If you are visiting Moab in the Spring or Fall time and during a weekend, we highly recommend renting a bike as this is the busiest time of the year and most shops are running out of bikes. You can also make sure that you get the best fitting bike and the exact one that you want without making any sacrifices.
Moab offers so many incredible trail systems to choose from. Before we get into all the amazing places where you can mountain bike, let's discuss where you can't mountain bike. Arches National Park and Canyonlands Trails have incredible trails but they are only open for hiking. You can only mountain bike on the roads and the 4x4 roads inside of the parks. The best mountain biking in Moab is outside of the national parks. We recommend checking out Discover Moab, MTB Projects, Singletracks and Trailforks to review the trails and the systems that you want to ride. The most popular trails in mountain biking trails Moab are: The Whole Enchilada (only available to ride after July and until snowfall in October-ish) UPS/LPS and Porcupine Rim Navajo Rocks Bar M Trails Klondike Bluffs Bar M trails Amasa Back Dead Horse State Park The Slickrock trail Mag 7 trail system
In general, bikers come to Moab to ride some of the most technical trails that the world has to offer but don't let that turn you away from trying mountain biking as an activity while you're in Moab! The city has done an incredible job building new trails over the past few years to meet all skill levels. If you are relatively new to mountain biking, we recommend starting off on some of the green trails listed here on MTB project and on Trailforks. But these apps can be tricky because it shows each trail and not the best beginner-friendly systems where the trails are located. The best option is to stop by a bike shop and ask the staff. Overall, we feel that the systems below are the most beginner-friendly in Moab that offer the most green (beginner) and blue (intermediate) trails. Bar M trails also known as Moab Brand trails (16 mins from Moab) Klonzo Trail system (35 mins from Moab) Klondike Bluffs trail system (30 mins from Moab) furthest from town but provides opportunities to see dinosaur footprints! Deadhorse State Park - (45 mins from Moab) one of the best views of the area but it requires an entrance fee. When you get to these trailheads, look for the trails marked in green and start with those. If those seem easy, you can work your way up to the blue trails.
The best time to visit Moab, Utah is either Spring (March-May) or Fall (Late August – October) as it gets very hot during the summer. Early spring and late fall are the best times to avoid Moab’s influx of tourists. Summer is sweltering in Moab, and due to the lack of shade, riding should be completed early in the morning – many shops require bike rentals to be returned by late morning. If timing is not an issue, we would always pick September to ride in Moab because you can be guaranteed that the Whole Enchilada is open (which it won’t be in the Spring due to snow).
