After flying across country alone with the boys last week for a wedding I was do for some me time. This past Sunday I took the day off and went to ride Western Rim trail in Fruita by myself. I had a number of people offer to go with me but I really just wanted to be on my schedule. I wanted to put my headphones on and enjoy the scenery at my pace.
Western Rim is located at the Rabbit Valley exit off I70 right before the Utah border. We have been riding this trail for about 8 years. It’s a moto trail but has started to become popular with mountain bikers in the past few years. I really enjoy this ride. There is actually some amazing singletrack, views of the Colorado river from the Rim, and fun downhills.
Even though I have probably ridden this trail over 20 times I still always doubt my ability to navigate it. I’ve never gotten lost but it’s not well marked and I always seem to second guess where I am on the trail and in the past I rarely saw other riders. Sunday was different. The trail was packed with bikers and they were all lost! Not kidding, every single group I came across needed directions or confirmation they were going the correct way. Luckily I was able to help everyone and they also seemed to be having a blast out there.
Here is some additional info from gjmountainbiking.com. I recommended taking a map or going with someone that knows the trail the first time. It will save you a lot of second guessing and stopping to navigate. I personally always start at the first parking lot off I70 and take Trail #2 both up and back. Not sure why they say 3-5 hours. It always takes me 2.5 hours with a few breaks. Mileage on my Garmin was 18.9 miles.
STARTING POINT: From Grand Junction, follow I-70 west about 30 miles to the Rabbit Valley exit (Exit #2). Turn left (south) at the stop sign, cross over the freeway and a cattle guard. We recommend you park at the parking area here, but if you want a shorter ride and have a 4WD, you can continue to the McDonald Creek Trailhead. There are great sections of singletrack on Trail #2 that you will miss if you drive to McDonald Creek Trailhead.
McDonald Creek Trailhead – Stay on the main road going straight (southwest) for about 2.5 miles. Drive with caution, the road is very narrow in several places and has a couple of blind corners. The turn into the canyon is marked by a very large rock which looks like a gumdrop. When you reach this rock, you’ll turn left (east) onto another two-track road which follows the stream bed for about .3 mile to a parking area. CAUTION: A high clearance vehicle is required to get this trailhead.
TRAIL TYPE: SINGLE TRACK 80%, DOUBLETRACK 20%
ELEVATION CHANGE: 1594 feet
DISTANCE: 18 miles
APPROXIMATE RIDE TIME: 3-5 hours
DIFFICULTY: Advanced with some technical sections of singletrack.
