The Lazy EZ loop is a popular part of the "Brand
Trails" system just north of Moab. On weekends, expect lots of
riders. This 3.1-mile lariat-shape
singletrack loop is inserted inside the Bar M
loop. The mellow riding is suitable for early intermediates and competent beginners. There's a bit of mild up-and-down for around 150 vertical feet
of climbing. It's a great trail for those just getting started with
singletrack.
View of a typical trail section near
the south end of EZ. Photos and evaluation ride March 23, 2011 by Bruce.
Updated November 2017.
The northern end of Lazy-EZ forks off the doubletrack
"Short Loop", just 1/10th doubletrack mile from the main parking area.
Fork right. (On
the left is the North 40 trail.) After 0.1 mile, the trail splits into Lazy (eastern trail) and EZ
(western). The loop is designated as a one-way ride starting with EZ, so
go to the right.
After about 1.5 miles the trail will reach the Bar M loop. Beginners can loop
back on the easy bike path if they're already tired. If you plan to exit
the Lazy-EZ loop, keep right. To continue the loop, go left.
EZ (southbound) follows the break between the rock
hill and the valley.
The southern end of EZ also connects to the singletrack
Deadman's Ridge. (Deadman's Ridge is an advanced tech trail. It joins the
Bar B a little bit from its origin on the south end of Bar M, then
continues in an arc around to the paved bike path
from Moab to Highway 313.)
Southbound on EZ, we hug the edge of a
ridge. Across the valley are the Wingate sandstone cliffs of the Gemini
Bridges area.
Because of the popularity (read: crowding) of this trail,
it's now a one-way counterclockwise ride. So even through riders call the
loop Lazy-EZ, it's actually EZ-Lazy if you're riding the loop from the
main parking area.
The EZ trail's boulders are from the Salt Wash sandstone of the Morrison Formation (Jurassic
Period).
The singletrack is smooth. For the most part, the few rock
outcrops are mellow enough for beginners to bump across with butt firmly
on the saddle. It's a good trail to start learning get-yer-butt-off-the-saddle
skills. I don't remember any areas that should make kids or their Moms nervous.
Many areas of trail are armored with
rock slab to prevent trenching.
From Lazy, there are views to the southeast of the La Sal
Mountains. Directly east are the domes of Entrada sandstone in Arches
National Park.
EZ offers views of the Wingate cliffs across the highway to the west.
EZ has a little more interesting riding surface as the trail hugs the edge
of a small ridge.
The La Sal Mountains loom above the
southern end of the trail, as seen from Lazy.
The Lazy-EZ loop will be used by riders of all skill levels.
For the beginner, it's nice non-threatening singletrack, long enough to be
satisfying yet not exhausting. For experts, it's a more interesting way to
get from the Bar M parking down to the expert-level trails on the south
and east: it creates a singletrack route through to Deadman's, Bar
B, and Rockin A.
After
completing EZ on the counterclockwise ride, we enter the Lazy trail and
head back north.
the loop around EZ and
Lazy...
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Lazy-EZ Loop, counterclockwise:
0.0 Exit parking southbound on DT N38 39.223 W109 40.468
0.3 Fork L on "Bar M Short Loop" DT N38 39.008 W109 40.291
0.6 Fork R off DT onto Lazy-EZ singletrack N38 39.187 W109 39.990
0.7 Keep R for counterclockwise loop on EZ
N38 39.169 W109 39.855
2.0 Stay L on main trail; don't go to DT yet
2.1 Temporarily join DT eastbound (Left)
N38 38.574 W109 39.310
(option: Deadman's Ridge across DT)
150 feet later fork L onto Lazy
ST N38 38.573 W109 39.280
3.6 Rejoin EZ, keep R and northbound
3.7 Back at DT, go L
4.0 R on DT northbound
4.3 Back at parking
Riding northbound on the Lazy Trail, November 2017
Getting there: From the north, exit I-70 at
Cresent Junction and drive south on US-191 for 22 miles. From Moab, drive
7 miles north from the Colorado River on 191. When you see the Gemini
Bridges parking area, look for a gravel road on the opposite side (east,
away from the cliffs). Turn onto the gravel road and immediately go right.
Pass the first parking strip. Just south is parking for the Bar M, which starts by riding the gravel road south.
But keep going until the gravel road turns left (east) near a trail kiosk
and roll down to the big parking lot in the valley. From Moab, ride the Old Highway 191 (paved trail) until you
reach the Bar M sign. Then, instead of ducking under the road, step
through the break in the fence on the right. The gravel trail is the
Bar M trail. Get on the eastbound gravel road and head for the parking
lot. The "Short Loop" trail heads east from parking.
