The Whole Enchilada – Best of Moab MTB Trails

For many - including me - The Whole Enchilada is one of the best mountain bike trails in the world. However, there are only a few months of the year when the trail is completely free of snow. Chances are best from July to September. You can of course take the trail under the tunnels in the other months as well, but then you will most likely have to get on a little further down - for example at Hazard or Kokopelli Trailhead.

One of the many local shuttle companies will take you to the Geyser Pass in La Sals. Here at 3,200 meters nothing looks like desert, red sand or slick rock. The Whole Enchilada takes you about 43 kilometers back to Highway 128 near Moab via various vegetation zones. Depending on how fit you are and how many breaks you take, you will need between three to six hours for this. Take enough food and at least three liters of water with you - if possible more. Because of the brooding midday heat, you should start as early as possible.

It starts with a short gravel descent to the Burro Pass Trailhead. From here you pedal a single trail uphill to the Burro Pass. If you're snapping up here, don't worry. You are at almost 3,400 meters, the highest point of the tour. Then you destroy this altitude again on the Burro Pass Trail. Tight hairpin bends, scree and root passages as well as small river crossings characterize this section. Only after the idyllic Warner Lake campsite do you leave the forest again.

This is followed by the Hazard County Trail with a short, crisp ascent and a beautiful meadow trail, before you roll at high speed on a gravel road called the Kokopelli Trail to the start of the Upper Porcupine Singletrack (UPS). This is where the cream pieces from The Whole Enchilada begin. Always pedal along the canyon edge to the Lower Porcupine Singletrack (LPS). The Castleton Tower stands prominently at the bottom of Castle Valley, but it's only recommended to take a break. During the ride, all concentration is on the trail.

If you want to shorten the tour, you can take the signposted “Bail Out” options via Sand Flats Road. The driver, suspension fork and damper are challenged again over the last 16 kilometers. The wide Porcupine Rim Jeep-Road is mostly downhill, but there are uninterrupted poisonous counter-climbs. It doesn't run really smoothly, rather incredibly rough. Well shaken you arrive at the turning plate, where the jeep road turns into a single track.

The legendary Porcupine Rim Singletrack leads you along the last five kilometers along the edge of the canyon. Sometimes, however, you come dangerously close to it, which is why full concentration is required again. The Whole Enchilada ends with a tunnel tube that runs under Highway 128 right at the Grandstaff campsite. On a paved bike path you now roll seven kilometers back to Moab.