Biking History
When mountain biking hit the scene in Northern California, no one foresaw the little hamlet of Moab becoming one of the premier bike destinations in the world. Moab, though, has etched its place in mountain bike holidays by offering the famed Slickrock Trail and Porcupine Rim, and connects to part of the 100-plus-mile Kokopelli Trail.
Moab started to gain exposure for mountain biking in the mid 1990s. By the mid-2000s, it had established itself as one of the top mountain bike destinations in North America. The city hosts and annual Fat Tire Festival, the 24 Hours of Moab endurance mountain bike race and a handful of other state and regional mountain bike events.
Climbing
Because of the sheer red rock cliffs, spires and strewn rock boulders, the Moab area is a top destination for rock climbers. Once readers got a taste of what was in the area through Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire," climbers took notice and began creating sport climbing routes.
The Moab region offers hundreds of established rock climbing routes. There are now routes for beginners with single pitch 5.8s to multi-pitch routes ranked upward of 5.12 and beyond. The two national parks in the area, Arches and Canyonlands, allow access to climbing routes and rocks.
Rafting and Hiking
Hikers have been plying the rock trails and mesas of the Moab area since it was founded in 1902. Scouts and mineral explorers put down trails along the Porcupine Rim and Gemini Bridges regions.
Modern hikers and backpackers began testing their mettle in the canyons of Canyonlands National Park, along routes such as the White Rim and the Kokopelli Trail. Arches wanderers began hiking and establishing areas like the Klondike Bluffs trail, where there are fossilized dinosaur tracks you can find and follow.
Since the early 1970s, the hiking world around Moab has grown and new trails put in place in the national parks, and surrounding Bureau of Land Management area.
Rafters began plying the Green River as far back as the early 1900s. Of course, the rafters then used the river as a transportation route to get goods and services into Moab and other southwestern Utah communities. Today, the rafting community is frequently spotted rafting down the canyon-walled Green River.
Article Written By Eric Cedric
A former Alaskan of 20 years, Eric Cedric now resides in California. He's published in "Outside" and "Backpacker" and has written a book on life in small-town Alaska, "North by Southeast." Cedric was a professional mountain guide and backcountry expedition leader for 18 years. He worked in Russia, Iceland, Greece, Turkey and Belize. Cedric attended Syracuse University and is a private pilot.
