Navajo Rocks - East
Rocky Tops to Ramblin 9-mile loop
Navajo Rocks is a newer riding area north of Moab, but it's quickly
become very popular. In 2014 the first
portion was finished by the Moab
Trail Mix trailbuilders. This eastern half consists of the Rocky
Tops trail south of Highway 313 and the Ramblin trail north of the
road.
In 2015 a connector called Middle Earth joined the west end of Ramblin to
Coney Island (see Navajo Rocks West) near the west end of Rocky Tops.
The full Navajo Rocks loop is about 18 miles long.
Bruce climbs the slickrock
of Rocky Tops. Checkout ride May 16, 2014. Photos by Bruce
and his son Alex. Page last updated in 2018.
Note 2018: The loop now has a preferred (not required)
riding direction, clockwise. This minimizes the amount of passing when
large numbers of bikers are on the trail. Faster single riders will
actually do better going "against the grain" by pedaling
counterclockwise, because that way you're not having to individually
overtake, announce yourself, then pass each rider among the many
spread-out individuals in each group of clockwise riders.
The east trailhead is on the north side of Highway 313 (the road to
Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point, found
10 miles north of Moab on Highway 191). Just
over 5 miles from Highway 191, you'll pass a view area. Now watch for the
fenced trailhead on your right about 1/4 mile uphill. Ramblin enters the parking area on the west end. Rocky Tops
is across the road.
Ramblin
exits the east loop parking
The west trailhead is further uphill on 313, at mile 6.4
from 191, just as you reach the top of a
hill. Look for a gravel turn on
your right just as you pass through the cut in the hill. Ramblin and Big Mesa share the first
1/4 mile of singletrack trail. Middle Earth is across the road.
There's
also a trail access at mile 6.1, where a dirt road heads south (left as
you climb 313). Drive 100 yards down to a little loop 100 on the left side of
the dirt road. Pedal down the doubletrack 0.3 miles to the junction of Rocky Tops
and Coney Island. (The continuing doubletrack, marked by white stripes
once it reaches slickrock, connects to Seven Up
in the valley below.)
Ramblin and Big Mesa
begin together at the east trailhead.
Ten miles of new trail has been completed west of the original loop in late 2014. From the west trailhead at the end of
Ramblin (see below), Big Mesa follows the edge of the sandstone cliffs
westbound 3.5 miles then becomes The Big Lonely at Mineral Bottom Road.
After some rock riding, Big Lonely crosses Highway 313 over a sage flat and 3.5
miles later becomes Coney Island. Coney Island has twisty singletrack as
it begins to drop off the mesa, then offers rock riding until it reaches the
doubletrack where Rocky Tops starts. Just before Rocky Tops, Middle Earth joins
Coney Island. For details, see the Navajo
Rocks West page.
West half of Navajo Rocks -- NOT discussed on this
page. Looking southwest on Big
Mesa.
This page covers the eastern half of Rocky Tops (Middle
Earth, Rocky Tops, and Ramblin). It's written as though you'll be
riding the east half-loop in a counterclockwise direction. (Note that the
recommended riding direction for the loop is clockwise -- the opposite of
my description.)
This photo shows why Navajo Rocks has become so
popular. Great slickrock, great views.
Middle Earth
Middle Earth is 1/2 mile in length, running from the west
trailhead (Big Mesa and west Ramblin trailhead). From the trailhead, cross the road and head south on Middle
Earth's singletrack. Middle Earth is mostly hardpack dirt, but has one area of
slickrock riding. It reaches Coney Island after 1/2 mile.
Looking north from Middle Earth, showing the
trailhead area on Highway 313. The trail starts as unattractive dirt.
On a clockwise ride of the eastern loop, you'd be using
Middle Earth northbound to connect from Coney Island to the west Ramblin
trailhead.
If you're doing the west (Big Mesa - Big Lonely - Coney Island) loop, a
clockwise ride would have you going southbound on Middle Earth. So expect
two-way traffic.
Southbound on a counterclockwise ride. (Or a
clockwise ride of the western Navajo Rocks half-loop.)
Middle Earth is a good "gut check" for beginning and
early-intermediate riders. If ANYTHING on this half-mile was hard for you
to ride, you shouldn't continue to Rocky Tops. Instead, consider the
easier western loop.
On the counterclockwise loop, fork left when you reach the Coney Island
trail, 0.6 miles from the trailhead.
On Middle Earth, we're descending off
sandstone southbound. The junction with Coney Island is just past the
trees, mid-skyline in the photo.
Coney Island (just a piece)
The eastern 0.2 miles of Coney Island lies between Middle Earth and
Rocky Tops. (Rocky Tops was there first, and officially started at the
dirt road. Coney Island was built later, and Middle Earth later still. So
the changeover of trail name and color marking still occurs at the dirt
road.)
Coney Island is marked with yellow paint on the sandstone. On the
counterclockwise ride, descend 0.2 miles to a dirt road and continue
across.
On Middle Earth, we're descending off
sandstone southbound. The junction with Coney Island is just past the
trees, mid-skyline in the photo.
Rocky Tops
As you cross the Seven-Up access doubletrack, you'll notice that the yellow stripes
have changed to turquoise. This is Rocky Tops. On your counterclockwise
ride, head east on flat singletrack.
(This dirt road is the connector to Seven Up,
and the lower portion is used for the Chisholm loop
ride. There's also a singletrack connector to Seven Up, coming up in 0.15
mile at N38 37.805 W109 46.680.)
Alex has found the entry to the
singletrack Rocky Tops. We're looking east from the doubletrack to Seven
Up.
At first the singletrack is flat and easy. This section lies
on the Kayenta sandstone, which tends to form flat ledges for easy riding.
One-half mile later, you hit the Navajo sandstone and start climbing.
Rocky Tops is the most technical trail in the Navajo Rocks area. It's
OK for experienced upper-intermediates, but overall it crosses the border
into advanced technical.
Alex cruises along the edge of the
mesa on Kayenta sandstone. We're looking west. The brown cliffs on the
skyline are Entrada. The humps in the
"meadow" are Navajo.
The ride gets steadily more technical as the trail
progresses from west to east. Although you think you're going to be
coasting downhill, you're going to do a fair amount of climbing in short
segments. Intermediates can ride this loop, although a few short areas
require advanced skills. Rocky Tops is the most technical of the Navajo
Rocks trails.
We're now on Navajo sandstone as Bruce
climbs up and around. In the valley below, Seven Up climbs toward the
Mag 7. There's a connector to Seven Up
about 1/2 mile from the west end of Rocky Tops.
This first climb is fairly gradual. The pitches are easily
manageable by a conditioned intermediate rider. Well, there are a couple
of short grunts that I thought were pretty easy to clean if you hit them
with attitude.
Alex follows the well-marked trail as
it climbs up through the Navajo layer.
This first major climb will take you up through the entire
thickness of the Navajo sandstone layer. It's a bit of a grunt, but
do-able. There's harder stuff coming up later.
At this first "summit" you'll find flat riding
firm dirt on the cap-rock. Roll around the edge of the mesa and enjoy the
views.
With the La Sal Mountains in the
background, Alex follows the cliff edge around the mesa.
After passing through the sagebrush area, you're
back to Navajo sandstone. After a long stretch of flat and smooth
slickrock, you'll get into some rough stuff and rollers as you again
descend toward the valley.
Bruce begins the drop from the mesa.
The trail will now undulate up and down. There are long
stretches of sandstone with bits of dirt, then long stretches of dirt with
bits of sandstone. Sandstone areas are marked with turquoise paint
stripes.
Back on Navajo Sandstone. We're
looking east toward spires of Entrada.
In the middle area of Rocky Tops, the sandstone is pretty
smooth. It will get tougher as you progress to the east. As the rock
becomes rougher, the ups-and-downs more frequent, and the dirt becomes
softer, it will require advanced riding skills to keep going.
Bruce attacks one of the steeper
pitches of sandstone. But the climbs aren't very long, nor are they
horribly steep.
Blooming miniature barrel
cactus.
Prickly pear.
Around mile 2.6, there's a long segment of side-sloping
sandstone at a bottom of a cliff. Intermediates will view this with
terror, but it's all very ride-able -- not nearly as steep as it looks
from the south end. Coast the steeper spots so you don't pedal-bang.
"Pedal circles" so the bike doesn't bob up and down -- bouncing
is a recipe for a pedal-strike on the uphill side.
Near the end of the cliff-side slope
looking south (riding north).
Just before mile four, the trail drops down onto Kayenta
sandstone. You'll follow the cliff edge around a side canyon. Then you'll
meander toward the highway. This area remains fairly technical, more of an
upper-intermediate to easier-advanced.
At mile 4.7 of Rocky Tops, you'll
reach Highway 313. Cross to the trailhead parking area and spot the Ramblin
singletrack passing through the log fence on your left.
Bruce (in the circle) skirts the edge
of the abyss.
Ramblin
The Ramblin trail quickly drops from dirt onto rolling
sandstone. The stone is now marked with rust-colored stripes of paint. To
the north, you're looking at cliffs of Entrada sandstone.
Looking north on Ramblin, shortly
after dropping away from the road.
The trail will descend down the sandstone to follow the edge
of a small canyon westbound. There will be a bit of up-and-down riding
here, but most of the stone is fairly smooth.
Nice stuff.
Looking back over your shoulder to the northeast, you'll see
Monitor and Merrimac buttes.
Monitor and Merrimac buttes, so named
because they resemble the civil-war ironclad warships that fought to a
stalemate outside the confederate port of Norfolk, Virginia.
You'll continue gradually descending (but with plenty of
short climbs) during this first third of Ramblin. The little dirt
stretches gradually get longer and looser. My impression was that a
clockwise ride (the recommended direction) might actually work better here, as many of the
sloppy-sandy sections were slightly uphill as I rode counterclockwise.
Plenty of sandstone between short bits of dirt trail.
In the middle of the ride is a fairly long section of dirt
singletrack. It's well-packed in most spots, but there are occasional
short stretches of Moab sand. Nothing that would bog a typical rider down.
Dirt singletrack along the top of a
sandstone canyon. Heading west.
On the second half of Ramblin, you're gradually regaining
the altitude you lost, plus gaining altitude for the general upslope from
east to west. But you're back on sandstone slickrock and loving life.
Ramblin ends
at the western Highway 313 Navajo Rocks trailhead. But before it ends, Big
Mesa forks to the left. Fork right to finish up at parking. Or, keep going on
the Big Mesa portion of Navajo Rocks West.
As we come past the western end of the
Entrada cliffs, we'll turn south to the highway.
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
East half-loop, from older DT trailhead
(see map)
Riding notes, counterclockwise:
From parking on dirt loop 100 yards from 313
0.0 South on doubletrack N38 38.045 W109 46.823
0.2 Stay L on main DT N38 37.889 W109 46.869
0.3 L onto ST (trail sign) Rocky Tops
N38 37.809 W109 46.825
(Straight = to Seven Up trail)
0.9 Climb away from Kayenta onto Navajo
1.2 Top of mesa
2.6 Sideslope under cliff
4.1 Top of cliff above canyon
4.9 Cross Highway 313, start Ramblin
N38 37.809 W109 46.825
6.7 Cross ATV route
8.3 Left downhill on 313 N38 38.212 W109 47.099
8.6 Right onto dirt road N38 38.121 W109 46.821
8.7 Back at parking
East half-loop, from Middle Earth
Riding notes, counterclockwise:
0.0 Cross 313 from west parking to ST
Middle Earth N38 38.214 W109 47.109
0.6 L on Coney Island
N38 37.834 W109 47.008
0.8 Cross DT to Rocky Tops (R = to 7-up)
N38 37.809 W109 46.825
1.4 Climb away from Kayenta onto Navajo
1.7 Top of mesa
3.1 Sideslope under cliff
4.6 Top of cliff above canyon
5.4 Cross 313 to TH, L on Ramblin
N38 37.809 W109 46.825
7.2 Cross ATV route
8.6 R (L = Big Mesa)
N38 38.357 W109 47.100
8.8 Back at parking
Full loop from East
Trailhead (17.4 mi)
Riding notes, clockwise:
0.0 Cross 313 from East Parking
Rocky Tops N38 37.809 W109 46.825
4.6 Cross DT to Coney Island (L = to 7-up)
N38 37.809 W109 46.825
4.8 Stay L (R = Middle Earth)
N38 37.834 W109 47.008
7.7 Veer R, start Big Lonely
N38 36.919 W109 48.351
8.2 Cross road N38 37.210 W109 48.720
8.3 Keep R (L = Chisholm)
N38 37.257 W109 48.795
10.8 Cross DT to Big Mesa
N38 38.085 W109 48.445
14.2 Keep L to Ramblin (R = west TH)
N38 38.357 W109 47.100
17.4 Back at parking
Getting there:
From I-70 and Crescent Junction, drive south on US-191 for 20 miles. If
coming from Moab, drive about 9 miles north of the Colorado River on
Highway 191. Turn west on Highway 313. East Parking: At mile 5.3 (shortly after you pass the view
area), there's a fenced trailhead on the right.
This is where the loop crosses the highway. Park here to start at the east
end of Rocky Tops or Ramblin. White Dot DT (old trailhead or 7-up access): At mile 6.1, turn
left onto dirt road. The little loop 100 yards down on the left side of
the dirt road is the parking area. N38 38.031 W109 46.815. Start your ride
by pedaling south along the dirt road.
West Parking: Proceed on Highway 313 as above, but
at mile 6.1 keep driving straight as you pass the main parking area. At
mile 6.4 just as you reach the top of a hill, look for a gravel turn on
your right just as you pass through the cut in the hill. Go 100 feet and
park by the trail sign. (If you missed the turn, you'll have another
chance 100 yards further down the road.) Ignore the wide ATV path and take
the singletrack just to the left. Ramblin and Big Mesa share their first
1/4 mile of trail. Middle Earth is across the road. Facilities:
Bathrooms and water: None at trailheads
Camping: BLM campgrounds southwest of loop via gravel road from 313
commercial campground on 191 across from 313;
state park campground at Deadhorse Point.
