An all-new trail system will bring an entirely new style of mountain biking to Moab: berms and flow. Yes, Moab is getting its first-ever berms at Mud Springs, and they’re set to open to the public in mid-April 2026.
Seven miles of phase one are nearly complete
Phase one of trail construction at Mud Springs will total nine miles of new singletrack, and Grand County Active Transportation and Trails (GCATT) hopes to have seven miles finished by the end of the year. These seven miles will be mostly machine-built, but there are a few hand-built portions as well.
Moab is one of the most famous mountain bike destinations on Earth, but it doesn’t have much in the way of trail diversity. Almost all of the trails are a combination of sand and rock slabs and have been built by hand. But the soil out at Mud Springs is totally different: there’s a lot of clay content, meaning “we actually have dirt,” Tyson Swasey said with a laugh. Swasey is the Operations Manager for GCATT and has been heavily involved in the design and development of Mud Springs.
While GCATT employs 5-7 seasonal trail builders, they chose to contract out the machine work at Mud Springs to Dirt Tek Trails, based in nearby Fruita, CO. Dirt Tek is renowned for building expertly sculpted flow trails, which is exactly what Swasey was looking for.
While Grand County is taking point on the trail construction, the Mud Springs trails are actually located just over the county line in San Juan County on federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The two counties have collaborated closely to make this trail system a reality, capitalizing on GCATT’s many years of trail development experience.
Flowy XC trails coming to Moab
Phase one of construction was focused on beginner-friendly, flowy singletrack. But “it’s not flat beginner,” Swasey emphasized. Instead, the trails go up and over some respectable terrain, providing flowy climbs and descents filled with berms — a first for Moab.
“Anytime they could, they squeezed in a berm,” he added.
The trails Dirt Tek is finishing up are definitely singletrack, but they’re designed to be wide enough to handle adaptive mountain bikes with ease. The trails are also specifically designed with NICA races in mind. In fact, the trail system will be anchored by a seven-acre trailhead parking lot capable of hosting large-scale youth racing events — something the popular Moab Brand Trails can’t accommodate. The Utah Cycling League is already planning to host a race on the new trails in 2026.
Once phase one is complete, phase two will add more challenge to Mud Springs, with “downhill trails, hopefully with some jumps and other awesome things,” said Swasey. The plans call for another 10 miles of singletrack in phase two, with downhills measuring about two miles along.
A seasonal closure means the trails will open in mid-April
Local riders of all stripes are stoked for the new trails. Adaptive riders, NICA racers, and really any rider who wants a change of pace from the sand and the rock will have a great time out at Mud Springs. But a little patience is required.
The Mud Springs trails will be seasonally closed from December 1 to April 15 to all recreational use due to deer and elk habitat. Even though some riders balk at seasonal closures, with just a little moisture, the high clay content soil out at Mud Springs quickly turns to… well, mud. Having the trails “[be] closed in the winter is kind of a blessing in that regard, [as] hopefully it’ll keep most people off of it and [they] won’t rut it out and track it out,” said Swasey.
Swasey said that in addition to the recreational use closure, the area is also closed in the spring to any new trail development due to migratory birds, so they’ve only had a very short window to build at Mud Springs: from August 1 to November 14. While that short build window has slowed progress at Mud Springs, the first seven miles are scheduled to open to the public in mid-April 2026, once the seasonal closure lifts.
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