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Monitor & Merrimac/Courthouse Pasture Mountain Bike Trail
Moab, Utah
MTB TRAIL STATS
Avg Rating:    |
4 trail reviews |
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Status: updated 4/7/09 by AK_Dan |
Difficulty:  Beginner |
| Length: 13 miles | Global Rank: #1344 |
| Tread: Other | Configuration: Other |
| Ridden: 40 | Wishlist: 13 |
| Avg. Speed: 5 mph | Avg. Time: 2hr 0min |
| Elevation Gain/Loss: +711/-539 ft (based on partial GPS data) |
Directions:
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Description: Great trail, did this ride while on a guided tour in 2004. There are some great scenery views along the trail including dinosaur bones, wildlife, rock formations along with slickrock riding.
Description: Great trail, did this ride while on a guided tour in 2004. There are some great scenery views along the trail including dinosaur bones, wildlife, rock formations along with slickrock riding.
added on June 2, 2005 by 
TRAIL REVIEWS review this trail
reviewed by maddslacker on March 15, 2011
Please note, this is NOT the old sandy jeep road that shares the same name. This trail does start out on a fire road, but turns off onto singletrack and eventually ends up on a slickrock shelf that goes around and between two buttes. You can play around as long as you want on the slickrock, and then head back out, stopping to hike the short footpath near the end whee you can see dinosaur bones in the rocks. (follow the signs) This is a short, but fun and scenic trail and is a good one to do if you are new to Moab.
reviewed by nelsoncycles on January 14, 2010
the route is a little bit of beginer slick rock some pot holes and a bit of sand. a lot of fun just to play on
reviewed by AK_Dan on April 19, 2007
Very nice area with very few people. I found it was easier to ride this loop in reverse, parking at Thrasher Canyon parking lot, (.5 miles off of highway 191) riding south on the jeep road and then climbing up the E side of the Courthouse (all pretty easy to find) Then across a mile or so of slickrock to the Lower Merimac. This whole area has a lot of slickrock to play on, once around the Merimac butte and headed back the trail gets sandy in places but is completely do-able.
Similar Trail: Bartlett Wash
reviewed by Rebus on August 28, 2005
This trailhead is about 15 miles north of town, past the road that takes you to Canyonlands. It's easy to miss the trailhead entrance, but just keep looking to the left. Riding out from the trailhead, you'll be on a jeep road that is alternatively sandy and hard packed. About a half mile or so, you come to a junction where the jeep road goes straight or left. Go straight. A little bit further and you get to the Halfway Stage station, which is an old stopping point for the first passenger trains that went through Thompson to Salt Lake City. Contining on for about another 3/4 mile and ylou finally get to the slickrock. You could stay on slickrock all day here. The trail cuts across some smooth slickrock out to Courthouse (something), which is a massive rock feature that looks a bit like an amphitheatre. You can continue on the unmarked trail out to the Merrimac and Monitor Buttes, which were named after Civil War ships and look like them too. This is a fun easy ride and really shows you how much fun riding on slickrock can be. It's not very crowded because people usually go for the more famous Moab trails, like Slickrock and Porcupine, but this is a fun trail with many opportunities to hone your slickrock skills. Getting to the slickrock is rather tedious, with the deep sand on the boring jeep road, but once there, it's a blast. Riding out to Monitor and Merrimac can also be an all-day affair, so bring LOTS of water and some food. The views are spectacular of course, but what else would you expect from a Moab trail?
* Review edited 4/20/2007
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