Moab with kids

Thought I saw a thread on this before, but can't find it. Possibly heading to Moab next week, weather and Jeep shitshow permitting. I've done bunch of riding there, but not in the past 12 or so years on any of the newer trails, so I am somewhat familiar with the riding in the area. I'll have an 11 year old with me, strong and athletic and capable of climbing while complaining about it, but loves cruising downhill. Not a ripper yet. Any suggestions for fun stuff that's not too technically demanding with fairly mellow climbs? Any good options for shuttles, either on our own or paying for a lift? I'm also considering Fruita, stuff like Horsethief is probably perfect, but would like to find something comparable in Moab.

Navajo Rocks, Dead Horse Point, and Klondike Bluffs areas all have a selection of relatively easy trails. The Rocky Tops>Coney Island>Big Lonely>Big Mesa>Ramblin' loop at Navajo Rocks is really fun and not too challenging. Dead Horse Point is mostly flat, so if that is boring for your kid, maybe just go for a short rip near the rim for the views. Lots of loop possibilities at Klondike Bluffs; I think they all have sustained climbing if you want to got to the rim, but as long as you stay on the blue trails the climbing is relatively gentle. Make sure to check out the dino tracks while you're up there.

Will add Horsethief area for shuttles on Getaway and Bull Run.

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Originally Posted by criscam

Will add Horsethief area for shuttles on Getaway and Bull Run.

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Agreed upper Mag7 trails like Getaway and Bull Run are fun and not too difficult. Another good one is head the opposite direction from the top there on Chisholm and connect that into Navajo Rocks. Avoid any temptation to try the same on 7up, that trail sucks (doubletrack, sand).

If they're open Eagle Eye and Falcon Flow are a fun shuttle. These were meant to be a bailout for riders who get in over their heads on Whole Enchilada so they're easier and have less climbing. The top is near Upper Porcupine singletrack.

An out an back to Pothole Arch via Hymasa has some steady climbing that will bring complaints, but would be a fun ride back down. If you rode Amasa Back back in the day, Hymasa is an awesome climbing trail that bypasses it.

There's so much new riding in Moab you'll be blown away.

If you are closer to town, good warmup ride areas with kids, with endless add on potential is Klonzo and Bar M/Moab Brand area. the latter gets busy near the lot but we did a great kid friendly ride that was EZ to the road to Rockin' A and we only saw a few people once we were off of EZ

Was there last week with kids - 5, 7 and 10. Falcon flow is open but I didn't take my kids on it. I think it's above even the 10 yos pay grade as is Nav Rocks. Maybe next year with when he's 11.

Bar M has trails of all levels that allow you to start lower and work up if the lower trails are too easy.

Never been a huge fan of Klondike but YMMV.

My 7 yo forced me to take her on the slickrock practice trail and she totally killed it. I had to help with some of the climbs but she did way better than I expected.

I'll try to think of some more and post additional. In the meantime, here's an shot of that 7yo on the practice loop.

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Second the Navajo Rocks segments suggested and upper Mag7 trails.

One my favorite rides in Moab is to loop Mega Steps to Baby Steps in North Klondike. It's a great intermediate ride that is super fun at all skill levels. Great climb with some big slickrock sections and mostly mellow grades. Nice view at the top, then Baby Steps is a super fun descent. Nothing gnar about it, just great flow and features. 5 miles and 800-900 vert IIRC, no shuttle. Highly recommended, IMO it's a total sleeper that would be much more popular if it were a bit longer and you couldn't see the highway.

If they are really killing it you could try Hymasa to the lower Ahab cutoff.

If you have the Time, drive in to Gemini Bridges and pedal up Getaway and either come down Getaway or Bull Run, depending on whether they're green or black riders. Or shuttle as said above, but routefinding might be a little tricky for the youngins.

While you're in the area, ride Rodeo, right across the street.

Dead Horse Point is pretty lame and costs money to enter the park. Great views though.

Hymasa might be more than you want to put them through.

I'd ride Navajo Rocks over the Brand/Bar M trails.

Are you camping in a Camp Ground, dispersed camping, or staying in town somewhere?

I consider Klondike Bluffs with the ‘Theory Of Relativity’ in mind.
It may not rip as hard as so many other classics in Moab or Fruita, but hot damn, if that whole area existed in my local riding area, I would ride the fuck out of that pile of rocks every other week!

A lot of this is going to depend on your kid. Was just there this past weekend with some intermediate riders so I was kinda thinking about how my kids would do in the back of my mind. my 9 and 7 yr old are pretty good for their age but also aren’t used to a lot of the chunk out west (and are own a hardtail and a rigid respectively). Falcon flow is pretty technical for being classified as a blue. If your son does well with lots of rocks, probably not too bad. Moab brand does have a really good progression of trails. Ez probably a great warmup trail for the trip. Circle O is mostly on slick rock that is a little rougher than the actual slickrock trail but without any crazy sections, if he likes that could be a good warmup for slickrock or slickrock practice. I thought North 40 was a pretty fun loop, good spot to hit some drops and short techy climbs without those things being constant. Depending on how those go you could go to more intermediate stuff like mag 7 or dead horse, or go after some of the more difficult things.


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If your son can't figure out where to ride in Moab and is relying on daddy to ask a bunch of random idiots on the internet, probably should just stay home

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With my kids I started them on Navajo rocks loop. Then klondike bluffs. Then Slick rock. Slick rock is a step up from the prior two, and there is some consequence for falls there in places.

By highschool I had the older ones on everything, but constantly had to bitch at them about not trying to be Nate Hill in the middle of nowhere on Whole Enchilada or Gold Bar. When they were as young as these, I tried to focus on mostly down hill or flat. Klondike can start with a climb, then a long diagonal to the bottom and then just moderate up back to the parking lot. I didn't take mine on slick rock until they were in their teens.(7th grade) Not because they couldn't have handeled it, but because I didn't want to deal with the road rash and walk out of steep falls on that stuff.

Bump. Is this still the best intel for kid rides in Moab? Are there any other new trails/rides to consider? I'll be there with a bunch of kids - the oldest wants to try Slickrock, and the youngest likely might do an easy blue (if those exist there).

Just read through the thread. Only get to Moab 2-3 times a year but yes intel is good. Stuff out 191 has so much variety, easy to find something that will work. Also my 4 yo rode Slickrock practice loop last spring on a scoot bike. Walked a good bit but he still had an absolute blast.

Awesome, thanks! And that's great about the practice loop - my highly competitive youngest was going to be furious if she didn't get to ride it with the rest of the kids.