Moab, The Highlight Of Your Motorcycle Life?

Moab, Utah is a place known for epic dual-sport, motocross and dirt bike riding. The place is an amazing combo of pavement and dirt delivering canyons, arches, ancient rock formations, petroglyphs and even dinosaur tracks along the Colorado River Gorge.

Combine the famous Slick Rock Trail the LaSal mountains, three scenic by-ways and, weather permitting, you may live-out the highlight of your motorcycle life.

In early Spring @Nick303 and @Champers discovered the dirt trails. This is what came back.

The scenery can be described as mind-blowing beautiful. "It's magic" said Champers "the scenery is so astonishing you want to look at it but the trails are so astonishing you can't stop riding."

Rock formations defy the notions of physics. Steep hills, slow hills and canyons appear out of no where, formed from 120 million year-old geology, along the banks of the Colorado River. The red rock is extraordinary and even more so at sunset, when nature glows in the golden hour.

Riding Spectacular Dirt

Arguably, the most spectacular dirt and dual-sport riding can be done here. Slick Rock Trail is the most famous trail in Moab: riding the fossilized sand dunes is like riding on pavement over extreme terrain.

Minimal Plan Required

You don't need much planning to completely enjoy the area. The trails are well established and well signed. Even without a GPS, plenty of fun can be had getting lost with minimal consequence. Just go back the way you came or head back to the main road to get your bearings.

Moab is not recommended in summer months as you could easily die or parish from the heat. Remember, this is the desert. In early spring expect the heat to get up to 96F/36C but fully dressed in armour it's still manageable because your sweat evaporates immediately. It's hot but it's tolerable.

Gas is available in town but you see most riders carrying some form of a Rotopax fuel tank to be safe.

Don't miss riding through Arches National park just out of town. It's just stunning although off-road riding is not permitted there.

Renting A Bike

Any dual-sport motorcycle will bring you joy and happiness in Moab, but to take full advantage of the area, rent an enduro, motocrosser or a lightweight dirt bike. A purpose built machine will take you faster into places the GS, KTM, Tiger, KLR (and so on) won't.

Dirt bikes like a Beta 450 is easy to come by in Moab but renting a smaller 300cc enduro is all you need to get in and out of remote areas.

Moab Town Is Awesome

Arriving into this small town you see right away this is a mellow man's place. You'll find more dudes here with beards than women. It's too bad because you can't deny the romance or even bro-mance of this place.

Moab has a long history with frugal mountain bikers and rock climbers but recently, with the influx of four-wheel, off-road vehicles and dual-sport riders, tourism in this small community has exploded. It's become a hot-spot and the economy has taken a major uptick. As a result, you get a good selection of restaurants, WiFi cafés and welcoming pubs.

Free campgrounds are abound. As long as you're reasonable, and not starting fires indiscriminately, you can also camp along side the road or at Slick Rock.

You should know that campgrounds don't have shower facilities and you may need to bring your own drinking water. Do not fear, you can fill up and get clean at the Moab public pool (374 N Park Ave, Moab, UT 84532, United States, +1 435-259-8226, weekdays 5:30am-7:45pm, Sat/Sun 11am-5pm).

Record Your Ride

If you go, use the ESR App to record & share your trail rides. Or share your location with CrashLight® and Geobox. Ride safe.