Trip Report: Porcupine Rim Trail

By benwhiteskis on July 06, 2023
3 min read

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By Ben White Moab is a place that is sought after by mountain bikers looking for some wild riding in a super beautiful setting. The sandstone is wildly grippy, and the massive walls of red rock that abound provide a setting like no other to ride a bike. One of the most talked about trails in the area is the Porcupine Rim Trail.

The green is the PRT, notice how it skirts the edge of that cliff in the beginning, then drops to the Colorado River[/caption] Porcupine Rim is the edge of a mesa and the trail follows it, sometimes right on the edge with a large cliff. It makes for an incredibly scenic ride, with sweeping views that include Castleton Tower and the surrounding landscape. The trail was originally built for dirt biking so sometimes mountain bikers and dirt bikers meet. It’s very wide for the most part, so nobody has to hurt the other one’s feelings. The width of the trail allows for an impossibly high amount of line choices, which makes for a fun, 2700-foot descent. To get up to the trail, a real biker would pedal his or her way up a long dirt road. We decided to take the shuttle and save ourselves almost 15 miles of climbing.

The beginning of the trail

Myself, Cam, Steve and Charity on the edge of the Rim[/caption] Cam, Steve, Charity and I were stoked once we got out of the shuttle van and saw a huge number of bikers all psyched to ride the same thing. Our driver told us not to hang around as they were and to hop on it fast, so we did. Singletrack wound between the short trees and touched the rim a few times before slithering back away. After a little bit of up and a little bit of down, we were dumped into a large clearing with a huge view of the valley below. The dirt bike portion of the trail started here and continued for a long time. It wasn’t purely descending; sometimes a rest from the technical and pounding downhill was granted by a short section of technical uphill.

Cam and Steve look towards Castleton Tower with the La Sals and the Rim behind them[/caption] The entire trail is not technically demanding. Sometimes the red dirt stretched for a good distance and a nice rollercoaster ride could be had. Popping the front wheel up and letting the rear follow the velvety rolls was a stark contrast to the bare rock riddled with small drops and steep rollovers.]

Steve takes the small drops and roll overs like a champ

Cam one of the countless sections of red rock After so long, the dirt bike trail ends and the singletrack begins again, dropping bikers down to the Colorado River. As singletrack, the wealth of options dwindled to a few line choices down rocky features, but the fun never stopped. Dancing along the edge of a different cliff kept us on our toes. Eventually, we were dumped out onto the road that follows the Colorado River and pedaled back to the center of town. High-fives were shared, smiles split our faces and musings of how awesome of a ride that was were uttered.

Singletrack down towards the Colorado River and the end of the trail[/caption] The Porcupine Rim Trail is not for the faint of heart, nor the faint of bike. Riding it on a hard-tail is entirely doable, but it better be a purpose-built mountain bike. A bike from Walmart or Target with some knobby tires and suspension would end up thrashed. The same goes for riders. Anybody can do it, but knowing how to handle a bike over rough terrain makes for a much more enjoyable experience.

benwhiteskis
benwhiteskis

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