Doing the WRT and nearby trails

You now need a vehicle permit ($6 in advance or free on the day) plus park entry fee. Basic campsites need advance booking… all the more reason to bang out the WRT in a day.

Another great 90-mile day ride runs east of Moab through Onion Creek up to 8000 feet in the La Sal Mountains, before dropping back down past the famous Slickrock Bike Trail.

Though originally used, and still open to motos, it’s become much more popular with MTBS, with steep but very grippy sandstone grades that require commitment.

Moab is also on the Utah Backroad Discovery Route (UTBDR), an initiative set up by Touratech and their partners to promote real adventure biking across a state. Buy the dvd and map – a GPS tracklog is free online. South of town the UTBDR traverses the Lockhart Basin, an exceptional ride leading to the Needles section of Canyonlands. Here a trail leads to a lookout down to the confluence below the WRT.