Slickrock riding isn't reserved solely for Moab—discover the best slab riding across North America in this guidebook!
LessThe 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.
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.
Much of Moab’s trail development in recent years has taken place in and around the Navajo Rocks area. In fact, a decade ago “Navajo Rocks” didn’t exist. This zone has been built from the ground up by mountain bikers, for mountain bikers. Singletrack connections now exist to 7 Up, Mag 7, and more, meaning you could theoretically ride from downtown Moab to Navajo Rocks and back on singletrack. Theoretically…
Second only to The Whole Enchilada, Magnificent 7 is one of the best-known shuttle rides in Moab. While there's no doubt that The Whole Enchilada is brutally challenging, if anything, Mag 7 is more so.