Any Moab locals here?
Flying with my Mt bike for a week ride at the end of April, the flight should be as fun as the ride so looking for recommendations on backcountry strips in the Moab and north of Moab area.

Mexican Mountain is awesome, but don't ride your bike there. It's in a wilderness study area and any wheeled vehicles (aside from airplanes on the strip) are illegal once past the end of the road, and the end of the road is a few miles from the airstrip. You'll see hikers come through on occasion, but no bikes. They take it seriously enough that the last work party used horses to drag the strip.

are you looking for places to camp and ride out of? Or just strips to hit? There are a bunch around. Mineral Bottom would be a good one for camping and riding from. What is your minimum length?

Be advised - I'm told Moab's KCNY is closed until May 1. Check NOTAMS. Plan fuel accordingly. I'll be flying throughout the area April 20-29. Lots of good stuff. Cedar, Mexican, Dirty, Angel, Happy, Mineral, Hidden and Nokai are favorites... but there's more. Bring camp gear, be safe and have fun. Do yourself a favor and mountain bike into town from the Boulder Airstrip. A dinner at the Hell's Backbone Grill is worth the effort.

If you fly into Mineral Canyon, you have access to the whole White Rim (loop) trail (110 miles). Or you can ride out/back/up to the top of Mineral Canyon (easy climb on a mtn bike if you like climbs). All on dirt, mostly good traction, roads. Email me if you want pictures or use Google Earth to explore the area. Excellent riding from the airstrip--I've done it numerous times (including White Rim).

I'm not too keen on riding dirt roads but if you ride ~3miles upstream from Mineral Bottom you'll find an inscription made by fur-trapper Denis Julien in 1836. I drove my pickup to it and have since thought it would be a enjoyable fly-in bike ride. The road is terrible so your not likely to see vehicles.

White-rim is cool but I'm not hardcore enough to want to do it without a support vehicle. It requires a permit since it is within Canyonlands NP.

I just google earthed the Mineral canyon strip, check out the gravel bar right along side it =D I need to make it down there sometime.

courierguy wrote:I just google earthed the Mineral canyon strip, check out the gravel bar right along side it =D I need to make it down there sometime.

Two thoughts come to mind...

That stretch of the Green river could for all intents and purposes be called 'the brown'.... it is flowing mud... the kind of mud that has swallowed bushwheels. That mud is a chore in a cub type, a near disaster for a 180 type, and probably a new prop in a nose dragger....
Where you find gravel, you're probably fine, where it looks like sand, it will be a crapshoot... literally

The second thought is like the lower Colorado, the water levels on Green can fluctuate feet in a day. A bar showing on GE just means at some point in history, there was a spit you maybe could have landed on, and more than likely at some point in the future it will be back, but I wouldn't bank on it for a particular trip.

Having said all that, I've never found myself lacking in 'play spots' in that region and it is exceptionally pretty country to explore






Take care, Rob

+1 for mineral bottom. I rode white rim a few years ago before I had my plane. We got the camping permit and had two 4x4 support vehicles. The ride far exceed my expectations. Bucket list item to get back there with the 180. The ride down and back the trail from the airstrip is super sandy for a few miles and not the most scenic section. Id try to get the whole loop in if possible.

My only slight hesitation is leaving the plane there for several nights unattended. It's probably fine but I'd get opinions of locals before parking and leaving it overnight.

Thanks for all the info guys, will start studying this places.

Good odds that I'll be driving out there late next week with a buddy or two to bike in several locations. PM me your cell #. We have done White Rim in a day 3 times previously and will likely go for another day loop. Give me a holler if you're interested in joining us--we could meet on the loop day or maybe pick you up some other day. I'm not sure what days/where we plan to ride yet--my buddy is organizing the trip.