Sun, sand and desert: The best mountain bike rides in the Moab
by: Alpana Pandya
Posted on: Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 2:15 pm by: Alpana Pandya
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The quintessential desert ride: jaw-dropping views of the desert, white-knuckle downhills and technical sections that’ll challenge the best of riders.
Moab, Moab, Moab—more has been written about the riding in Moab, Utah than just about any other locale in the lower forty-eight. Sadly, most folks drive all the way from Chattanooga or Topeka and head straight for the Slickrock Trail. I’m not suggesting that Slickrock is a waste of time-everybody should ride it once in their life-but Porcupine Rim is the kind of trail you’ll want to ride again and again.
The ride begins with a moderate climb from the Sand Flats Road trail head. It’s about four miles to the top of Porcupine Rim (that cliff-thingy looming over Castle Valley). This is a good place to get your grub on and take in the views. The good news is that you’re now poised for about 12 miles and 3,000 feet of descending. Most of the downhill is double track, but this isn’t yawn-material. There are plenty of ledges and rocks to keep you honest and alert.
The last three miles of dirt riding are on a tough single track. The views of the Colorado River are stunning, but don’t spend too much time staring because there are points on this trail where a slip-up could mean serious hospital time. Eventually the trail dumps you onto Highway 128 and from there it’s a mellow, six-mile road ride back to town. Plenty of opportunity to bullshit before hitting town and a nice cold beer. If you roll through Moab and only have time for one ride, this is the one to do.
Getting there
From Center and Main (in Moab), go east on Center and take a right on 400 West. Drive about half a mile and then take a left on Mills Creek Road. From there, it’s about a half mile to a stop sign. Go straight onto Sand Flats Road. You’ll soon hit a fee station (fork over a couple of bucks), and drive another seven miles until you see three large stock tanks. The trail starts here. Shuttles from town are available if you don’t want to drive. You can also choose to do this same route on your bike (making the ride a loop), but it’ll add on nine miles and 2,000 feet of climbing.
