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Changes to Moab Trails: BLM Says Electric Is Out, Blue Dot Trail Now Legal & More

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Casey-Moab

Moab Trail Mix is a volunteer organization that has been extremely busy lately constructing new single track around the destination town. Trail Mix is responsible for legendary trails such as Hymasa. Known as the Blue Dot trail, but illegal to ride, this trials-trail like area has now been legally opened, and will be called the Gold Bar Rim Trail. They have also been busy in the Navajo Rocks area, building two new trails, BLT and Coney Islands.

Very recently, the Moab BLM has decided that electric bikes are motorized vehicles, and banned them from Moab bike trails on BLM land. Things are changing very fast in Moab, get the details after the break…

NavRx

From Discover Moab: Moab Trail Mix has completed 2 more segments of the Navajo Rocks loop today–The Big Lonely Trail, (BLT), and Coney Islands. This adds another 6 miles to the big loop. 

Access to the Big Lonely Trail: Head up Hwy 313, turn right on the Dubinky Well Road- northwest,(unmarked), or where the sign says Lone Mesa Camp. Once on the dirt road, go past the camp turn off, and look to the left , (west) for a sign marking the trail head. There is a small parking area here….You will see a Map sign…..lime green paint. There is a lot of slickrock on this trail segment with some soil. The BLT crosses Hwy 313 and becomes a dirt singletrack for one mile. At this point the trail name changes to Coney Islands, yellow paint.. The singletrack joins a seldom used 4×4 road for 2 miles, (bighorn sheep territory). A yellow sign marks the exit off the road and the start of some fun slickrock riding on and around rock domes…..eventually you reach the Rocky Tops Trail. Great views all around.

Big Lonely
Length – 3 miles
Difficulty –
Intermediate ride over a sandstone ridge, then cross-country travel on dirt with intermittent sandstone outcrops. Average 3% grade. Several short stretches exceed 15% and one 30 ft long slickrock has a 45 degree climb. Highest point is 5600 ft and lowest is about 5350 ft.

Coney Islands
Length – 3 miles
Difficulty – Intermediate ride with some technical difficulty. Average 6% grade with some short 20% descents and climbs. High point 5610 ft and low point is 5230 ft.

GoldbarRim-(2)

In the Magnificent 7 area, there was always a trail that remained illegal, but right in the middle of the action. Commonly referred to as Blue Dot, it has now been opened up, and is officially called the Gold Bar Rim Trail. One of the best long rides in town, Little Canyon to Golden Bar Rim, following Gold Bar Rim Singletrack and down Poison Spider is now completely legal, including the majestic overlooks from the rim.

Click the picture to link to the BLM's full size PDF
Click the picture to link to the BLM’s full size PDF

The small quote was recently added to the mountain biking page of the Moab BLM Field Office, but it creates a huge impact for the Moab trails, and starts to set further precedent for mountain bike trails around the country.

From the Moab BLM: Motor Assisted Bicycles: The Moab BLM has determined that motor assisted bicycles (electric, gas or diesel) are motorized vehicles. Use of motor assisted bicycles is only allowed on motorized trails. Please visit the motorized recreation pages for trail information. The use of motor assisted bicycles is NOT allowed on mountain bike trails.

A statement this large is sure to stir up people’s opinions. Tell us what you think in the comments.

 

 

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31 Comments
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Andy
Andy
9 years ago

Good to hear the decision on E-bikes. It’s been hard enough to get fully human powered bikes on some of these trails.

Hotep
Hotep
9 years ago

Thank you Moab area BLM! Nice work, Moab Trail Mix crew! That is all. G Nite!

Endurobob
Endurobob
9 years ago

Got lost on gold bar rim once. Still, it’s an amazing ride for sure.

Myke
Myke
9 years ago

Awesome! I can’t wait to go!

Champs
Champs
9 years ago

And just like vaping, what little obedience we can expect of the ban will be moot when technology makes it almost impossible to enforce.

Limiting bicycling to just human effort feels right. On the other hand, I don’t judge when people drive or fly to wherever they’re biking, and if it’s strictly gravity, I don’t see what’s wrong with a lift or shuttle.

There is room for limits, though. Just like on the road, motor vehicles that travel on trails at least twice as fast with a motor as your nonmotorized counterparts should have licensed riders and insurance. If that’s not enforceable, then at least it might be enough to deter some people. People who don’t like pedaling are in the wrong sport.

Gunnstein
Gunnstein
9 years ago

“Building trails” – such an alien concept. Same as “illegal trails”. Weird. All of our trails are legal, and pretty much none are built (other than the natural way, you know, by wear and tear when people walk and ride them). If you want trails, come visit Norway, where you can legally bike wherever the hell you want in the forests and mountains, no matter what the land owners feel about it. As far as MTB riding goes, it is truly the Land of the Free 🙂

@Champs Agreed. I don’t ride electric, but it makes sense to separate between motors that are stronger and weaker than a good human rider. And the weaker kind (like EU pedelecs) should be allowed everywhere, at the very least for those handicapped people who need them to make reasonable speed. It also makes sense for unevenly matched couples who want to ride together, letting the weaker one keep up while the stronger one still gets a good workout. A blanket ban seems somewhat elitist and counterproductive.

nsp234
nsp234
9 years ago

Banning at least the e-bikes above 25kmh sounds like a good idea to me. I guess they went for the entire ban because it’s way easier to control and the discussions are easier.

Bans like these will become more popular I guess, because the two product groups of e-bikes and motorcycles will grow together resulting in some vehicles that that can’t be put in one catgory.

rlee
rlee
9 years ago

People keep using the term blanket bans, and imply that e-bikes are not allowed anywhere.
If you have been to moab then you know that there are many areas where you can use motorized vehicles.” Behind the rocks” is a good example.
I think the ban, and hopefully more like it is a good thing. We have trail conflict as it is and e-bikes are going to contribute to trail closure to all bikes.
It has to be a complete ban because you cannot police which bikes have more power than others.
E-bikes make great commuters or for people with no cycling experience. These people probably have never been on single track, and need more experience before they try riding slickrock anyway.

BubbRubb
BubbRubb
9 years ago

Ban e-bikes everywhere. Kill them With fire! Keep them on the roads.

reverend dick
9 years ago

Hey, Moab Trail Mix…THANK YOU.

ALFRED ALLEN
ALFRED ALLEN
9 years ago

I’m 74 years old. I learned how to ride a bike on the Atlantic City Boardwalk just after WWII. After injuries and surgeries, my legs need some assistance.

Riding on streets and highways with texting drivers is death or injuries. I just bought a Felt LEBOWSKIe..to ride in areas I want to photograph. How about a Senio/Disabled Pass for these trails.

wheelz
wheelz
9 years ago

I’m often frustrated by the BLM where I live, but huge Kudos for calling “e-bikes” what they really are: motorized vehicles! e-bikes on the road or existing ATV trails is a-ok with me.

Gunnstein
Gunnstein
9 years ago

@rlee I was referring to the blanket ban at this particular site. Otherwise good points. “you cannot police which bikes have more power than others” – True, that’s hard, and it’s a consequence of bad US legislation for e-bikes. (Over here an e-bike is, legally speaking, either a bicycle or a motorbike, depending on clear criteria: Power 250W, speed 25 km/t, pedaling required vs. having a throttle. Those in the motorbike category have a licence plate, so you can easily tell what’s what.)

However, if people use electric assist bi/tricycles because of disabilities, I don’t think it’s a good idea to send them to places where motorbikes abound. Hopefully there are enough sites elsewhere with more open, all-bicycle access. (The way I understand you, this particular site is perhaps not well suited for such cyclists anyway.)

wall
wall
9 years ago

Get those stupid e-bikes off of this planet. There is no reason for them and they are ugly. Bike companies should stop thinking about the money they make off of (deleted) buying them and start thinking about what they are doing to the sport and trails.

Devin
9 years ago

Hmmmm, it seems pretty clear to me: 1- if it has a throttle or can move you under its own power, it’s a motorcycle and shouldn’t be on trails; 2- if it just provides assisting power when you are pedaling, it’s a bike and should be allowed.

I’m not personally a fan of it, but like the above gentleman said- some people need it to be able to ride. As long as they’re doing most of the work I have absolutely no problem. When somebody flies past me on a bike path doing 25mph into a headwind without having to pedal I have a problem with it. Not because they’re doing less work than me, but because it’s in all purposes a motorcycle.

Mortimer
Mortimer
9 years ago

I’ve said it before and will say it again “please keep ebike off bikerumor”. While I do think the policy should be that they are banned from all MTB trails, I would not be upset seeing a disabled person getting around trails deemed “non-motorised”.

Badger
Badger
9 years ago

No e-bikes is a good decision. They can ride motorized trails if they want to ride. Plenty of them in the Moab area.

Joel Hannah
Joel Hannah
9 years ago

As a 63 year old with heart, knee, back and type 2, I got back on my bike via a e-motor kit. I put 1000 miles on it on double track this August, that would have been 100 or less without it. I have little interest in riding with motorcycles, quads and jeeps, my max speed is 20 mph, and my physcal problems keep me off of technical single track. Nobody I have met has complained.

t.s.
t.s.
9 years ago

The primary problem with allowing e-bikes on non motorized trails is emergency access. If your battery dies or you have an electrical issue then what? On a mountain bike, if you have a major mechanical a ways out on a trail, if you got yourself there, you are generally fit enough to get yourself out. If your on an e-bike you could easily get too far out to self rescue, and if you are fit enough to hike out, well then, you were fit enough to ride a real bike in the first place now weren’t you? Got more flats than you have tubes for? Normally it just means a long hike, but for someone that is on an e-bike, now its a rescue.

Joel Hannah
Joel Hannah
9 years ago

I am speaking of pedal assist, no throttle. If you can ride an assisted bike, you can walk well enough to get out. Just saying, there are places and things I enjoy seeing that are better accessible with my bike. I think the ban is discriminatory, and an inspection/permit system is doable.

knanci djreaux
knanci djreaux
9 years ago

There are so many motorized-permitted trails in Moab and all over UT/CO that if you really want to go toodle around on your battery-bike you will find plenty of terrain. If bicycles are “mechanized” enough to be banned from wilderness then e-bikes are “motorized” enough to be banned from non-motorized trails.

don
don
9 years ago

No e-bikes! Good call

don

Tom
Tom
9 years ago

Blue Dot Trail — LEGAL — this is a HUGE win for advanced riders, and the other two trails look like more fun up in the Mag 7 area.

Counting down to April!

JBikes
JBikes
9 years ago

Joel Hannah, “…I think the ban is discriminatory, and an inspection/permit system is doable…”

And just who will pay for all these inspectors and paper management. BLM and the parks system isn’t exactly flush with money to begin with. It sounds easy, but in reality BLM lands are not really regulated by a in/out gate. A outright ban is the only thing that works. There are far more irresponsible people out there that will ruin it for all than there are people that require assisted bikes. Sucks, and I feel for those people, but that is the way it is.

JBikes
JBikes
9 years ago

I’ll add another point – technical riding requires leg strength going up and going down. We aren’t talking gravel or paved bike paths. If you need assist to get up a technical trail, I question your control ability going down especially in avoidance situations – and that can put yourself and others at great risk.

Matt H.
Matt H.
9 years ago

Yeah, I think e-bikes are categorically different than human powered bikes. They should be treated differently, so this seems like the right decision.

t.s.
t.s.
9 years ago

@joehannah, If you can walk well enough to get out then the only reason you are on an e-bike is laziness, which is not at all a fair rationale for increasing the tension in already tenuous trail access discussions.

topmounter
topmounter
9 years ago

It’s good to see the BLM taking a proactive approach to banning eBikes on MTB trails rather than allowing them to be lumped in with traditional human-powered MTB’s and getting both curtailed in the future.

The eBike crowd can still ride the trails where motos are legal, so yeah, a win-win.

-Rizza
-Rizza
9 years ago

Sweet! Glad to hear there are new Moab trails to ride and eBikes ARE motorized vehicles. BLM does the right thing.

Johnny Pannini
Johnny Pannini
9 years ago

Great job BLM, e-bikes don’t belong on mountain bike trails. Plenty of motorized trails in Moab that they can enjoy.

ALFRED ALLEN
ALFRED ALLEN
9 years ago

As a 74 year old with a pedal assist ebike, I’m not interested in high testosterone activities. I just want to get to photo opportunites…without getting hit by a teenager on an ATV. Is there something between that and the pure experience of single track (which scares the hell out of me)?

Muscles atrophy by degrees as you age. A pedal assist ebike is the difference between being able to get out in nature or lying on the couch watching it on tv.

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