Utah Trails Moab Region

We took this book on a trailbike tour this summer, and it was indispensable. The Moab area is crisscrossed with many trails, and it's impossible to tell what they're like until you've ridden them. Although written for 4x4s and ATVs, with a little reading between the lines we could find the trails most appropriate for cycles. When looking for a trailhead, it's very important to read his step-by-step directions first. The trail synopsis will mention where it is, but a little too vaguely sometimes. I will say the author definitely has no fear of heights, because some of the trails he mentions as being "steep" are in fact terrifyingly close to very, very long drops. Assess your level of acrophobia before choosing a trail!

I have the Utah book "4WD Adventures" printed in 2000 and I have been using it since then every two years for a two week drive in the desert. Spot on. I've tried the rest and this is the best. It's hot and you haven't seen another vehicle in the past eight hours but with Massey Wilson telling you to turn left in the wash, you turn left in the wash. My book is well worn but it has never lead me astray. My only walkouts are when they describe a place six years before and I try to cross. Guess what? The desert changes. So I'm buying the new edition. ps. I'm out here right now after visiting Wild Horse Mesa east of Capital Reef. This is the first time in 15 years I have seen boulder crunching gully washers. These books describe the most amazing places in the world. Get off that tarred road. But bring water.

Many of the 4WD roads in the Moab area are notoriously unmarked, with numerous false roads going nowhere. Moreover, most maps of the area are incomplete or, even worse, erroneous, regarding 4WD roads. This book makes it simple and easy. The maps are perfect--just enough detail to be clear. The descriptions are succinct. The color photos are excellent. But it's the route directions that make this book so useful. They keep you from getting lost, but they don't deprive you of feeling like you're actually doing some exploring and route-finding. This book is really indispensable. (One odd omission: Trail #26 (Willow Flats Road) does not even mention the dinosaur tracks (at 3.3 mi. from U.S. 191), the primary feature of this road.)