Best Mountain Biking Trails in Canyonlands National Park

hot bring lots of water but worth it

Unbelievable experience. I took a guided mountain biking tour over three days, averaging just over 30 miles a day. I’m a casual biker, so there were some technically challenging hill climbs and switchbacks that I had to take a break on. This was a bucket list ride in my opinion!

Drove and camped along the White Rim Trail over three nights in early April. Some of the most amazing scenery I’ve ever seen in my life. Every turn provided excitement in navigating the terrain and new and stunning landscapes to enjoy. Probably the best-kept outdoors secret in Utah.

Amazing views the entire way but if you get to the end, a real treat. Seeing the river so far below is hard to describe.

We got there just after sunset so the colours were vivid.

Drove it in a stock Cherokee Trailhawk with no problems. A couple of bumps to the underside but no big deal. The last kilometre gets pretty rocky. Vehicles with more clearance and larger tires will laugh at this.

A great little trip.

Gorgeous!

We did this in one day and highly recommend in the future splitting this over 2 days. It took us 12 hrs. The views are amazing. Not for the faint of heart and highly recommend being prepared for any scenario. It’s very remote no cell service for most of the trail and very little traffic. Can’t wait to go back and do it again!

Been on that trails. Loved it

Been in that trails. Loved it

Stock 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Off Road Tires. Awesome views. White Crack campsite was the best. Potato Bottom has shade (and mosquitoes).

I recommend just a bit more lift than a stock Jeep, but didn't scrape...much :)

Did this thanksgiving weekend
Really amazing 100 miles overland nothing technical 2 mildly difficult spots Murphys Hogback and between Potato Bottom and Hardscrabble campground
Started from Shafer trail at 9:45 am reached Hardscrabble Campground at 4:30 pm
Could have completed the trail but had a campgrond booked at Hardscrabble Bottom
Completed tha last 20 miles the next day
Awesome views but be prepared for an early sunset
Good luck its still open

Absolutely stunning. Most incredible 100 mile loop with breathtaking views and constantly changing terrain and scenery. I would go back and do this a second and third time. Reserve a campsite and stay overnight to maximize the experience

excellent interesting trail with a rewarding overlook

Great trail to romp around in an overland rig.

This trail was absolutely amazing!!!!!!!! Although it was so treacherous I don't think I can ever do it again!!! I am Terrified of heights. If driving back and forth on the edge of a canyon won't bother you make sure you video it!!!! I am so glad I did it! We drove up from Moab to the top of the canyon.

Schafer was closed due to rain the day before so we did part of the White Rim trail. It's pretty bumpy, but you'll be golden with high clearance. There was one random spot with cell reception, pretty bizarre as it was in the middle of nowhere. Don't count on that though, come prepared, there's nothing out there.

Great hike - be careful and bring a lot of water. The hike back is as difficult as the hike out due to the up and downs of the terrain.

Interestingly enough, the hike itself is the best part. There are several climbs into and out of small canyons, so beware that this hike is equally difficult the way there and back. The view is great, but we came to find the confluence of two brown colored rivers which overall diminished the quality of the view. However, the hike itself shows great diversity of the many aspects of the park including several views of the needles and other very unique rock formations.

Great hike thru some beautiful country, we go in spring (late March,early April) as temps are cooler, take plenty of water anyway you'll need it. about 15 minutes in, you'll need to climb a small/sturdy ladder to get out of canyon #1,The trail is cairned well. Great views throughout towards Chesler Pk area, view of the two rivers mixing is awesome, one cannot access the river(s) from the overlook as it is pretty much 1,200 ft. straight down from viewing area. You can also see the Island in the Sky area, have hiked it 3 times now and never gets old. It takes a better part of a day by the time you drive from Moab.on trip #1, the only confusing part of the trail to me, was about 3/4 of the way there, the trail crosses the 4WD road and it feels like you should follow it, just cross the road to trail on other side. ( the 4WD road eventually ties back in with trail to the overlook, but will take you a long way out of the way. Happy hiking, be safe, lots o water!

We took Shafer Trail and turned on to White Rim trail and to the Lathrop Trail to Colorado river, then back to Potash road and go to Moab. The White Rim part requires a permit which we got online (it's free). We drove a rental Chevy Tahoe which is Ok. The trip is bumpy but the SUV handled it well. White Rim requires 4WD with high clearance. The part from Shafer to Colorado took about 3 hours with stops at a couple of places including Musselman Arch. The return to Potash took 1.5 hours and maybe another 1.5-2hours back to Moab.

Pretty! Took my husband and I about 5 hours to complete!

A great warm up trail for EJS. A 4 on the Moab scale. Stock JKs can make it fine. Only once did I use a locker and that was just to get over a waterfall. Enjoy!!!

Fun trail with breathtaking sights. I would highly recommend this hike.

Great view of the confluence

Beautiful views, steep drops and plenty of exposure. One way or another, will take your breath away. Schafer Trail is an exposed shelf road that takes you into the canyon. Murphy's Hogback and Hardscrabble Hill are not for those that fear heights or exposure. Trail can be tight and very unforgiving, gotta be careful.

Hard hike, but worth it

This trail is a must do for everyone when you get to Moab. It is super easy for all 4X4 drivers and a lot of fun.

It was a fun hike with fun climbs.

An easy road for our 4Runner but really bumpy. We started from Mineral Bottom and ran it counter-clockwise, spending the night at Hardscrabble. It was a great spot with shade but at night there were hundreds of mosquitos and biting flies. The Off bug spray worked to fend off the mosquitoes but the flies didn't care less. We left with lots of bites. We went in June 2015 on Thursday-Friday and saw 7 other vehicles but no other campers. Before we ran out of daylight we hiked to Fort Bottom and visited the tower and saw the cabin on the floor. The tower was really cool! The next day we did the remaining 70 miles in one day. It took us about 6 hours while stopping numerous times to takes a gazillion photos. So beautiful and remote.

I did this hike late last spring. Wonderful hike but make sure to bring lots of water

As many of you know springtime arrived 2 months early ending an epic ski season in 2015. I work in the bike industry and being occupied with way too much fixing other people's bikes I hadn't had a chance to work my way south to ride in Moab. A last minute invite turned into my first ever White Rim ride.

Arriving after days of rain the pass was still open but a little muddy. I was grateful to have a fat bike with those huge tires that float in sand and mud generally. My compatriots struggled a bit more with mud and stability. After arriving on the actual White Rim most of our mud troubles were gone.

Our first day, because of permits was only 18 miles in to our first camp, at Airport Rock. The next day would be 52 miles to Hardscrabble Bottom Camp Site. The permits made it so that we had to envelope the hardest climbs of the White Rim Trail into one (the second) day made up of two decisively difficult ascents: Murphy's Hogback and Hardscrabble hill. The total mileage for the day was 52 miles and with my group definitely a challenging one. I did a solo side trip out to White Crack to see what that was all about. It was a piece of mining history that I'm glad I didn't miss.

Our final day it had rained several hours into morning so we woke to wet ground. The track runs along the Green River most of the way to Mineral Bottom and was mostly mud. Fat tires don't shed that kind of mud easily. Arriving at the exit we had enough extra water to get our bikes kinda clean for the ride out of the bottom of canyon country. Those switchbacks were easy compared to the other climbs we'd done the day before. The mesa road out seemed a bit long for my taste with little to distract. But nonetheless, it was an awesome adventure on bikes with full vehicle support, somewhat like multi-day races I've done.

Recommend: Yes.
Bike: Fat
Water: lots, no hydration bag, just bottles
History: Raye Ringholz, Uranium Frenzy: Boom and Bust on the Colorado Plateau