Earliest in spring for biking the Slickrock Trail in Moab
 

Hi all. We're debating a spring break trip to the Moab area. Is early April too soon to mountain bike in Moab - are the trails still snow covered then?

Hi Karens, we did a mid-March trip to Moab, and we were able to bike and hike. The weather was in the high 60's during the day.

It's a fun place to visit. We hiked in Arches one day, and then we biked the Klondike Bluffs Trail another day. The Klondike Bluffs Trail is a beginner to intermediate trail (although, I thought it was kind of scary...steep). You end up biking into one end of Arches on the trail, and there are petrified dinosaur footprints along the trail. :)

My husband biked part of the Slickrock Trail. He thought it was great.

Hi karens,

Are you a VERY experienced mountain biker? I don't do it, as I'm not into pain, but I have lots of friends who do and they do say the Slickrock Trail requires a lot of technical expertise.

I would not say I am very experienced, but I have mountain biked ski lift assisted downhill mountain bike trails marked intermediate. My last time, at Breckenridge, the ski lift guys expressed some surprise that I made it down as quickly as I did. (Not that that means anything; most guys don't think I can do anything much physically when they see me b/c I'm small).

I am currently not in mountain biking shape - I imagine I would need to dismount frequently to go uphill. But I have biked singletrack, and would like to start doing some once again as soon as the weather starts getting cooler.

I injured my knee skiing last March. One of my NY's resolutions was to get back into mountain biking shape, but I was just able to start stationary biking back in May. I'm back up to doing hour long rides on dirt roads - but not the singetrack hills.

It's one of those things that I've always wanted to do, but I know I could NEVER do it in the heat of the summer.

There's a practice loop on the Slickrock Trail that gives you a good idea of the terrain (steep ups and downs and turns), so you can try it before committing to the whole trail. I was so surprised at how steep the trails were, but the rock really grips your tires. It's like sandpaper.

Yes, that's what I've been told by my friends. We are talking steep! One of my female friends did an endo last time and messed up her face, knocking out all her front teeth. Now she has a scar on her lip. Nope - not into pain!

Funny, I'll ski anywhere without even thinking about it, but mountain biking and going over the handlebars is not my idea of a good time! I'd rather hike....

"Funny, I'll ski anywhere without even thinking about it, but mountain biking and going over the handlebars is not my idea of a good time!"

Me, too, Dayle. :) I even cried on the Klondike Bluff's Trail because I was so scared coming downhill. It was just so much steeper than what I was used to biking on at home. But the rock is amazing; it really grips the bike tires.

Moab is so beautiful and it's a fun town to visit.

I'm the opposite - I'm a ski wimp! I tore my meniscus last March skiing ( on an easy trail! I still don't know what exactly I did wrong), so I doubt I'll be any more adventurous the next time I get myself back on skis.

How steep is steep? I've done downhill on ski slopes.

I wonder if someone on the internet I can find an interactive photo map of the trail.

I meant, "somewhere on the internet"

Karens, it was steeper than what I could bike on a dirt trail, but the surface is just so different. You can go up and down steeper trails on the slickrock than you can on a dirt trail because the traction is so incredible. I bet you could find a photo map.

However, I'm not at all an experienced mountain biker. I would say that the Slickrock Trail and practice loop is steeper, or has sections that are steeper, than most downhill ski slope mountain biking trails. But, again, the traction is just incredible so you can do the steeper inclines. We noticed most of the bike shops in Moab had bikes that were specially fitted with lower gears than what is standard on most mountain bikes to deal with the steeper inclines.

I bet your boys (and you) will love it especially since you like to mountain bike. It's so amazing!

Thanks so much for your insights, girls!

kureiff, I'm not so sure I would want my boys to bike the Slickrock. They will be older when we go (I'm planning this for spring 2011) but unless they get a lot more mountain experience (right now they have no downhill experience, but except for one mountain scooter ride in Copper), I'd be a nervous wreck with them on the trail.

We're looking a spring break trip that would also include some of the areas we haven't yet seen in southern Utah - Capital Reef NP, Goblin SP, etc. If I can get FF seats, I'm thinking maybe we'll fly into Grand Junction and home through Las Vegas.

karens,

If you Google the Slickrock Trail, you'll find a lot of info, reviews and pictures. That may help!