 | Western Rim Trail The Western Rim Trail is a scenic and fun ride. This 24 mile loop skirts the edge of cliffs for 7 miles, drops down across a valley, then hugs another 5 miles of cliff edge above the Colorado River before looping back via the Kokopelli Trail. This ride is awesome. It requires good conditioning and upper-intermediate tech skills. Total climbing will be about 1500 vertical feet. |
| Riding notes, big loop from Westover exit
227: 0.0 From parking area, east uphill on DT N39 10.272 W109 07.684 0.5 Keep R N39 10.105 W109 07.242 0.8 Keep R N39 09.873 W109 07.075 1.0 Straight (L) onto Kokopelli N39 09.667 W109 06.976 1.3 Straight (as Kokopelli turns L downhill) N39 09.615 W109 06.725 2.5 Alongside Kokopelli, stay on ST along cliffs N39 09.435 W109 07.146 3.8 Keep L as cheater routes fork R N39 08.624 W109 06.954 5.4 Trail turns west (R) at cliff-line 5.7 Fork L downhill (R heads back) N39 07.675 W109 06.465 8.0 CRITICAL FORK. Turn L and descend N39 06.932 W109 07.163 | 8.6 Fork L on ST N39 07.010 W109 06.659 10.3 Cross DT (Bitter Creek Rd) N39 07.359 W109 05.696 15.7 Keep L and uphill N39 07.946 W109 03.395 16.1 L on DT N39 08.227 W109 03.531 to join Kokopelli westbound at N39 08.258 W109 03.609 18.2 Stay L on Kokopelli N39 07.848 W109 04.933 21.9 L at 4-way, staying on Kokopelli N39 09.907 W109 06.339 22.7 Top of cliffs, hard R on original trail 24.0 Back at car |
| Riding notes, Bitter Creek from dirt fork
by RR track: 0.0 Head northeast on DT along side of mountain N39 05.421 W109 06.255 0.4 Stay L along mountain N39 05.745 W109 06.097 1.8 Straight (R) on main road N39 06.807 W109 06.158 2.8 ST crosses (R=return path) N39 07.359 W109 05.696 | 3.7 Kokopelli joins, keep
straight (east) N39 07.848 W109 04.933 4.8 Keep R and find southbound ST N39 08.227 W109 03.531 5.2 Keep R and uphill N39 07.946 W109 03.395 10.7 L downhill on DT 13.5 Back at fork. |
 | Getting there, the Big Loop (recommended
route):
On
I-70 eastbound from Green River, go 63 miles to the Westwater exit #227.
(It's 43.5 miles east of the Crescent Junction -- Moab -- exit, or 21
miles from the U-128 exit/on-ramp.) As you exit, turn R. The road
immediately turns back 180 degrees southwest. Turn left on the dirt road
and park in the broad open area. The trail is the doubletrack heading east
uphill. Getting there, the short Lariat Loop: From the same I-70 Westwater exit, stay on the road heading southwest. It will turn south. After the paved road goes under the railroad track, it will turn east. (You can park above the tracks and ride east on the dirt road north of the railroad track as shown on the map. I did, but why?) Drive east 1.2 miles after the turn under the tracks. The road nears the river. Find a parking spot. Get across the tracks. Zero the bike's odometer. Find the small dirt Bitter Creek road along the mountain. The spot you're aiming for is N39 05.745 W109 06.097 where two dirt roads join. Trail conditions change. Use this trail guide at your own risk. Copyright 2010 Mad Scientist Software Inc |