 | Pritchett Canyon - Prostitute Butte Trail The Pritchett Canyon trail is a mixture of jeep-road on open mesa, intermediate technical ledge dropping, rolling rock, sand digs, and insane technical rock. We describe the main trail (following the trail signs), which is 22 miles. You'll descend about 1400 feet from the mesa down to the Colorado, but you'll also do a bit of climbing, too. The trail's end crosses private property. Take $1 per biker with you to pay the toll as you exit. |
| You'll start out with a fairly flat ride through sage and juniper. At 0.5 miles, the road forks. Right goes to the Behind the Rocks trail. Left is to Pritchett. From here, you should find "Pritchett" posts with arrows at every trail intersection. The mesa road is flat to somewhat downhill. You'll fight your way through quite a bit of sand in this area. After 5 miles, you'll arrive at Prostitute Butte. From here, the trail gets more interesting. |
| The trail climbs and descends through a couple of canyons,
with the surface alternating between open rock, ledges, and sand. After
passing Pritchett Arch, the trail makes a final brutal
uphill climb, then dumps you down White Knuckle Hill. There's some extreme
stuff here, but remember you can always pick up the bike and climb
down. Coming out of White Knuckle Hill, the trail winds up and down through dry creekbed, with plenty of sandy uphill sprints. This last two miles finishes off your thighs, if you have anything left. |  |
 | Getting there:
To leave a shuttle car,
drive south on Moab's main drag (US-191) to the McDonald's, and turn right
onto Kane Creek Blvd. After 1.5 miles, go
straight at the "Yield" sign where the road seems to turn right. Continue
along the Colorado River until the road turns to gravel. There's a parking
area on the right. The trail's end is about 100 feet back, on the south
side of the street where it exits private property. Now drive your second vehicle to the trailhead. Head back to Highway 191 and turn right (south). Drive 12.5 miles, and watch for a small road on your right. You should see a sign that (among other destinations) says Pritchett Arch. GPS is N 38° 25.301' W 109° 25.995'. Park near the cattle guard and begin riding. Copyright 2002 Mad Scientist Software Inc |