Mountain Biking in Moab

The last leg of my West Coast tour will be spent ringing wedding bells (not mine) back in Park City at the end of July. If time allows it, I’m hoping to break away from all the love and head South to one of my favorite American playgrounds, Moab. I’ve been anxious to get back down to Southern Utah after a friend put together this video after his epic Moab adventure a few weeks back. I’ve been to Moab, but haven’t had the opportunity to bike yet.

I’m dedicating the next few posts to this amazing Mars-like terrain because I think anyone who’s serious about planning Great American Road Trip should definitely add Moab to their To-Do List.

For this post, I reached out to the video creator, Scott Goergen, to help me plan out the details of my trip. Scott recently took a similar leap from the 9 to 5 grind to chase his own dreams and one of his first missions was to tackle Moab’s epic mountain biking trails with his new GoPro Camera.

Here’s where he picks up…

I told myself once I had some time after I left my job that I wanted to unplug as much as possible.  Part of the “unplugging” included a road trip with some friends to enjoy some outdoor adventures in Utah and Arizona.

Hands down, the best part of the trip was Moab, UT.  Moab had it all… adventure, history, and escape.

I had a feeling Moab was going to be a great trip as soon as we rolled through the small town on our way to our campground. We passed by unique shops, bars, and restaurants all filled with adventure minded people that were in Moab for the exact reason we were.

Listed below are some tips and resources I used for our Moab adventure:

MOAB CAMPGROUNDS:

In Moab you can relax in a commercial campground, or get so far off the radar you won’t find another human for miles. We spent two days in a commercial campground that offered showers & electric and another three days off the map where we were miles from the nearest camper.  Here is a picture of our “off the map” campground.

To view Moab Campgrounds take a look at this links below:

• http://www.discovermoab.com/campgrounds.htm
• http://koa.com/campgrounds/moab/

MOAB MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS:

Moab is known for being one of the premier mountain bike destinations in the United States. There are trails for every skill level.  You can find detailed trail books online but I would suggest to first check out Discover Moab for a good overview of the most popular trails in Moab.  We also found it helpful to talk to the locals at the bike shops for advice.

MOAB MOUNTAIN BIKE RENTAL:

Even if you have a decent bike, I STRONGLY suggest to rent a duel suspension bike (for $45 – $85 a day). A nice bike will make all the difference in the world and your ride will be much more enjoyable. Check out two of the bike rental shops in town:

• http://www.chilebikes.com/
• http://poisonspiderbicycles.com/home/

Both shops listed have a wide selection of bikes and a knowledgeable staff that can offer tips for navigating and finding a trail that is best for you.

MUST RIDE MOAB TRAILS:

Hands down my favorite trail, and the most popular trail in Moab is the Slick Rock trail.  The trail is filled with miles and miles of winding sandstone, which makes for some of the most exciting mountain biking in the planet. Check out the Trail Map below.

The picture below was taken on the Slick Rock Trail. The river in the background is the Colorado River and the lookout point is called Shrimp Rock, which can be seen on the map above.

GEAR YOU NEED FOR YOUR RIDE:

• A Camelbak to carry your water, snacks, and supplies in.
• Lots of water.  You can never have enough.
• Lots of snacks.  I suggest Clif Bars, they’re Cheap, tasty, and good for you.
• Flat tire kit.  If you rent a bike from Chile Bikes, or Poison Spider Bicycles they will provide you with a tire changing kit.  If you don’t rent, you should stock up on an extra tire or two and a small changing kit. You don’t want to get caught walking 10 miles back to the parking lot with a flat tire.
• Bring a camera to capture the adventure! If you want to put together a video, like I did above, I suggest the GoPro HD helmet cam. Its great quality, and you can throw the camera on your helmet and forget about it.
• Bring a cell phone incase you get into some trouble (see movie 127 hours) but TURN IT OFF so you can enjoy the ride!

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:

The experience in Moab was incredible and everything I hoped for.  Anyone who is down for adventure in the natural world needs to visit Moab. Listed below are some other adventures I suggest to take a part of while in Moab.

Campfires – there nothing like it, especially under the clear Moab sky where millions of stars light up the night.

Rent ATV’s – we rented some four wheelers from Moab Tour Company. This allowed us to rest our legs and cover much more ground than on our bikes. There are many rental shops in town that allow you to rent Dirt Bikes, ATV’s , Jeeps and other fun toys.

Hiking – we did some hiking along some of the creeks in Moab and were able to see some of the Ancient Indian Rock Art.  There are many sites around Moab that have petroglyphs and pictographs that range from hundreds to thousands of years old.  Below is a picture of one of the sites we saw. Unreal.

Arches National Park – The last day in Moab, we planned to go to the park, but decided to hit up one more day of mountain bike riding.  I have only heard good things about this park and plan to go next time I am in Moab.

Be sure to take a look at the Discover Moab website to learn more.

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Special thanks to Scott for all his Moab information, photos and the video. For more of his work checkout PenshireMedia.com and on twitter @PenshireMedia

Gareth

My name is Gareth Leonard, a Marketing Director turned World Traveler with a passion for slow, meaningful travel. I have been traveling the world full-time for the past 9+ years and document it all on Instagram and YouTube. Come join me!