Video: Riding the Moab Brands MTB trails in Utah

Last week my family and I did that classic road trip loop of National Parks in Utah and Arizona. One of our first stops was Moab.

When I was first getting into mountain biking in the the 1990s, near the peak of its heyday, Moab was spoken about in hushed tones. It seemed to my riding buddies and I like a sacred place where mountain biking dreams came true on strange rock formations and endless singletrack. We’d gawk at photos of it on the dog-eared, grease-smeared pages of Mountain Bike Action magazine at our local bike shop.

It took me about 30 years to finally get there and ride it myself.

And while Moab the town was a bit of a downer (huge highway running through it and 4X4 motorized vehicles seemed to be a much bigger deal to the locals than bikes), the riding was absolutely out-of-this world.

On the advice of my wife Juli’s friend (thanks Sarah!) we opted to not ride the world famous Slickrock Trail and instead explored the Moab Brands trails about 10 miles north of downtown. It was Juli’s first time ever on a MTB, Everett (11) is still a beginner, and let’s just say, I’m not quite the expert I used to be. Moab Brands was perfect, because all three of us had a really good time. There was a fun mix of flowy singletrack with easy rock features and lots of relatively mellow slickrock.

The trail system is so well built, our entire family had a great time riding together and no one was ever left behind.

After we had our fill of riding, Everett and I rode this spectacular paved bike path all the way back to town. It was paradise!

Hope you enjoy a taste of our day in Moab and I highly recommend this spot! Learn more about it on Trailforks.

Jonathan Maus is BikePortland’s editor, publisher and founder. Contact him at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.