monitor and merrimac trail

Mountain bikers: After you exit 191, 16 miles North of Moab, on Mill Canyon Road, you will go in 1/4 a mile and there will be a wash which on 12/4/14 was full of sand and got me stuck. It cost $195 to get winched out and AAA would not pay because it was off the pavement. Don't proceed on sand without a 4x4!

We just did this trail a few days ago. It seems some heavy rains had been through recently and washed out a lot of the trail and we had to walk our bicycles about 1 mile through thick sands and eroded trail. Once on the slickrock the trail was well marked but there were many before we got to the slickrock times we got lost because of unclear trail marking. The trail also took us out at the wrong spot from where we began and we had to figure out how to get back to our car. Not a fun prospect for folks from out of town. It's a very pretty trail but not for biking unless better maintained. We did not have a fun experience on this trail.

We have done this trail several times. This time we had a jeep and 4 ATV and we had a terrific day. Make sure you bring plenty of water and sunscreen because you are out in the open the whole time except when you go to Tusher Tunnel. The good part of this is that any skill level from novice to expert can enjoy this trail. The scenery is spectacular and you are not that far off the main roads even though you feel like you are in another world.

These buttes look just like the two Civil War ships facing each other down. We stopped on the way to Dead Horse Canyon and took a short hike in the visitor area. They are huge and an quick, easy stop beside the road. You can hike down to the buttes--we just wanted a quick view before spending the afternoon at Dead Horse.

We bought one ATV and rented another from Highpoint. They recommended M&M Trail. It had lots of variety and hardly anyone on the trail, which we really liked. We first stopped to see some dinosaur bones in the rock, then stopped at Tusher Tunnel for a walk through and then Determination Towers before heading back. Total trip time was about 3 hours.

This trail is relatively easy and has some great but easy slickrock riding. I saw a few young families out riding. Enjoyed the views and the setting. When we were there it was peaceful with not too many people out and about. As far as the trail goes for riding nothing is particularly technical however there are some sand traps - including some steep sections. Nothing that can't be walked through though. On the 2nd half of the loop there was more sand and if you are a confident rider you could probably zip right through it. The dinosaur trail is a worthwhile stop toward the end of the ride. I would do this ride again- especially if I brought new folks to the area.

The Monitor and Merrimac Trail was almost deserted during our spring break vacation. The hardest part about it was having to get off our bikes and walk in places where the sand was too deep. Beautiful views of the vistas and LaSal Mountains.

Riding with Allen P from Solfun mountain biking tours was outrageously exciting while being safe and instructional--the best!

This was the first stop of our visit in Canyonlands. We only ventured a few feet onto the trail and the views were great.

These are 2 huge rock formations in Canyonlands National Park. We visited in June of 2010. Early June was a good time because it wasn't too hot yet, like later in the summer. Always have water with you however. We stopped to view the Monitor and the Merrimac (named after the 2 battleships) on the way to The Island in the Sky part of Canyonlands. You see lots of rock, and more rock, and even more rock! Sometimes I had to remind myself I was still on Earth! I will post a couple pictures .

Went up 7Mile Jeep trail that goes between Merrimac & Monitor Buttes. Will need to have a modified Jeep to get through the trail. A side trip to Uranium arch is an interesting short diversion. There's a very tippy section on the slick rock passing around the buttes, very exciting. The last part of the trail is easy, traveling a sandy wash. Allow 3-4hrs for the entire route.

The trail is great, rather intermediate in terms of slickrock biking, but nice scenery for mtn biking. My boyfriend and I actually ran into 5-6 bears in the wash on the way out. We had come around a corner of shrubs (most of this area doesn't have much green vegetation) and were about 30-40 ft from them. One stood up on its rear legs and hovered from side-to-side at my boyfriend and we definitely caught the others' attention. We had to turn around and head out by re-tracing our steps (not so easy to get out of one of those deep, red, sandy washes while pushing a bike and trying to run) We semi-retraced our steps and hauled around the slickrock edge of the butte and made it back to the cars within an hour. They warn you about mtn. lions and snakes, but not so much bears. We were both terrified, but made it out alive! Not sure if I'd go back on this trail again...