In addition to our outstanding hike to Delicate Arch during our camping weekend in Moab earlier this month, my husband and I took my 8- and 10-year-old kids on their first real mountain-bike ride. Sure, we’ve brought them off road a bit around our Colorado home, but the four of us have never together experienced riding in the “mountain biking Mecca” of Moab.
We're all smiles about a third of the way through the Bar M trail.
To find the appropriate trail for our young first-timers and this cautious mountain-biking Mom (I much prefer my skinny-tire road bike), we stopped by the downtown Moab Information Center. The friendly folks behind the counter here are always so helpful in recommending attractions and trails, and this time was no different. We picked up the “Moab Area Mountain Bike Trails” pamphlet and a nice staffer suggested the Bar M trail, described as a “mellow family ride on a dirt road with rocky sections.” An eight-mile loop sounded quite doable to us so we headed to the trailhead eight miles north of town.
Let’s just say that Moab’s definition of a “mellow family ride” and my definition of what we experienced are not one and the same.
Once the loop veered off the gravel road it was tough — we encountered uphill climbs, gnarly rocky spots and steep descents down Moab’s world-famous slickrock. The kids and I got off our bikes and walked parts of it (husband is a rock star). But we also surprised ourselves a bit, too.
Slickrock on Bar M trail in Moab; see the white paint marking the route.
In fact, I most marveled at the way my 10-year-old daughter handled her bike, changing gears like a pro and flying down hills to gain enough speed to pedal up the steeps. She managed to stay upright through deep sand, and she smiled through most of the trek that took us a total of about two hours.
While my son took a couple of falls, he, too, kept up with the pack, and when he was feeling comfortable on flat-ish surfaces he’d try to pull up his front tire to do some tough-guy wheelies. Toward the end, he was tired — asking why we didn’t take the short cut to make the loop just four miles — but I know he was so proud of himself when all was said and done. In fact, I think since that afternoon Moab bike ride, he’s shown a renewed interest in his mountain bike here at home — which is great as school’s coming to an end and we’ll be looking for all sorts of ways to keep active this summer.
If your kids are more advanced mountain bikers, the Bar M loop also provides access to the Circle O, Rockin’ A and Killer B trails (get it — together they spell M-O-A-B). And of course there’s also the popular Slickrock Bike Trail, among the most difficult mountain-biking trails in Moab (I could barely make it through the practice loop, when I attempted the route more than a decade ago).
No matter where you ride with your kids in the Moab area, you’ll enjoy drop-dead gorgeous landscapes of sandstone rock formations and the snow-capped La Sal Mountains — truly some of the most amazing scenery I’ve seen in the United States. And to celebrate a successful ride — head on over to Eddie McStiff’s microbrewery; an ice-cold beer for Mom and Dad, and root beer for the kids, are welcome post-bike treats!
Sounds like quite the adventure. It makes me look forward to my youngest being able to ride. I love the picture of the three of you!
This summer will be the first time my youngest starts biking on his own (we’re hoping he’ll be off training wheels by the end of the summer). I’m looking forward to being able to do adventures like this in the not-too-distant future. I think it’s cool that you were willing to do something that was an admitted stretch for you and your kids – those are the best kinds of surprises.
Moab was my favorite pre-kids destination. Thanks for reminding me that I need to go back!
I have to admit, I’m a skinny bike tire type too:) Just reading this makes my legs hurt! My kids would love it though, and I would enjoy the beer at the end.
What an great companion piece for your Delicate Arches hiking one. Moab sounds just wonderful.
We’ve done quite a bit of road cycling with our kids (9 + 14) but no mountain biking – mainly because I’m a wuss about cycling on that kind of terrain. Based on this post, maybe I need to re-think my issues
Moab is on my list! I’d love to start mountain biking as a family. Sounds like a great spot to do it—thanks for sharing.
We’re still in the training wheels stage but I can see our family doing something like this when the girls are older. Looks incredible!
Sounds great – you had me at McStiff’s!
[...] Mountain Biking for Kids in Moab, Utah - The Vacation Gals [...]
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for the mountain biking year at a glance at Moab http://www.inthisweek.com/view.php?id=2185597
How awesome. I can’t wait until my kids can ride a bike. We have a trail at the end of our street that goes from the mountains to the ocean and I can’t wait until we can ride its length together.
Children Bikes, Boys and Girls Bikes with Stabilisers…
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Thanks for this informative post. I’m sitting in the Sleep Inn in Moab trying to figure out where to take my family riding tomorrow. Now I know!
I wrote a blog post about Moab and bicycling to reflect the line up for 2011. http://bit.ly/ae6kvq
Moab has expanded it’s kid friendliness with many new trails not shared with motorized vehicles.
And the rentals shops have tagalongs and trailers to rent for the littlest pedalers. I particularly like the new Moab canyon paved trail. In addition for the more serious rider parents, there are kid races that go on during the 24 hour of Moab mtn bike race in October and the newest sport event debuts May 2011. Moab Triathlon Festival. It has two youth age groups to race running, swimming and biking.