utah ridding vacation

[PumpkinHumper]

I was wondeing. Does anyone have any info on ridding @ Utah?. A few of us are gonna go there next summer for a weeks worth of ridding. Were would you all recomend going. Im looking for places that are somewhat close to each other to minimize on travel time.

I was told that Moab is really well marked. And from there we could go to the San Rafeale Swell.

Lodging wont be a problem were ever we go as we will be in a 30' motorhome.

Is there any time of the year that is better to go. We are looking @ the 4th of july week.

We arn't afraid of technical terrain. But I would imagine that 7 days of nasty trail would kill us so we will need a mix of trail.

We hail from Michigan. It will be quite a drive to Utah. Last year we went to Colorado to ride. It was a blast.

Were can I go to get some good trail maps. Would you recomend Gps when we ride. Or are most of the trails marked well enough to find our way through?

I realize that this is a lot of questions. Im just trying to get a head start on the info gathering part of the trip.

Thanks.

[schultz]

Both areas are great ridding locations that are close by each other, best time to ride is Oct.- April. July will be too hot! (well over 90deg.) If July is your groups best time to schedule a trip, I would return to Colorado and revisit last years areas and explore new ones. Utah has great places to ride in the fall, winter and spring, but summer can be hot and dry.

[PumpkinHumper]

thats kinda what I thought about the time of year. Thanks.

[RCannon]

Moab riding is going to spoil you for riding anywhere else. I cannot imagine someone being able to see everything there.

The areas between Salt Lake and Wendover have a lot of riding available. Most are located 50 miles or more out of Salt Lake. As mentioned, in July it is going to be hot.

[banffboy]

I rode in Moab in late May this year and it was HOT!! 90 degrees by 10 in the morning. We did spend a day south of Moab in the Abajo Mtns. It was much cooler, altitude was over 10,000ft and we still found some snow in the area. It's more what I'm used to (single track through the woods). Check out this guys site ruxtonnoble.com lots of info on riding in Utah

You do want to go when you can ride Moab, it's unreal

[PumpkinHumper]

I was lookin @ ruxton's site. Thats what started all this. I gotta get a utah Map and see were you folks are talkin about.

[Dramus]

Hey there. check out www.utahmoto.com This is a company that does dirt bike tours in the areas that you are talking about. I hope to take one of these tours one day myself. Might not be what you are looking for, but might give you a couple ideas ?

[ddialogue]

They (Utahmoto.com) don't say anything about bringing your own motorcycle along instead of using the XR's. No offense to the good 'ol XR but I'll take my WR anyday.

[jwriott]

Utah-Moab Off Road Book

Here is a very good book on the trails around Moab.

The San Rafael Swell might be completely closed by the summer. I'll update the info after the vote tomorrow.

John

[NovaRog]

I used to live there in Utah and try to make a trip back with the bike and meet a riding buddy coming from CA on a regular basis. Two summers ago we did San Rafeal in July, AWESOME. I have ridden some of the places out west of SLC also, it was good also. We got some very detailed maps from the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). Excellent maps with trails marked all over the place. However they are some "closed" areas that the trails do not show up on the maps. Now according to the BLM they are closed for getting off of the trails. You can still ride through them as long as you stay on the existing trails.

We took a GPS, and it was literally a life saver. We were on a loop back to the staging area and were in an area where the trail dissappeared from the map in the "closed" area, but appeared on the other end of the "closed" area. So we were just connecting the dots. We were running out of water (make sure you take plenty) and were not sure how much further to go to get back to the car. Pull out the GPS and found exact location on the very detailed maps. Only about 5 miles left. Turning back would have been about 65 miles. Yes, Very hot, but I'm from Texas now so 100 in Utah was OK for me!! One of the best rides I have ever been on. Make sure you take a Camera!! If I can tell you anything use email me. rhiggins@efw.com

[lipskid]

Contact Dale Parriot at http://elitemotorcycletours.com in Moab. Dale has helped with our club rides in the Moab/Green River area and knows the area like the back of his hand. He can point you towards the better local marked trails(most are mountain bike/jeep trails) or can guide you through stuff you would NEVER find on your own. He also works hard to keep trails and riding area's open to OHV's. Can't hurt to support those who support us.

Green River- you can camp near Chrystal Geyser south of town and ride the White Wash area and Ruby Ranch Dunes from there. Lots of excellent riding and the town is very motorcycle friendly.

San Rafael Swell- Lets hope they don't close it. Truly outstanding.(beware "5 miles of Hell" ? )

GPS (and a spare) would definately be a good idea.

Utah Rules!

[jwriott]

So far, it looks like the residents of Emery County are rejecting the vote to turn the San Rafael Swell into a National Monument. Hopefully, this does happen and the area remains open. This would be a major victory for the OHV clubs in Utah.

San Rafael Monument Status Update

[PumpkinHumper]

Thanks for all the info guys. This is good stuff. First thing is I need to get some maps. All these places that everybody is talking about is greek to me. I have now idea were any of it is.

Ive got a few good links to maps now. I will get some on order.

I had heard that San Rafele was in trouble. Hope it makes it.

[ddialogue]

A little more info on the San Rafael National Monument issue:

Emery County opinion poll on establishing San Rafael National Monument

12 of 12 precincts reporting

Against 2,149 53%

For 1,879 47%

[Dramus]

I emailed the Utah moto tour folks and they told me that you could bring your own ride at a reduced rate for the tour. They even prefer if you bring 4 strokers ?