The first riders in the Slickrock area weren't mountain bikers, they were motorcycle riders and jeepers, and when mountain biking came on the scene in the late 70s and early 80s riders first gravitated to existing hiking trails and motorized routes. It turned out that the unique slickrock domes provided an incredible, other-worldly riding experience, making it one of the first world-famous mountain bike trails.

Dupont State Forest is a massive 10,400-acre forest just outside of Brevard, North Carolina that has become one of the most popular and highly-acclaimed trail systems in the United States. Dupont is probably best-known for two things: its gorgeous waterfalls and the iconic slickrock balds with views of the entire region, which this route visits.

The classic Gooseberry Mesa Trail is still just as fun and entertaining as ever! The slickrock riding is reminiscent of the iconic Slickrock trail in Moab, but with a character all its own. The rock here is pocked and rippled, providing more technical challenges and tighter maneuvers than Slickrock.

Little Creek Mountain is another of Southwest Utah's mesa playgrounds for bikes. The mesa is home to two main loops full of absolutely top-notch cranking for the adventurous or technically-oriented rider. Like its sister mesa to the north, the more famous Gooseberry Mesa, Little Creek Mountain offers plenty of slickrock of all types to play on.

This ride links together the outer loop Guacamole trails into a great 11-mile ride—perfect for upper intermediates—with plenty of advanced options as well.

When advanced mountain bikers rave about riding in Squamish, they tend to talk about one thing: the “slabs.” Squamish is renowned for its mountain bike routes that plummet straight down the slabs of exposed granite that cover the nearby mountainsides.

If it's possible for a mountain bike trail to go viral, Hangover has done it. Every Youtube mountain bike channel must now have a Hangover video. Almost every mountain bike publication has written an article about it. And photos of Hangover have flooded Instagram and other social media websites.

Riding the entire Ribbon route requires expert-level bike handling skills and cojones of steel, thanks to mandatory drops, steep rock rolls, boulder-filled rock gardens, and high-speed slickrock slab surfing. However, if you're an advanced-level rider and are willing to walk a few sections, you'll still be able to enjoy 95% of the Ribbon's sweet charms!

Rockstacker and Jackson's are two of the most technical, high consequence mountain bike trails in Moab--and by extension, the world. While an advanced-level rider can brave these trails if they're willing to walk some sections, riding this entire loop requires expert-level skills.