Moab MTB Guide: Slickrock, Porcupine Rim and The Whole Enchilada

Moab is the original desert mountain-bike pilgrimage: sandstone with the bite of sandpaper, a 7,000-foot shuttle descent off the La Sals, and a riding calendar shaped almost entirely by snowpack and shoulder-season heat.

By the IMPT Travel desk · Published 2026-05-30

The Whole Enchilada starts at roughly 10,500 feet on Geyser Pass, in aspen and lingering snowpatches, and finishes about 27 miles later on the banks of the Colorado River at around 4,000 feet. That single statistic, a net descent of close to 7,000 vertical feet across one ride, explains why Moab still draws riders from every continent four decades after the Slickrock Trail was first marked for mountain bikes. There is nowhere else in North America where alpine singletrack, high-desert juniper and sandstone slabs the colour of rust line up inside one shuttle.

The signature trails

Three rides anchor any Moab itinerary, and each demands a different skill set.

The Slickrock Bike Trail, set in the Sand Flats Recreation Area above town, is the historical heart of the scene. It was originally laid out in 1969 for Honda Trail 90 motorcycles and is now co-managed by Grand County and the Bureau of Land Management. The main loop runs 10.5 miles over Navajo sandstone, with an optional 2.3-mile practice circuit at the trailhead. Despite the name, the rock grips like coarse sandpaper. The trail is rated black diamond; most riders need three to four hours and finish their forearms before their lungs.

Porcupine Rim is the classic Moab descent and the final act of the Whole Enchilada. The roughly 14-mile route hugs a sandstone rim above Castle Valley before dropping ledges into Jackass Canyon and finishing on Highway 128 by the river. It is consistently graded advanced and rewards a 150mm trail bike rather than an XC hardtail.

The Whole Enchilada itself stitches Burro Pass (advanced), Hazard County (intermediate), Kokopelli, Upper and Lower Porcupine Singletrack (UPS/LPS) and Porcupine Rim into one 26-to-27-mile point-to-point. Trailforks and MTB Project consistently log around 2,000 feet of climbing inside that ride, which is what catches riders off guard between the descents.

Shuttle structure and "lift" season

Moab has no chairlift bike park. The lift system is a fleet of van shuttles run by operators including Coyote Shuttle, Whole Enchilada Shuttles, Porcupine Shuttle and Moab Cyclery, all leaving from town in the early morning.

• Burro Pass (10,500 ft): the highest drop-off, typically only accessible from 1 July at the earliest once snow clears, and generally available through 31 October.
• Hazard County / Kokopelli: open earlier in the spring and later into autumn.
• UPS / LPS / Porcupine Rim: the lower segments operate roughly mid-February through November, snow allowing.

The practical takeaway: the full Whole Enchilada is realistically a late-summer-to-autumn ride. Spring riders typically shuttle a "Mini Enchilada" from Kokopelli or Hazard County instead.

Getting there

The nearest airport is Canyonlands Field (CNY), about 18 miles north of Moab, with limited regional connections. Most international riders fly into Grand Junction Regional (GJT) in Colorado, which sits roughly 114 miles east, a two-hour drive. Salt Lake City International (SLC) is about four hours north. Scheduled door-to-door shuttle operators such as Moab Express and Roadrunner Shuttle link all three airports with Moab hotels; reservations are mandatory and there is no direct public bus. Riders prioritising lower-emission travel often combine an Amtrak California Zephyr arrival in Grand Junction with a shared shuttle into Moab, cutting one regional flight from the trip.

Shoulder season vs peak season

Moab runs on two peaks: March to May and September to October. Spring highs climb from the mid-60s into the high 80s°F, ideal for Slickrock and the lower Porcupine Rim circuits but too early for the alpine sections. Summer highs above 100°F push riders off the desert by mid-morning. Autumn is the prized window: September averages drop into the 80s°F by day with lows near 60°F, and the upper trails remain open until the first serious La Sal snowfall, often in early November. Quieter shoulder weeks in late May and late September give the best balance of open trails and uncrowded campsites.

Where to base

Moab town itself, strung along Main Street between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, is the obvious base: bike shops, shuttle pick-ups and trailheads are within a 20-minute drive. Riders chasing quieter mornings often stay along Highway 128 toward Castle Valley, closer to the Porcupine Rim finish line, while families gravitate to lodges near the Colorado Riverway. Booking at least a season ahead is standard for October weekends, when the town's room inventory is fully absorbed by riders, climbers and park visitors.

Why riders keep coming back

Moab is not a manicured bike park. There is no Crankworx stop, no UCI World Cup downhill, no resort signage colour-grading every feature. What it offers instead is a desert that teaches traction, exposure and pacing in a way no flow trail can replicate, and a descent off the La Sal Mountains that still ranks among the longest lift-assisted vertical drops available to mountain bikers anywhere in North America.

A POV run down the lower Porcupine Rim section that closes out the Whole Enchilada descent into Moab.