Handlebar view northbound as we approach Red Butte. Photos and trail review by Bruce on November 14, 2013.
Red Butte - Red Slot Loop
This little loop lies in the desert about 15 miles southeast of Green River. It offers a mix of beautiful slickrock, undulating red desert, and a slot canyon downhill run. The area is primarily a motorcycle paradise, but there's good stuff for mountain bikes here too. You can also do most of this loop as a variation to the east end of Mary's Trail.
The area is remote. This ride is for adventurous and experienced riders who are looking for
new territory. It will take 10 miles of dirt road to reach the Red Butte
Trail; 12 miles if
you plan to park on the slickrock at the bottom end. The reward is sandstone
that's probably
the most beautiful in all of Utah, and a nice mix of riding challenges.
Parking askew on the side of the road at the start of the Red Butte Trail. Middle of nowhere. Alone. On a frosty morning. Time for some serious exploring.
Looking west as we enter the slickrock zone.
The loop is 6 miles in length. There will be 500 vertical feet of total climbing. 200 feet
of the altitude change will be on the dirt-road return, and 300 on breathtaking
Entrada sandstone
on Red Butte. The loop uses the trails Red Butte, Red Rock, and Red Slot,
then it returns via
Red Wash Road. Yeah, there's a lot of red dirt.
Because of steep slopes on Red Butte, I'm recommending this trail only for advanced riders.
There's nothing that's horrifically technical, but the steep pitches and
side-slope riding
on sandstone will give intermediates a major scare.
Looking back to the east, as buttes of Entrada sandstone rise above the desert floor.
Reaching the first climb. Up the ramp, along the slope and up the next ramp. Just follow the white slashes.
There's no real parking at the point where Red Butte takes off from the Red Wash Road. That's
because most people arrive at this spot by motorcycle. You can roll up
onto the shoulder. Or,
you can drive another two miles and find lots of room to park on the slickrock
at the western
end (just before the cattle guard where Red Slot joins the road).
We'll assume you parked at the south end. First, pedal two miles back up the road. If you like,
you can hop onto the dirt Enduro Loop trail when you see it. This is motorcycle
singletrack,
so here will be soft spots. If you don't see it forking away from the
road, you can catch it
at Red Slot, about 100 feet from the road.
A few wiggles further up the rock, we're looking southwest.
Cruising along, westbound on the sloping rock shoulder.
When you reach the Red Butte trail, fork left (if you were on the road, cross the Enduro Trail
just as you're reaching the slickrock). It will be pretty mellow at first.
Once the trail starts
to climb the butte, there will be some steep pitches and some sideslopes
above drop-offs. The
trail is marked with white slashes on the rock.
Entrada is smoother than Navajo. If you step off the pedals, you'll want shoes with plenty of rubber on them to grip the rock. And NO toe spikes.
At mile 1.5 of the Red Butte trail, the route will drop off the rock and end on the Red Rock
trail. Fork left. (Right takes you to Mary's Trail. If you go to the right,
you can loop around
on the last portion of
Mary's slickrock
).
Keep right at the next fork (mile 3.9 if you started at the west end), where the alternate climbs a steep dirt face -- if you go left, you'll rejoin Red Rock, but it's not as much fun. The trails rejoin at mile 4.7.
The singletrack is occasionally a bit loose. You should be comfortable surfing down (and climbing up) steep loose slopes littered with motorcycle-derived rock chunks.
Approaching the drop into the canyon of Red Slot.
Take a right at the next intersection (mile 4.9). You are now on the Red Slot Trail. After
bouncing along over humps of red dirt, the trail will drop into a sandstone
canyon. You're
still in the Entrada formation, just at a lower level.
Whoop-de-do the wash. But watch for one drop that will sneak up on you. Straight takes you
over a 5-footer. Left and uphill takes you to a steep ramp.
When you reach the dirt road, you should see your car at the slickrock. If you parked at the top, turn left to make the two-mile return trip.
Fun wall hits here. But if it's your first time, watch for the big drop-off!
Riding notes, counterclockwise loop from
west end slickrock near cattleguard:
0.0 Southbound on Red Wash Road
N38 45.194 W110 01.650
1.7 Pass Red Slot trail on L
N38 44.934 W110 00.254
1.9 Ten Mile road joins on R
2.1 L on Red Butte N38 45.103 W109 59.845
2.2 Cross Enduro Loop
west end slickrock near cattleguard:
0.0 Southbound on Red Wash Road
N38 45.194 W110 01.650
1.7 Pass Red Slot trail on L
N38 44.934 W110 00.254
1.9 Ten Mile road joins on R
2.1 L on Red Butte N38 45.103 W109 59.845
2.2 Cross Enduro Loop
3.6 Drop off sandstone, L on ST
(Red Rock trail) N38 45.682 W110 00.276
3.9 Fork R (stay on Red Rock)
N38 45.447 W110 00.231
4.7 Keep R (alternate rejoins)
N38 45.284 W110 00.531
4.9 R on Red Slot N38 45.156 W110 00.651
6.0 At cattleguard, L to parking
Map of the Red Slot area
Getting there:
On I-70, drive about 13 miles east of Green River. Take the Floy (175) exit. Turn right (south). The pavement rapidly turns to dirt. This is the Ruby Ranch Road At mile 4.2, turn left to Blue Hills Road. Go 3.7 miles, then turn right (south) toward Ten Mile Point. The Enduro Loop will cross a bit later, then will cross again. Drive past the sandy east entry to Mary's trail at mile 8.5 from the highway. At mile 14.1, you reach the entry to Red Butte. Park here at N38 45.194 W110 01.650, or continue to mile 16 and park in the slickrock area, retracing your vehicle's path back to Red Butte.
On I-70, drive about 13 miles east of Green River. Take the Floy (175) exit. Turn right (south). The pavement rapidly turns to dirt. This is the Ruby Ranch Road At mile 4.2, turn left to Blue Hills Road. Go 3.7 miles, then turn right (south) toward Ten Mile Point. The Enduro Loop will cross a bit later, then will cross again. Drive past the sandy east entry to Mary's trail at mile 8.5 from the highway. At mile 14.1, you reach the entry to Red Butte. Park here at N38 45.194 W110 01.650, or continue to mile 16 and park in the slickrock area, retracing your vehicle's path back to Red Butte.
Water: No
Toilets: No
Camping: Primitive, White Wash area.
Nearest bike services: Moab
From the west: If you're camping in the White
Wash sand dunes area (reached via Ruby Ranch Road), you may wonder if
you can bike directly to this trail. Well, yes. But even by the most
rock-and-dirt intensive path, you'll push your bike through about 1/10
mile of sand as you cross White Wash. I do NOT recommend trying to drive
down and through the wash. I've done it; it's not pretty. Navigate to the
far south end, where the connector drops from the bluff after the last
parking zone. When you reach sand, hoof straight across bearing straight
south. You'll encounter a (still sandy-sloppy but sometimes rideable) road
along the fence. Continue on Red Wash Road until 4.2 miles since you
dropped off the bluff. Here you'll find the cattleguard that marks the far
west end of the loop. Continue 2 miles on the road to reach Red Butte.
Riding resources:
Single-page, printable riding guide
GPS track file (right-click and select "Save Target as..."):
Multi-track GPX file of area
Red Butte - Red Slot loop ride track
Maps for printing:
Satellite view as above
Links to Moab area resources
Links to Price area resources
Single-page, printable riding guide
GPS track file (right-click and select "Save Target as..."):
Multi-track GPX file of area
Red Butte - Red Slot loop ride track
Maps for printing:
Satellite view as above
Links to Moab area resources
Links to Price area resources
