Bar M Loop

The Bar M Loop is a fairly easy ride technically. Elevation change is modest at about 300 feet. Many families ride this trail, including baby trailers and trail-a-bikes. (Occasional washouts and other erosion changes may occur -- ask for current conditions.) The loop is 7 miles long.

View into Seven Mile Canyon, near the north end of the loop. Photos April 2006.

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You can ride this trail either direction from the Bar M trailhead (named for the Bar M restaurant near the trailhead). Most do it counter-clockwise. I like clockwise -- I'm going slightly uphill for the interesting parts, so I can take more time to watch the scenery, then flying downhill after leaving the sandstone. Despite its reputation as an "easy ride," the Bar M is definitely worth doing. Use it as an afternoon "quickie" or a recovery-day ride.

Handlebar view of the riding surface. In the distance, we're seeing the spires of Arches National Park.

The "business side" (east half) of the trail hugs the border between red dirt and the top of the Entrada sandstone. There are a couple of spurs that take you to overlooks. There's also a new trail called the Circle O that loops 3.5 miles around through the slickrock area. Look for a signpost off in the slickrock, which we're told is about 1/4 mile down the southernmost doubletrack that forks east off the Bar M. We haven't explored this one yet.

View northeast, looking at almost a mile of rolling sandstone.
One popular riding option is to climb from Moab on the Old Highway 191 trail. After riding the Bar M, you bomb back to town the way you came. This makes a fairly quick 17-mile ride. The north end of the Bar M connects to the Sovereign ATV trail, which heads north to the Sovereign Singletrack mountain bike trail. 

You'll notice a lot of agate lying around on the trail, as well as occasional volcanic cinders. You'll see the slope of the salt-dome anticline that produced the Moab. This is an interesting ride geologically.

View west from the trail, looking at cliffs of Wingate sandstone on top of the Chinle formation. The rock layers to the west of the highway have been thrust upward above those on the east side by the Moab fault.

Several "shortcuts" go between the eastern and western half of the trail. There are little roads everywhere! But the trail is well-marked. Just follow the signs. At the southern end of the loop, you'll notice a lot of tires continuing straight where the trail does an "almost-180". These bikers were heading for the box canyon overlook, just a short distance south. It's worth taking the trip. After passing the canyon, double back. There's little of interest further south.

A new slickrock loop has been added in 2007, called the Circle O. This is great riding, with a lot of not-scary but challenging rock. See the Circle O trail page for information.

At the far southern end of the loop, we're getting a glimpse of the box canyon "feeder" to Courthouse Wash.

Riding waypoints Bar M Loop counterclockwise:
Parking on Old 191 N 38° 38.864' W 109° 40.156'
  (Moab Old 191 Trailhead N 38° 34.945' W 109° 30.587')
Bar-M turnoff N 38° 38.444' W 109° 39.462'		 Bar-M turn-north N 38° 38.311' W 109° 38.500'
Right turn N 38° 39.915' W 109° 40.583'
Bar-M meets pipeline N 38° 39.905' W 109° 40.631'
Left on 191 N 38° 40.192' W 109° 41.045'
Getting there:
From the north: Drive south on US-191 for 16 miles south of I-70. From Moab, drive 10 miles north from the Colorado River on 191. When you see the Gemini Bridges parking area, look for a gravel road on the opposite side (east, away from the cliffs). Turn onto the gravel road and immediately go right, then right again into the parking area. GPS N 38° 39.38' W 109° 40.66'. The trail starts by riding the gravel road either north or south.

Alternate: From Moab, ride the Old Highway 191 trail until you reach the Bar M sign.

Riding Resources:
Single-page riding guide
Large-format topo map (1.1 MB):
     Download		 GPS Track Files (right-click and "Save as...")
      Map datum WGS 84
     Garmin          National Geographic
     Google Earth          GPX

For additional information, including nearby lodging, rentals, camping, and current conditions, may we suggest:
Comprehensive info on visiting Moab:  http://www.moab-utah.com/ 
More stuff, activities:  http://www.discovermoab.com/  Another source:  http://www.moab.net 
BLM information (OHV info, hiking, camping): http://www.blm.gov/utah/moab/rec-frame.html 
Arches National Park Information:  http://www.arches.national-park.com/
Canyonlands National Park:  http://www.canyonlands.national-park.com/

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