Arth's Trail is a lovely little singletrack trail just below Gemini Bridges north of
Moab. The first (classic Arth's Corner) section is 1.5 miles long, connecting the Gemini Bridges road to the
Metal Masher road. The second 1.7 miles (new in 2020) continues
further downhill to join the Gemini Bridges Road just above the Gold Bar
4x4 fork at Little Canyon. The riding on Arth's is intermediate in tech requirement, but
suitable for experienced young riders and advanced beginners.
Trailhead
of Arth's Corner on the Gemini Bridges road. Photos and description based
on a ride by Bruce and buddies on April
13, 2011. Latest trail update June 2020.
Arth's has a small trailhead on the Gemini Bridges road 0.15 mile below
the lower turn-off to the Gemini Bridges parking area. 100 feet from the trailhead, Arth's connects to
the downhill ends of Getaway
and Bull Run. Across the road from Arth's
trailhead is Great Escape. Lots of riding
options here.
Bruce rolls down Arth's in 2019.
There's also a small unofficial parking spot at the lower
end of Arth's on the Gemini Bridges road. It's located 100 yards downhill
from where Arth's crosses the road to Little Canyon, just past the cattle
guard on the downhill side of the road. There's room for maybe 3 cars. You might
use this spot if you're riding Arth's with a shuttle.
Heading toward the La Sal Mountains on the lower
segment of Arth's that was added in 2020.
The trail starts at 5100 feet elevation and drops 400 feet over its
course.
The recommended riding direction is west (the upper Gemini Bridges end) to
east (ending on either Metal Masher for Arth's Corner or on the Gemini
Bridges road for the full trail).
Below I describe a 3.4-mile beginner's loop ride of Arth's Corner (the
easier upper half) starting from Gemini Bridges
parking and returning via the gravel road.
Gene takes a look into the big hole at
Gemini Bridges. You aren't allowed to bike the 0.2 miles to the arches.
Bike parking is provided right at the hiking trailhead.
Arth's Corner (the upper half of Arth's singletrack) is the second segment of the Magnificent 7
epic ride. The Mag 7 route is 26 miles long, beginning with Bull
Run. The next
trail section after Arth's Corner is Little Canyon
Singletrack, located right
across the Gemini Bridges road from the end of Metal Masher.
Derek heads out across the slickrock.
Much of the trail surface is as you see here -- easy cruising on Entrada.
The La Sal Mountains form the background. In the middle background are
domes of Navajo sandstone of the upper Moab Rim
with the fins of Behind the Rocks at far right.
Many riders like to start with a look at Gemini Bridges. To
start your ride from the Gemini Bridges parking area, head your bike east downhill.
About 0.15 miles after rejoining the main road at the Y fork, the Arth's
Corner singletrack forks off on the left at a small trailhead. Keep to the right as Bull Run
and Getaway join on your left. It's well marked. There are
yellow paint spots on the rock to show the way. You won't get lost.
There are occasional views, such as Bull Canyon which
forms Bruce's backdrop for this photo.
When the trail hits the Metal Masher road, decide whether
you're going to hit the Little Canyon Singletrack for the classic Mag 7,
or continue downhill on Arth's Trail to the Gemini Bridges Road. (At the
bottom of Arth's, you'll can take the lower Little Canyon singletrack to
reconnect to the Mag 7 route.)
To connect to the top of the Little Canyon trail, turn right on the Metal Masher
dirt road. Pedal a short distance back to the Gemini Bridges road. Cross the road to the continuing Little Canyon singletrack.
Gene follows the trail as we near
Metal Masher.
To take Arth's further downhill, cross the Metal Masher road
to the newer Arth's extension. You will descend 1.7 miles, dropping
a bit more than 200 vertical feet. Like upper Arth's Corner, there are
occasional short uphill spots. (Doing all of Arth's trail top to bottom,
there's just under 100 feet of climbing.)
The lower half of Arth's is very slightly more
technical than the upper. The slickrock is broken up more, and as you
reach the bottom there's a bit more dirt.
The lower section rides much like the upper half. The
slickrock sections tend to be shorter and there's a bit more twisting
around. The riding will feel a bit more techy than the upper part.
The lower half of Arth's has a bit less slickrock and
more dirt.
When you hit the Gemini Bridges Road, consider your next
option. Many riders do a "partial Mag 7" and hit the Gemini
Bridges road here for the trip out. Grinding up the road for a loop ride
is another option. Or you can cross the road to the Little Canyon trail.
The Little Canyon singletrack heads east then south above the Gemini Bridges Road
and the Gold Bar 4x4 road junction. The combination
of Arth's, the lower half of Little Canyon, then Great Escape makes a very
nice loop ride. This loop is 8 miles with 700 vertical feet of overall
climbing.
Bouncing through the ledges and rock of the lower half of Arth's.
Descending Arth's
Corner...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Short Beginner Loop ride from Gemini parking area:
Take a walk and see the bridges
0.0 East from parking N38 35.233 W109 42.604
0.2 Join main GB road N38 35.253 W109 42.411
0.4 L into Arth's TH area N38 35.247 W109 42.240
(R off road = Great Escape)
N on Arth's Corner ST
R at immediate fork (L = Getaway and Bull Run)
1.9 R on Metal Masher road N38 35.856 W109 41.653
2.0 R on Gemini Bridges N38 35.773 W109 41.625 Mag 7:
Straight across road
Enter Little Canyon singletrack
3.2 Back at road fork, L
3.4 Back at bridges parking
Looking 200 feet down through the arch
window.
Getting there: From I-70 and Crescent Junction, drive south on US-191 for 20 miles (about
9 miles north of the Colorado River if you're driving out from Moab) to
Highway 313. Drive 13 miles on 313 to the Gemini Bridges sign and turn L
onto dirt road. (For the Mag 7 ride, start here.) Drive
down the gravel road 6 miles then turn right to the Gemini Bridges parking area.
Or continue a bit further to the new Arth's Corner trailhead on
the Gemini Bridges road. There's room for perhaps 6 cars, and it fills up
fast on weekends.
Alternate: Two miles south of the 191-313 junction, cross the railroad
tracks to the Gemini Bridges road. (Note: the road will be scary, narrow,
and steep path as it passes over the skirts of the hill.) Follow the road 7 miles to Gemini Bridges.
