Cycle Utah: Moab Mountain Biking

Welcome to Salt Lake City – Utah’s capital fascinates with its mountainous surroundings and spiritual significance. Your adventure begins with a midday (12pm) welcome meeting, where you’ll meet up with your local leader and new travel companions. If you arrive with time to spare, you may like to head out to visit some of the city’s numerous Mormon sites, or perhaps check out the Natural History Museum of Utah and its impressive array of dinosaur fossils. After your meeting and getting acquainted with your bikes, shuttle out east of the city to Bell Canyon and enjoy a warm-up ride along the base of the Wasatch Mountain Range, following the winding Wasatch Blvd before enjoying a car-free trail back into Salt Lake City. Take in views of some of the city’s most famous sights, including the Utah State Capitol and the centrepiece of Salt Lake City, the iconic Mormon Temple. At only 35 kms (22 miles) it’s a short but diverse ride that provides a taste of the amazing scenery, history and culture that Utah has to offer. After the ride, you’re free to freshen up and head out to the vibrant downtown to enjoy dinner at one of the many restaurants.

It’s an early start today as you leave Salt Lake City and drive south to the small town of Moab (approximately 4 hours). Home to the renowned Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and surrounded by some of the most stunning red rock landscapes on the planet, Moab is your gateway to some truly unbeatable mountain biking trails. This is your home for the next four nights, so unpack and settle in before heading out on your warm-up ride. What this route lacks in distance, it more than makes up for in scenery as you depart Moab and cruise along a flat cycle path all the way to the Colorado River. From here, stay off the vehicle roads and stick to the scenic Goose Island trail as it follows the foliage filled curves of the river between towering red rock cliffs, then retrace your tire tracks and cross the cool waters of the Colorado River. Here you join the smooth, car-free tarmac of the Moab Canyon Pathway and the Bar M Trail as they gradually weave uphill beneath the striking coloured rocks and cliffs of Arches National Park. After an exciting ride, finish up at the Moab Giants dinosaur museum for a refreshing drink, which you may like to enjoy while walking among models of life-size dinosaurs. Drive back to Moab and enjoy an evening to explore its great collection of restaurants, microbreweries, shops and galleries

After breakfast start your day with a short vehicle transfer (approx. 32kms/20 miles) to the start of the days ride along the Klondike Bluff and ‘Baby Steps’ trails. These ‘beginner to intermediate’ level trails have something for everyone as you ride along fast flowing jeep roads/doubletrack, and the occasionally tough climb. The scenery certainly makes the effort worthwhile as you cycle across the slickrock and dirt trails, and the views from the bluffs over the Salt Valley and Arches National Park beyond are unforgettable. Once the ride is over, jump in the support vehicle for the short drive back into Moab.

Get ready to ride one of Moab's original and classic riding areas, the iconic the Sovereign Trails. The slickrock and singletrack fun begins pretty quickly as you climb and descend across multiple expanses of rock and dry, dusty washes all the way to the southern base of Cedar Mountain before returning to Moab by vehicle (or ride back if you wish)
If you are still feeling energetic (and have a good level of mountain biking skill) you may wish to head out on your own and try the some of Moab's best single-track and slickrock along the renowned Moab Brand Trails, just a few miles north of Moab. The trail names are based on the local cattle brands Bar M, Circle O, Rockin A, Bar B and spell out M-O-A-B (we guess the other ‘brand’ trail names Rusty Spur, and Lazy-EZ didn’t fit the name scheme so well). These trails have something for every level of rider, from the fairly easy ride along the Bar M Loop to the 100% slickrock on top of Entrada sandstone of the Circle O trail, to the desert singletrack and technical rock-rolling singletrack of the Bar B Loop.
After a fun day out on the trails return to Moab, wash of the red rock dust and either kick back or enjoy a night out on the town – the choice is yours.

Take a different approach today and mix cycling with hiking through some of Utah’s most spectacular scenery. Leave Moab town behind on an early morning drive into the heart of Arches National Park, which contains the world's largest concentration of natural sandstone arches. Stop at the awe-inspiring Windows Section and walk past numerous natural arches and rock formations as your leader shares stories of the landscape (approximately 5km/3 miles). After lunch, shuttle to the Delicate Arch, one of America's most recognizable and beautiful landmarks and an icon of the desert southwest. From here, it’s back into the support vehicle for the 18-mile drive back into town.
Should you wish to get back on the bike and hit the trails on a solo ride there is ample time to do so this afternoon.

It’s almost time to say goodbye to Moab, but not before one last ride. Drive to the Basin Overview parking area (approximately 40 minutes) and set off on your final ride along the fittingly named Intrepid Trail, before riding the Great Pyramid Trail in Dead Horse Point State Park. Your cycling finishes at Dead Horse Point, but the views of Canyonlands’ sculpted pinnacles and buttes and the dramatic curves of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below will stick with you long after your adventure is over. From here, it’s a 4-hour drive back to Salt Lake City, where on arrival your cycling adventure comes to an end.