Bartlett Wash
Bartlett Wash is an Entrada sandstone slickrock ride featuring incredible views and fun undulating waves of great rock. This intermediate-difficulty ride is located 18 miles north of Moab. The "official" ride is 4 miles, but you can spend all day goofing off on large playgrounds of slickrock, as this mesa is an "open-riding" area where you can go anywhere you want.

There's no marked trail -- you pick your way up sandstone ledges to reach one of the largest open slickrock areas you'll ever see. Once you reach the parking area, find the trail on your right heading toward a steep sandstone ledge. Pick your way up and start riding. Head generally west and gradually uphill, stopping to play as you go.

The terrain at Bartlett Wash varies from easy, smooth rolling sandstone to "Pucker Factor 10" rock for the truly insane. But it's your choice. Because there's no set trail, you can play on the easy stuff, or seek out the gnarly stuff.

While you're there, you can cross also hit the Jedi Slickrock , on the mesa south of Bartlett (from the same trailhead).

The Entrada sandstone found at Bartlett Wash is a finer-grain stone than the Navajo Sandstone that lies beneath it. Because (in this area of Utah) it contains more silt than the Navajo, it weathers more smoothly, forming bowls rather than the sharp fins and domes seen at Slickrock The Entrada was formed in the middle of the Jurassic Period (middle age of the dinosaurs, 140-200 million years ago), after the sea moved eastward over the sand-dune deposits of the Navajo Sandstone, then retreated back to the west.

The ride starts in a wash at the end of a dirt road. After about 100 feet in the wash, look for a rock "cliff" on your right with a trail leading over to it. That's the end of the ride. Pick your way around a small trail to the right of the steep spot, onto level rock on top. Now head west (left), with an occasional zig or zag as you gain altitude.

Rising from the red dirt of the desert, this trail climbs onto beautiful rolling bowls of orange Entrada sandstone. Riders hug the shoulders of the ridges, gradually working up above the cliffs.
Stop and play around. There are countless rideable areas. Practice your stunts. Jump a six-inch ledge. Then a twelve-inch. Then an 18-incher. Find some half-pipes to roll around in. This is primo rock.

The official "end point" of the ride is the west end of the mesa. You can reach it along the south edge (easiest), over the top, or on the north edge.

Bring a repair kit, pump, and extra tube. The rock is so tempting, you'll soon be doing stupid stuff. (We tend to get a high testosterone-to-IQ ratio here.) During one trip, we had major work on four out of five bikes.

Be sure to head up the bluff to the east, into the white monoliths we call "New York City." Zip along the sandy trail between the rocks. It's an interesting cruise. Expect the sand to give you a real workout.

Riding time for Bartlett Wash can be anything between an hour and all day. We often combine Bartlett with another short ride, or hit it on our way in to Moab as a first-day late afternoon warmup. Other nearby quick rides include Hidden Canyon and Klondike Bluffs .

Getting there:
From US 191, turn west onto Blue Hills Road 0.9 miles south of the airport. (It's about 14 miles north of the Colorado as you head north from Moab.) Go 2.4 miles to GPS N 38° 44.673' W 109° 46.745', then turn left. Keep left at GPS N 38° 44.053' W 109° 47.060'. Go 1.3 miles (keep straight at the fork at 0.8), then turn right at GPS N 38° 43.665' W 109° 46.465'. Find a parking area a mile later in a wash near a fence at GPS N 38° 42.989' W 109° 47.220'. Go through the gate and 200 feet up the wash. The ride starts up the rocks to your right.