spartangirl

Next week we are going to Moab for a wedding with 2 other couples and will be there for 5 days. I am looking into Condo reservations (we currently have a hotel booked but we have heard a condo is the way to go with a group). Any recommendations on specific properties for us? Rim Village and Moab Spring Ranch look like good possibilities.

Also I am looking for recommendations on companies for bike rental and tours, rafting, and great hikes. We are hiking arches the day of the wedding and know we want to bike at least one morning... any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks
Megan

kureiff

The Klondike Bluffs Trail is a good intermediate bike trail that will take you into Arches Nat'l Park.

It's about a 26 mile ride. There are petrified dinosaur tracks along the trail -- very cool.

spartangirl

Do you know how they rate the trails. My husband has done some mountain biking... but has never really paid much attention to trail ratings. What kind of shape do you need to be in for the intermediate trails???

kureiff

I'm not sure what the criteria is for rating trails.

If you're renting bikes, ask the people at the bike shop for recommendations for your skill level. That's what we did and it worked well.

The mountain biking in Moab is awesome because you're biking on "slickrock" which feels like sandpaper. Your bike tires really grip the rock and you can climb hills that you wouldn't normally be able to on regular dirt.

I hope you have a great trip. My husband and I loved Moab!

utahtea

I haven't done any mountain biking in Moab so I can't comment on that.

Make sure you do the 3 mile round trip hike to Delicate Arch in Arches. Another favorite hike is to Dark Angel which is 5 miles round trip. You pass Landscape arch, Double O arch and walk on sandstone fins.

You can rent 4 wheel drive jeeps in Moab and do your own touring. It's lots of fun and Farbee Jeeps will lend you maps and give you ideas of where to go. My favorite is to start on the Potash Road (hwy 279) which starts out paved as you drive alone the banks of the Colorado River. Watch for petroglpys on the canyon walls. The road turns to dirt at the Potash Plant. Continue on the 4 wheel drive road to the intersection of the White Rim Trail and the Shafer Trail. Take a little detour on the White Rim trail to Mussellman Arch then double back and take the Shafer Trail up to Canyonlands National Park. Tour the park then head to Dead Horse State Park. From Deah Horse take the Long Canyon trail back to the Potash Road. LOTS OF FUN! These are not hard roads to drive.

My pictures taken on the 4 wheel drive adventure I described:

http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/pages...shafer2001.htm

The raft trip out of Moab on the Colorado River is also a lot of fun. If you don't do this trip, then make sure you drive out on Hwy 128 to Fisher Towers.

There are plenty of petroglphys on the Potash Road and even more on Kane Creek road on the opposite side of the Colorado River.

Utahtea

KMK

We booked a condo in Moab through Moab's Affordable Luxury Condos (www.moabcondos.com) a few years ago and were VERY pleased. Looked exactly like the pictures on the website. Ours was at Puesto del Sol, I think, but that was mainly because those were the largest available at the time - all the options looked nice. I think it is more fun/social to book a condo with a group, I have done it in many locations and never been disappointed. (Always gone with a mangement company, though, never an individual owner, and obviously some units are nicer than others...but, overall, I really like it.)

I think in Moab, most of the condos are on not right in town, so you will need a car...not that they are far to drive, they just aren't really walking distance, if that is an issue.

For biking, check with the bike shops and be honest about your ability. Klondike Bluffs is easy, as long as you are fit & have a clue how to ride a bike (& you don't really need a lot of technical biking skill); we took a fit but novice biker with us on that ride; it is a steady, mild uphill to the park (which means it's down on the way back!), but by no means a strain going up or difficult down. If you are not 'real' mountain bikers, stay away from the glamour rides like Porcupine Rim & Slickrock, you'll hurt yourselves. I don't think Klondike Bluffs is nearly as long as an earlier poster said ('cause I know I can't go that far, and I did it, LOL!) Gemini Bridges might not be bad, but it is sandier, you'll want to avoid that, in all honesty.

kureiff

KMK: you could be right about the length of the Klondike Bluffs Trail. We started at the highway, but you can drive the dirt/gravel road for quite a ways before you start biking. That could've been the mileage difference. We did the trail three years ago, so maybe it was fewer miles and just felt like 26??

We also did the Slickrock Trail which was cool but I agree with KMK -- it's not for beginners.

Have fun!

spartangirl

Thanks for the info, very helpful. I actually booked a condo yesterday with Rim Valley through a management company. I was able to pick on line from photos which specific condo as well. The condo is cheaper than our Days Inn Hotel Reservations and has three bedrooms 2 baths, a good view, a pool and hot tub.

The info on the bike rides is helpful as one of my friends wants to do an intermediate ride and it sounds like too much for us novices!