnificent 7, then portions are crazy, if not there are lots of really nice connector trails and service roads to ride.

Best sign we saw on the trip was was at the start of the Poison Mesa / Portal section which said "This area is remote, if you don't have a plan, plan to turn around" Wish we had listened, thinking that 40km at Moab was the same as 40Km of east coast rides lead to a 4 hr slog up and down slickrock. One other thing I learned that day, if someone in the middle of nowhere offers you a sandwich and water, and they don't seem too sketchy take it, you may need it later.

[RudAwkning]

Another vote here for Navajo Rocks!

You might also consider Raptor Route. It's the alternate flowy route to lower Porcupine that avoids the "notch/snotch".

I recommend a shuttle to the start as it's a slog of a paved climb. It's a solid 10 miles of mainly descending.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoXHR4a9bU4

https://www.trailforks.com/route/rap...s%203%20trails.

Super fun and flowy. I did it on my full suspension singlespeed (83mm rear) and didn't feel too underbiked, although I did scrub my ass on my rear tire on one chute.

[jimcav]

I'd suggest dead horse point state park--do the big loop on mtb project--lots of great views, and it is a definite blue ride and gives you a good feel of what to expect.

next as others have suggested, navajo rocks area. We parked at where middle earth trail hits 313, went north on mdidle earth and did Ramblin (this is a harder blue)--the punchy steeps were enough for my long-covid HR issues so we rode back up 313 to our truck, then took middle earth south and did the coney island, big lonely, big mesa loop--I don't remember any exposure issues and all these were definitely easier than Ramblin was for me.

Next, Falcon Flow--park at bottom of, and ride up sand flats rd to falcon flow entry, head down falcon flow. I remember one section with exposure to the left where if you crashed you could get hurt--it is pretty short and just walk it if of concern. There are other "raptor" trails above falcon flow--a local said they are a little harder, and we didn't want to ride more up sand flats.

Bar M--this was easier as far as blue. I think we did North Loop and some add-on I forget.

Klondike Bluffs--this we typically hit on the way out of Moab. There is a beginner loop you can do as a figure-eight that is just fun to do at speed. But, for more normal blue, dino flow, or slightly harder but you can create a loop is to do the steps trails, alaska, homer--I don't remember any cliffs but there are some rocky tech and some exposure risk in the sense that a fall is on really rugged rocky terrain. However, caveat is I tend to remember sections or features that I don't clear, so maybe check youtube vids of these trails to gauge the exposure risk for yourself.

Lastly, on a prior trip we had chilipepper bike shop shuttle us and did the entire Mag 7, including coming out Gemini Bridges and riding back into town. I'd not even consider this at my current long-covid fitness, and although it has been a few years, I remember it had more tech and was harder than Ramblin, Coney Island, Big Lonely ).

[12snap]

Lots of good trail suggestions so far. The Moab Brand trails, Navajo Rocks, upper Mag 7 trails (Horsethief area) are all good blue trails. I would also suggest the Klonzo area. Some friends took their 10 and 12 year old daughters there and said it was great.

If you haven't already, you should download either Trailforks or MTB Project apps to your phone. They have all the trails so if you get confused you can pull out your phone, zoom in and determine if you missed a turn or need to keep going. They use GPS so no cell signal needed. They are super helpful when you're trying to learn new trails.

[TimD]

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/136593...GguXEO79EDpRvN

And whatever you do, take an astronomy tour there, it is unbelievable. Ask around town.