ROUTE № 08
Statewide flagship
Pavement
Photo slot · img/rides/la-sal-loop.jpg
La Sal Mountain Loop
Red rock to alpine forest and back in sixty miles — Moab's best-kept non-secret.
Red rock to alpine forest and back in sixty miles — Moab's best-kept non-secret.
Route line traced from OpenStreetMap — the real GPX drops when we ride it with the GoPro.
Castleton Tower and the Priest and Nuns from a thousand feet up. Yes, those are the real names.
Aspen and fir at 8,000 feet with the desert glowing red through the trees.
The Colorado River canyon back to town — the victory lap that would headline any other state.
Every route on this guide gets ridden and filmed by the shop. This one hasn't had its camera day yet — it's on the Saturday list, and the footage drops right here when it happens.
Video slot · swap this block when the la-sal-loop footage lands
Everyone goes to Moab and rides the river road. Fewer climb the La Sal Loop, which lifts you out of the red desert into 8,000-foot alpine terrain in about forty minutes — piñon to ponderosa to aspen while Castle Valley's towers shrink below you. The pavement is a mixed bag (patched, occasionally gravel-strewn after storms, one narrow shelf section), which keeps the tour buses away and the reward-to-traffic ratio absurd. Descend through Castle Valley and roll back along the Colorado on UT-128, which is the river road, so fine — ride that too.
ADV and sport-touring — something with suspension manners for the patchy sections.
Moab, both ends. Top off; the loop has nothing.
Gates, weather and closures change — check conditions before you ride. Ride your own ride.
The shop is the trailhead. Text us and we'll tell you when the next ride-out rolls — all machines, all paces, zero judgment about how long it's been.