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Moab with kids in a Trailer

6K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  P-townDave 
#1 ·
We're heading to Moab in a few weeks with 2 hard-tail mountain bikes, one pulling a trailer, the other with a bike seat. Kids are 1 and 3.

The question is: what can we ride?

I've been getting sparse advice from coworkers and want to throw this out to the group.

- Take bike trail past Arches to Bar M. Don't take the trailer on B/A/O loops. How about Lazy EZ?

- Intrepid at Dead Horse - I have conflicting comments. I guy said you could ride the whole thing with a trailer. Another said it's too narrow. What's the real story? If we ride the 4-mile loop, will the trailer fit?

- Paved path along the river - I heard that 3 miles are now done (up to a campground). Is this worth the ride?

- Monitor and Merrimac - last time I rode it there was a healthy stretch of deep sand past the dino area (we went CCW). Is the CW ride better? Is it ever too narrow for a trailer? I don't remember any drops over a few inches.

- Find some dirt roads in Canyonlands. Any good ones you'd recommend?

Others?

Thanks the heads up. Looking forward to some time away.
ryan
 
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#2 ·
My family has done it

Hi Ryan, good on you for even considering it. My wife and I have ridden in Moab with a bike trailer quite a bit. A one year old is pretty young but if you've ridden other trails with them, there are good options in Moab. Consider the desert environment (unless you are from something similar it will a critical consideration).

As fars as trails go:

The Brand Trails - Bar M will be fine. EZ is quite a bit more narrow but a trail-a-bike will work. A chariot style trailer may be too wide.

I think Intrepid would be fine (again assuming your kids are used to the trailers). The trails are wide enough and there are very few obstacles you'd need to dismount for.

Monitor & Merrimac is now basically the first loop of the old ride. It is going to be quite a bit tougher than the other two trails already discussed. It may be do-able though. We did Klondike Bluffs multiple times with my daughter in the trail-a-bike when she was 3 or 4. Again, the 1 year old would worry me a bit depending on temperatures. You really don't want them to get too much sun/heat exposure at that age.

The paved path along 128 is okay but I can't say I'd look forward to that one. It really is just a great way to get off the road on the return from Porcupine Rim.

Dalton Wells is a dirt road to some pretty flat slickrock. It would be ideal for a wide trailer or simply, easy, fun riding.

We did Gemini Bridges (wide gravelly road for the most part) with the kids but, again, they were a little older. The only real issue is a lot of jeep/ATV traffic and a longish climb on the way out.

You could ride the paved path on the Arches side of 191 just south of the bridge over the Colorado. It turns into the old Moab highway and goes up to the Brand Trails. It is off the road and pretty. It is also a steady climb up and easy roll back.

Again, be careful with the weather and make sure the kids are drinking and eating.

Have a blast!

Mel
 
#3 ·
my experiences....a trailer offroad is too bumpy of a ride for a 1 or 3 y/o to enjoy. Trailer-bike is fine for smoother trails.

i started taking my 5 y/o on Slickrock (main loop) on a trailer-bike; now at age 7 she's done SR 8-10 times), plus on her own bike: SR Practice Loop, Bar M, Bar O, and Dead Horse Point. I wouldn't do any of those with a 1 or 3 y/o in a trailer (including narrow Chariot).

On the trailer bike riding Slickrock, we have to take "hand" breaks b/c her hands get tired. In a trailer, she didn't like the constant off-road bouncing, so we never "completed" an off-road ride. My philosophy: try it; if not fun, do something else, like hit Moab's City and Rotery Park, Arches hikes (Courthouse Wash),....
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the replies so far. Our set-up is a single-seater chariot for the 1 year-old and a bike seat (the kind that mounts above the rear tire) for the 3 year-old.

The 3 year-old loves the bike and has been on tons of trails in the chariot. We've done lots of smooth/medium bumpy single-track over the past 2 years and he enjoyed it, often falling asleep. Now he graduated to a bike seat in the open air and there's lots of new things to see. Since the seat requires a hard tail for mounting, he does feel a lot more of the bumps than in the cushy chariot. He's not ready for a tag-a-long yet, but it won't be long.

The 1 year-old is pretty new to biking, but hasn't complained being in the chariot yet. It does have full coverage from the sun/dust and pretty nice shocks. Gravel roads and small drops are fine, but once you get above 3-4 inches, you have to slow down to not overly jolt the trailer. The width of the trail is a concern with the chariot. We've been on trails where bushes overlap the trail (easy for a 2-wheeled bike) and the chariot kind of rides over them. If these were big rocks, you'd have to stop and lift it over.

So I guess the perfect "trail" for us is a lesser-traveled gravel road in a secluded spot with good scenery.

Some descriptions of the Intrepid Trails system, Bar M loop, and Gemini Bridges Road almost sound like that. I like the idea of Intrepid because we've never been to Dead Horse Point, the trail has nice lookouts, and the length can be adjusted based on how everyone is doing (1/4/9 mile options). If it is too narrow, however, it could be a big downer as we constantly have to stop to lift the trailer over obstructions.

We're planning on riding the paved trail through town to Rotary park for some fun with the kids and probably the new bike path along the river. It's filling that dirt/slickrock need that is harder now that our mtb team has grown from 2 to 4.

Thanks again for the thoughts.
ryan
 
G
#5 ·
roughinit2 said:
Thanks for the replies so far. Our set-up is a single-seater chariot for the 1 year-old and a bike seat (the kind that mounts above the rear tire) for the 3 year-old.

The 3 year-old loves the bike and has been on tons of trails in the chariot. We've done lots of smooth/medium bumpy single-track over the past 2 years and he enjoyed it, often falling asleep. Now he graduated to a bike seat in the open air and there's lots of new things to see. Since the seat requires a hard tail for mounting, he does feel a lot more of the bumps than in the cushy chariot. He's not ready for a tag-a-long yet, but it won't be long.

The 1 year-old is pretty new to biking, but hasn't complained being in the chariot yet. It does have full coverage from the sun/dust and pretty nice shocks. Gravel roads and small drops are fine, but once you get above 3-4 inches, you have to slow down to not overly jolt the trailer. The width of the trail is a concern with the chariot. We've been on trails where bushes overlap the trail (easy for a 2-wheeled bike) and the chariot kind of rides over them. If these were big rocks, you'd have to stop and lift it over.

So I guess the perfect "trail" for us is a lesser-traveled gravel road in a secluded spot with good scenery.

Some descriptions of the Intrepid Trails system, Bar M loop, and Gemini Bridges Road almost sound like that. I like the idea of Intrepid because we've never been to Dead Horse Point, the trail has nice lookouts, and the length can be adjusted based on how everyone is doing (1/4/9 mile options). If it is too narrow, however, it could be a big downer as we constantly have to stop to lift the trailer over obstructions.

We're planning on riding the paved trail through town to Rotary park for some fun with the kids and probably the new bike path along the river. It's filling that dirt/slickrock need that is harder now that our mtb team has grown from 2 to 4.

Thanks again for the thoughts.
ryan
It's unfortunate that most of the roads around Moab which would be perfect are also so popular with the OHV crowd.

Bar M definitely seems like the best bet for your family.

I'd recommend avoiding singletrack trails. I know the Chariot is narrower than Burley style trailers. But the lifting over trailside rocks will be an issue even on easy singletracks around Moab. On a similar note, soft soil next to the trail tread would likely cause problems. The 'corridor' for many Moab singletracks can be wide, but the actual (firm) tread is often fairly narrow. Dead Horse Point is definitely an example of this since several sections were treated to be firmer.

There is a little over a mile of paved path currently built along the Colorado river. It runs through the Goose Island campground. You would need access it from the campground or ride along hwy 128 for 2/3 of a mile from the Lion's park (corner hwy 128 and 191). The Old Highway paved path seems perfect for you though. It's very scenic (especially as you climb higher) and I bet your kids would love the pedestrian bridge.

Monitor and Merrimac seems too rough to me. Either direction.

Canyonlands doesn't have a lot of good options either. But if a short ride is ok, you might consider riding the Schafer road from the entrance station out to where it begins to descend steeply. There are lots of vehicles driving it, but they're going to be driving slowly and cautiously (they'll likely either be surprised by the exposure or professionals with clients!). It's on the edge of a cliff, but it's wide enough and reasonably smooth. Lots of awesome viewpoints to stop at. As a short ride, it would combine well with a traditional visit to the park.

Good luck with your trip,

FW
 
#6 ·
frejwilk said:
The Old Highway paved path seems perfect for you though. It's very scenic (especially as you climb higher) and I bet your kids would love the pedestrian bridge.

FW
+1....really nice trail to ride with the family in tow.

Be careful with those Chariots in rocky terrain....I once hit a rock unexpectedly and ours did flip over....fortunately there was only a 30 pack of beer in there and not my one-year old, though he's not quite heavy enough to keep the thing firmly on the ground in all conditions either. Learned that lesson in a good way....only a few explosive beers as a consequence!

Have a blast!
 
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