Kokopelli's Trail (also known as the Kokopelli Trail) is a multi-use trail (but primarily used by

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

s) in

Grand County, Utah Grand County is a county on the east central edge of the U.S. state of Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 9,669. Its county seat and largest city is Moab. Grand County is home to one of the nine stat ...

, and

Mesa County, Colorado Mesa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,703, making it the most populous county in western Colorado, and 11th most populous in the state. The county seat and most populous mu ...

, in the western United States. The trail was named in honor of its mythic muse,

Kokopelli Kokopelli () is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who is venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fe ...

. The trail was created by the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA) in cooperation with the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

(BLM) and the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

(USFS) in 1989. __TOC__

Description

The Kokopelli's Trail begins near Loma, Colorado in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. The trail follows Mary's Loop through the Mack Ridge mountain biking area before crossing Salt Creek and entering Rabbit Valley. From Rabbit Valley, the trail winds south roughly following the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

until it crosses

Utah State Route 128 State Route 128 (SR-128) is a State highway (US), state highway in the U.S. state of Utah. The entire length of the highway has been designated the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway, as part of the Utah Scenic Byways program. This road al ...

and the river in Dewey, Utah, where it begins the uphill section, eventually looping around the

La Sal Mountains The La Sal Mountains or La Sal Range is a mountain range located in Grand and San Juan counties in the U.S. state of Utah, along the border with Colorado. The range rises above and southeast of Moab and north of the town of La Sal. This range i ...

, then descending into

Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...

, Utah, via the Porcupine Rim Trail. The trail is widely varied in difficulty, terrain, and elevation. It has intense downhill sections and steep climbs, but several gently sloping road sections help to balance the trail and make it accessible to advanced and beginning mountain bikers alike. The terrain mostly consists of either single track, 4x4 roads, or country roads. The elevation changes can be daunting, with the lowest point near and two massive climbs reaching elevations of . The lush Colorado River valley is seen several times from high cliffs and the beautiful La Sal Mountains grow in size as riders continue on the trail. There are eight small

campsite Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

s along the trail, some of which require a fee. While each campsite has toilets, none have drinking water available and most do not provide shade. Because of a lack of drinking water on the trail, support vehicles must be used to meet riders at certain camping spots in order to replenish their water supply. The trail normally takes about 5 to 6 days to finish, but more advanced riders can do it in much less time. Riding season in the higher elevation (La Sal Mountains) is limited to mid-June through September, depending on the

snowpack Snowpack is an accumulation of snow that compresses with time and melts seasonally, often at high elevation or high latitude. Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as they melt, sometimes leading to flooding. Snow ...

. The trail descends into Moab, Utah, via Sand Flats Road, passing the

Slickrock Trail The Slickrock Trail, is a popular mountain biking destination in Grand County, Utah, United States, a few miles northeast of the city of Moab. This trail takes riders over a landscape of petrified sand dunes and the eroded remnants of ancie ...

. Riders may elect to finish via Porcupine Rim—and many do—although this is not the official end to the trail as mentioned in the above description. On May 30, 2020,

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

biker,

Lachlan Morton Lachlan David Morton (born 2 January 1992) is an Australian professional gravel and road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born and raised in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, Morton spent the 2011 and 201 ...

, set a new record for completing the trail. His time of 11 hour 14 minutes beat the previous record holder's (Kurt Refsnider) time of 11 hours 52 minutes. Following his ride Morton stated that he did not begin the ride planning on setting a new record on his trip from Moab to Loma, but after the ride went so well on the first section, he decided to push himself to toward the end.

References

External links

Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association

Rim Tours
Mountain Bike Tour Operator in Moab, Utah, with expertise (great beta) regarding outfitting The Kokopelli Trail.
Bikerpelli
- A free guidebook for self-guided MTB tours * * {{authority control Bike paths in Utah Bike paths in Colorado Bureau of Land Management areas in Colorado Protected areas of Grand County, Utah Protected areas of Mesa County, Colorado American Discovery Trail

Description

See also

References

External links