Searching for and finding singletrack in Fruita

[MtnBkr]

Spent a couple of days riding three different areas near Fruita to see what there was to see. The three areas from west to east were Rabbit Valley at Exit 2 on I70, Kokopelli Trail Head at the Loma exit, and Bookcliffs north of Fruita on 18 Road. They have this quaint way of naming roads and exits according to their distance from the Utah/Colorado border for N/S roads and somewhere else for E/W roads. N3/10 or 24 1/2 are interesting road signs you won't see very many places.

Each of the areas I sampled have extensive mountain bike singletrack and most of them are obviously heavily ridden judging from the number of tracks in the dirt. Ordering them to my taste would be Kokopelli, Bookcliffs, and then Rabbit Valley, but it's all good, just some's better.

Get the Fruita Fat Tire trail book at Over The Edge Sports in downtown Fruita for excellent advice. Unfortunately no GPS information included, and there is a little Colorado vs Utah attitude showing. I'd offer that Fruita is great riding, but classify it as Moab's little sister. So there Fruita Fat Tire Trail Book authors!

Zippety Do Da north of Fruita spends lots of time right on a knife edge ridge. Fast, fun, exciting, and suggested to be one-way downhill:



Look closely and you can see the trail all along the ridge:



Looking West from Zippety Do Da



They have a good trail ethic, fragile sidehills like these show little abuse:



The high point on Moore Fun which starts near the Loma Exit and is one technical challenge from beginning to end:



One of the impossible switchbacks on Moore Fun:



Moore Fun Technical Section - one of the easier ones:



After riding out Moore Fun, headed back on Mary's Loop which was more fun (Colorado River):



Horsethief Bench trail as seen from Mary's Loop:



On the way home, stopped at Rabbit Valley for a ride. Schizoid trails there, all the way from some really great stuff for absolute beginners to the Rim Trail singletrack which was way too sandy to be any fun at all (a portion of the sandy Rim trail shown below). Wait until after a rain, or bring your motorcycle.



Trail 3 was not too easy and not too hard, it was just right. Trail 3 (about 3 miles from the border) in Rabbit Valley is good intermediate singletrack, and there are also quite a few cultural and historic sights to see in Rabbit Valley.

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[Sombeech]

awwww dood. Very jealous! I've been wanting to get to Fruita for a few years now.

Next time I go to Moab, I should just stay on I-70 instead, seriously. I'm ready for some of that singletrack.

Thanks for the pics, I'll have to feature this one on the home page.

[devo_stevo]

Thanks for the TR. It's been quiet around here lately and I needed something like this today.

I feel a road trip coming on in the next while. Wonder if the snow sticks around very long there.

[Last Child]

Sure looks like fun. I need to make a trip out there.

Thanks for the post.

[KanyonKris]

Good report and photos.

I rode Fruita for the first time this October. Here's my report:

http://kanyonkris.blogspot.com/2008/...st-fruita.html

My impression was about the same as yours. There are some good trails in Fruita, but it doesn't top Moab.

I had been hearing about Fruita for years so maybe I let my expectations get too high, but I tried to be realistic and was, frankly, a bit disappointed in Fruita and here's why:

- Trails built for mountain biking. This seemed most true in the Bookcliffs area, but not so much in the other areas where most trails are reclaimed jeep roads (i.e. Mary's). The riding is pretty good, but it's not the same as pure single-track. Yes, Moab has lots of reclaimed jeep roads too. But I was just expecting more single-track in Fruita from what I had been hearing about it.

- Bad lines. The Tabaguache area was the worst for this, but it showed in other places too. It got to be a running joke that no climb ended without a hike-a-bike to the top. In some places a rideable route is not possible, but often the trail could have taken a better line. I saw this over and over. Descents too - like a trail that dropped straight down a loose dirt slope instead of sidehilling/traversing. I saw glaring examples of bad trail design everywhere in Fruita.

- Focus on burly stunts. Not a bad thing, just not what I expected. In some places the obstacle is unavoidable and that's fine - you take what the terrain gives you. But other times the trails actively sought out very difficult, if not impossible obstacles. In many cases an easier route was available - so why not have a go-around?

Overall I enjoyed riding in Fruita. A few of the trails are exceptional and worth the drive, but most of the trails are just good. We have trails just as good as Fruita along the Wasatch Front. I'm sure I'll ride Fruita again and look forward to exploring some new trails I didn't get to. But they weren't crazy good and made me appreciate the excellent trails we have here locally.

[MtnBkr]

Enjoyed reading your perspective re Fruita. Thanks for publishing your opinion on riding a 24 hour event, I now don't feel too out of touch.

Gene

[neilether]

Thanks for the pics Gene. I too had heard excellent reviews of Fruita prior to riding there. I did not come away disappointed, but I am going to have to side with Gene and Kris, in that it doesn't replace Moab in my book. The riding is too different to say one is better than the other. It's great that these two places are only about an hour apart, so they can be both ridden on the same trip.

Horsethief Bench and Zippidty Do Dah, were the highlights of my trip. I agree with Kris that the Tabeuache trailhead wasn't all that it was cracked up to be (my opinion). I don't mean to steal your thunder Gene, but I figured I would post some pictures from my trip to Fruita this past October.

Colorado River from the Horsethief Bench Trail

Friend wrecking into the tree. He was OK, but probably not happy I'm posting this......

Nasty Hike-a-bike from Mary's Loop down to Horsethief Bench


Singletrack at the top of Zippity Do Dah


Sign that most people ignore (it's actually not that technical, just a little bit of vertical exposure to deal with)


another gorgeous ribbon of singletrack


P.S. Gene- we didn't do Moore Fun because we heard that it is never ending brutal technical challenges that mere mortals (like me) just have to carry their bike over/around. How did you like the trail?

[Scott P]

Nice photos. I miss Fruita. Our house was literally about 100 yards from the Kokepelli Trail.

[KanyonKris]

Neil, good pics and opinion on Fruita.

Sadly we ran out of time and didn't get to do Horsetheif Bench or Zippity. Since those two were the highlights of your Fruita trip, I've got to think my opinion of Fruita will go up after I ride those trails.

IMO, Moore Fun was a joke. Maybe trials riders would like it and those really into insane stunts, but for most riders it's Less Fun. We went north to south and that north end (start) was frustrating - I was off my bike more than on. But the middle and south end had some good riding. Maybe it's better the other direction. The guide book makes it clear it is a tough trail, but I didn't expect THAT crazy. We knew we could take the frontage road back to the trail head, but I'll always choose trail over roads so that sucked us into Moore Fun. Not next time - I'll take the road. It would be nice if they could put in a more moderate trail paralleling Moore Fun for mere mortals.

[greyhair biker]

I've been told that our trails in the southwest wyoming area are simlar to those in Fruita but more to the 'true' side of what singletracks are....that was an invite to come up here in the spring to ride

[MtnBkr]

Looking forward to riding in Green River, Wyoming. Promise a moose sighting?

Retrospective fun is how I would characterize Moore Fun, but the challenge of riding obstacles that I walked last time might convince me to try it again. The northwest section is shorter but steeper than the southwest section by quite a bit. One mile versus 2 and 10% versus about 8%. Not sure which way would be better. Even the locals recognize that Moore Fun is tough. This is the sign at the northwest end and there is another at the other end that I didn't see when I started out, so I initially thought these Fruita riders are real animals if this is what they consider mountain bike singletrack!

[neilether]

Neil, good pics and opinion on Fruita.

Sadly we ran out of time and didn't get to do Horsetheif Bench or Zippity. Since those two were the highlights of your Fruita trip, I've got to think my opinion of Fruita will go up after I ride those trails.

Yeah, I can almost guarantee that your opinion will change after those two rides. Horsethief bench was absolutely incredible! Lots of fast flowy singletrack with some pretty cool technical stuff (mostly rideable for me) thrown in.

Kris, according to your write-up, you did Joe's Ridge. Zippity is very similar to Joes, just longer and a bit more intense. Great Stuff!!

[neilether]

Looking forward to riding in Green River, Wyoming. Promise a moose sighting?

I think a quick trip to Green River could be in order next spring.....

Thanks for the heads up on Moore Fun. I suppose it's one that I will have to try. Then when I finish and tell you how much I didn't like it, all of you guys can say, "I told you so."

[KanyonKris]

Yeah, I can almost guarantee that your opinion will change after those two rides. Horsethief bench was absolutely incredible! Lots of fast flowy singletrack with some pretty cool technical stuff (mostly rideable for me) thrown in.

Kris, according to your write-up, you did Joe's Ridge. Zippity is very similar to Joes, just longer and a bit more intense. Great Stuff!!

I kept looking at Horsethief below as we rode Mary's - it looked sweet. I'll for sure ride it next time I'm out there. Zippity too since I loved Joe's Ridge.

[accadacca]

Looks beautiful down that way.

[Teleken]

Nearly everyone has these opinions of Fruita but it is some great riding. It's not the scenery of Moab but it's less crowded and more low key (to me anyway).

For anyone going plan on the 18 Rd trails for a day, two if you want to repeat them which is totally worth it. 18 Rd is buff and fun and you're always within 5 miles of your camp or car. Day two should include the complete Mary's experience. Start with Rustlers move up Mary's to Horsethief (be prepared for the portage it can get hot) and then go north to catch Steve's Loop and back to your car on Mary's (screw the frontage road crap). It'll be about 25 miles and one of the best XC rides anywhere. Top it off with some pizza and beer at the Hot Tomato Cafe and you've done Fruita good. Careful like Moab it gets busy crowded in April.

Skip the Zion Curtain in Rabbit Valley it was ok but a bit too much all up and some steep walk downs for me (and I like XC climbing)

If you want more tech Grand Junction offers it but without a guide you'll be hike-a-biking/exploring a lot.

[catch22]

Some Fruita info and my 2 cents...

I think the key with Fruita is hitting Over the Edge first, getting a guidebook, and really giving them specifics of what you are looking for as far as the riding you prefer. There are enough trails to kill a week of riding in the area whether your preference is for fast swoopy singletrack or extremely challenging technical riding. Most the people I know there love techy stuff and the trail systems show it.

The locals and COPMOBA have built some amazing stuff over the years. Personally I love the high level, slower speed technical stuff like Moore Fun, Mack Ridge, Holy Cross and the Lunch Loops stuff, etc but I still feel like a putz thinking about them riding these trails 10-15 years ago on fully rigid bikes and all the folks riding them on singlespeeds now(one guy at the shop rides them all on a full rigid fixie which I have trouble comprehending).

For those heading there the first time I'd recommend heading to the Kokopelli area for a warm up on Rustlers, a relatively new beginners loop that is still really fun. Then up Mary's to Horsethief Bench. Horsethief is the quintissential Fruita ride and a good measuring stick for the Kokopelli area, If you don't enjoy the technical moves on there it would be best to steer clear of rides like Moore Fun where they stack up one after another. For more mellowish stuff continue out Mary's and hit Steve's. As others have mentioned, don't expect singletrack on Mary's, it is basically a doubletrack access road that is still used by ranchers in the area, still some fun riding but I think people can be disappointed when it is described as a 'trail'. I know someone mentioned the need for an easier option to head back than Moore Fun once you've made your way to the western end of the trail system and I can tell you that one is in the works. A large section of the singletrack for it is already built and I think they hope to complete it next spring. Should be a nice easy option instead or retracing your steps on Marys or taking the access road back.

18 Rd also has a large variety, definitely less technically challenging but there are still some advanced level rides due to steeps and some exposure. I'd recommend starting at the lower trailhead and climbing Prime Cut all the way up and then decending down Kessel Run. Once down I'd head back up one of the two and decend Joe's Ridge. If that goes well move up to Zippety.

The Lunch Loops stuff in GJ one of my favorite areas but not really worth trying if technical riding isn't your thing, there are some shorter easy routes but they mostly serve as access to the amazing technical riding there. If you like the technical stuff, I would personally save 18 Rd for a sunset lap if time permits and hit the Lunch Loops, Holy Cross, Eagles, Gunny, and the Ribbon should not be missed. The new freeride trail Free Lunch is a great ride as well, even if bigger hucks aren't your thing (not mine). Pete-e-kes is a great climb to access these trails.

On top of these 3 areas, you're still left with the expanses of Rabbit Valley and Westwater nearby which have some equally good stuff and provide a nice option when trails are a little damp. There are also a ton of great high country rides nearby that are worth checking out if you are there during a hot period of the summer or fall.

Wish I had some pics to post but no such luck here at work, for a good video representation of some of these trails check out this link:
www.petefagerlin.com and check out the colorado videos.

[devo_stevo]

Wow thanks for the link catch22. I watched the Holy Cross trail vid and I'm already sceeming up an idea for a road trip in February. That looks fantastic. I'll have to watch the others later as I'm at work and lunch is over now.

[catch22]

Wow thanks for the link catch22. I watched the Holy Cross trail vid and I'm already sceeming up an idea for a road trip in February. That looks fantastic. I'll have to watch the others later as I'm at work and lunch is over now.

You should watch the Fruita 07 one when you have time, it's a mix of 18 Rd, Koko, and Lunch Loops that Pete made during the Fat Tire Fest. It's a loooong video though so it takes quite a while to download.