Moab - route suggestions

[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.

[sbornia]

Thanks everyone! Heading out tomorrow to start the long drive, aiming for our first ride on Monday.

[sbornia]

Great first ride at Dead Horse Point yesterday!

[sbornia]

So, yesterday we did a Rim Tours guided ride in the Bar M/Moab Brands network. Fun trails and very helpful to have someone who knew them lead us. The guide also gave my kiddo some good technique tips for Moab's terrain.

Then today we took the Coyote Shuttle up to the start of the Raptor Route. We rode Eagle Eye, Hawk's Glide, Falcon Flow (not that flowy) and the newest segment, Kestrel Run. Great, hard ride of 11 miles, 975 feet up, and 3,500 feet down. We walked the black diamond sections on Hawk's and Kestrel. My wife picked us up at the Hawk Campground so we didn't have to grind up the road with the crazy 4x4 drivers. Very satisfying ride and I love seeing how my daughter's skills have progressed so much.

Thanks again to everyone who shared route suggestions, they definitely helped make our trip planning easier.

[Jaybee]

This is good content - the kind of riding stoke I need on Friday and a reminder to finalize my own travel plans with kiddos for later this spring

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

This is good content - the kind of riding stoke I need on Friday and a reminder to finalize my own travel plans with kiddos for later this spring

Same, I’m really excited to head to Moab for a week early October! I’ve only ridden the kokopelli trail a decade or so ago from Moab to grand junction and never got to experience these fantastic trails.