Kokopelli Trail
Mountain Biking in Colorado with Western Spirit Cycling
Highlights
- Whoop-dee-doos to make you laugh out loud
- Challenge your bike handling skills on the famous Kokopelli Trail
- Some of the best desert riding en route from Fruita, Colorado to Moab, Utah
Full Description
Our 5-day Singletrack on the famous Kokopelli Trail takes you from the banks of the Colorado river into the mountain biking center of the universe, Moab, Utah.
Our point to point ride starts on the banks of the Colorado River where the trail includes some great singletrack and spectacular views. As we travel west, we leave the river for some technical jeep road riding through the labyrinth of red rock canyons at the base of the La Sal Mountains.
Sandstone domes and sheer red wall cliffs give way to aspen groves as we climb into these beautiful mountains. This is our most challenging desert tour with long miles and several days with vehicle support in the morning and evening only. You'll be rewarded for your climbing efforts with a beautiful descent into Moab, commonly regarded as the mountain biking center of the universe. This is a serious trip which includes some technical riding and big climbs.
Riding Surface: Variable. Includes packed sediment, some rocky and sandy sections of double and singletrack, some smooth dirt sections and some asphalt sections.
Technical Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult. Some steep and technical sections.
Physical Difficulty: Difficult. Steep climbs, long days and technical sections make this ride a challenging one.
Altitude: 4,000-8,500 feet.
Includes:
- All meals from lunch on first day to lunch on last day
- Support vehicle
- Guides
- Campsites
Excludes:
- Rental fees
- Gratuities for your guides
- Alcoholic beverages
- Applicable sales tax
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1
We start our trip with a quick shuttle to the Mary's Loop Trailhead in Loma. Our day starts with a gentle doubletrack climb to a high bench overlooking the Colorado River. From here the singletrack begins and connects us to both the Lions Loop and Troybuilt trails. The singletrack riding here is so good that the locals from Moab travel to Grand Junction to ride these very trails. A stout singletrack climb and some hike-a-biking takes us to our lunch spot where the support truck will be waiting. Our afternoon ride is a fun rolling doubletrack through Rabbit Valley and into a sandstone walled canyon. We will camp at Knowles Canyon Overlook perched high above the Colorado River. TOTAL MILEAGE - 32 miles
Day 2
Shortly after we leave camp today, we will cross the state line into Utah while riding through a beautiful canyon. The riding this morning is on a rugged four-wheel drive road which climbs out of the canyon to the higher pinyon juniper covered plateau. We will descend to lunch on the banks of the Colorado River, at the Westwater boat ramp. Downstream, the river cuts through Precambrian rock which is approximately 1.8 billion years old. Not only is Westwater Canyon known to river runners for it's Class 3-4 rapids, it is one of the only times this ancient rock is exposed along the river until the bottom of the Grand Canyon gorge. A quick shuttle after lunch bypasses some open desert riding and delivers us to more fun jeep roads and singletrack. We'll cross the Colorado River and ride a final section of dirt road that takes us to our camp at the base of the Entrada Sandstone bluffs. TOTAL MILEAGE - 30-35 miles
Day 3
This morning we start with a major climb, ensuring a good strong appetite for lunch. This famous 2,400 foot climb will take us to the top of Sevenmile Mesa, rewarding us with great views of the Uncompahgre Plateau and the Dolores River canyon. There is a spur ride off our route called "Top of the World", which is pretty much how it feels! Toward the top of the climb the road gets rough and the riding gets technical. It's good practice for the downhill because good bike handling skills are needed in order to enjoy this descent. Wildlife abounds in this remote country and we may see bighorn sheep or a bald eagle. We'll eat the lunch we packed on the edge of the spectacular canyon and then descend down Rose Garden Hill into Fisher Valley and Onion Creek. Our camp tonight will be at the Hideout, a favorite of Butch Cassidy and his pals. TOTAL MILEAGE - 22 miles
Day 4
Now we have reached the La Sal Mountains and to start we must climb up to North Beaver Mesa. The riding is loose at the beginning but improves as we gain altitude, as do the views, which are truly incredible. The La Sal Mountains were named by the early Spanish explorers who called them "mountains of salt." These mountains seem to rise right out of the desert. They are laccolithic which means they were pushed up by volcanic forces but the crust was never broken, resulting in their rounded appearance. Just over the top, having gained several thousand feet, we will stop for lunch near some very distinct dinosaur tracks in the slickrock high above the valley floor. We will also enjoy a great view of Fisher Valley below. Happy from lunch we descend on pavement into Castle Valley, then settle in to the climb up the other side. We're straddling ecosystems here with alpine over the left shoulder and the desert's red rock canyons over the right. The last section of today's ride is back on dirt on one of our favorite segments of the Kokopelli. A two track swoops down off the shoulder of the mountains and this is where the aspens meet the slickrock. We'll camp tonight at Maloy Park, right on the edge of Castle Valley with sunset views of Arches National Park. TOTAL MILEAGE - 32 miles
Day 5
From camp this morning we will head down the Sandflats Road, which is also the route of the Kokopelli Trail. Today is payback for all the climbs we have done along our way. The sun is at our back as we descend, lighting the finned rock and the red wall cliffs of the Moab Rim in front of us. Our views reach as far as Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. We'll stop on our way at Moab's famous Slickrock Trail for an exciting lap around the practice loop. After lunch we'll shuttle you back to Grand Junction. TOTAL MILEAGE - 20 miles
About The Operator:
Western Spirit Cycling
Headquarters:
Moab, Utah
Established:
January 1989
The History of Western Spirit
"Back in the day", as our oldest guides say, Western Spirit Cycling was founded by a charismatic mad bike rider named Lu Warner. It was 1989; Lu couldn't get enough of riding his bike and decided he should impart some of his joy on the masses. He acquired a Suburban, dubbed "the burb” and a couple of guides and started taking people around the White Rim. Now Lu can be found in some semi-state of retirement in Crested Butte, CO, but his vision was just the beginning.
Just for the record, yes, we still have the burb. It's retired. And those "couple of guides" are our finest Rachel & Johnny - no sign of retirement there!
Then the Mid-90s
Ashley Korenblat bought Western Spirit in 1997 and since then has spent many days riding unknown trails (with a headlamp in her backpack, just in case) creating the plethora of trips that Western Spirit now offers. Ashley is a graduate of Dartmouth and Tuck Business School, a former bike racer, former Wall Street captive and possessor of entrepreneurial spirit. She was president of Merlin during the Titanium mountain bike heyday and served as the IMBA President working to sustain trail availability to everyone. Combine all that with the desire for a Moab lifestyle and an alternative view of a fulfilling career path, and you have the perfect recipe for the owner of a cycling tour company. Enter Mark. Mark is our charming, wicked-fit, voice of reason, miraculously lured from his ski town tradition to live in the desert. Ashley and Mark got married in 1999 in Moab and now run the company together.
Well, actually Kip runs the place. Kip is Ashley and Mark's young boy and he has his own bike helmet and chariot. He is also beginning to tear it up on the dirt with his training wheels.
Our office staff is comprised of mostly gals...and Mark. Thank goodness for Mark! Mark is our bike junkie and can be seen pedaling on a daily basis. Ashley makes the best backcountry bacon you will ever have, but definitely burns off those calories towing the little Kipster around town in his trailer. Anne Clare loves riding her road bike and hiking in the mountains. Sheri and Tonya both love the water and do their best to kayak 365 days a year. Emily is pretty "green". She is the founder of a non-profit organization, Community Rebuilds that promotes affordable and eco-friendly housing.
All of us have worked outdoors and are familiar with what you will experience on a Western Spirit trip. At any given time when you call you can talk to someone who has been on any trip that interests you. That's because we love to be out there too!
Our Philosophy
In our busy world, we often don't get to be outside enough. Even if you do, there's some phenomenon that just makes you want more. Nothing like going somewhere to make you realize all the other places you still need to go! Traveling outside makes you see Mars when it's the closest to earth it'll ever be, makes you smell the fragrant lupine covering the mountain slope, makes you feel the wind, see the perfect sunset, catch an eclipse of the moon, experience the herd of elk in the alpine meadow, and start to tell time by the location of the moon in the night sky.
What's that all worth in our busy world? Well, it is our world.
On all of our tours, we strive to protect our fragile mountain and desert environments. Many of our campsites are remote and unimproved, and we seek to leave them better than we found them.
Meals
Food is one thing we take pretty seriously. Our guides are great backcountry chefs and your trip includes all meals from lunch on first day to lunch on last day.
Support Vehicle
Our customized trucks and vans carry all of your gear as well as many camper comforts! We have the coolest custom F-450's in the industry. Our guides have incredible backcountry experience, but the best part is that they are all super friendly and look forward to a week of riding with you.
Campsites
We camp primarily in pristine locations where it's quiet, dark and peaceful. The finest morning view comes with a hot cup of cowboy coffee. All shuttles are included from our meeting place to the start of your ride. At the end of the trip we shuttle back to our meeting place.
Permits
Western Spirit Cycling, Inc. operates under special use permits from the USDA Forest Service in the Boise, Coronado, Dixie, Grand Mesa, Gunnison, Kaibab, Manti La Sal (Moab and Monticello Ranger Districts), San Juan, Sawtooth, Sierra Vista, Uncompahgre, Challis, Clearwater, Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Caribou-Targhee, Black Hills, Mount Hood, Umpqua, Nantahala, White Mountain, Monongahela, and Pisgah National Forests and by Dakota Prairie Grasslands. As well as under permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management in the San Juan Resource Area; Henry Mountain Field Station; Moab, Arizona Strip and Grand Junction Field Offices; Grand Staircase National Monument; and by Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon, Crater Lake and Blue Ridge Parkway National Parks. Western Spirit is a concessionaire in Canyonlands National Park.