One-way Distance: 3.1 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 5354 - 5606 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr. 15 mins.
Trailhead: Mineral Bottom Road
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic views
The Big Lonely trail is located in the Navajo Rocks Mountain Bike Area north of Moab, Utah. The 3 mile long trail connects the west end of the Big Mesa trail with the west end of the Coney Island trail. All three trails can be combined to form one big loop that is around 10.4 miles long.
Profile
The Big Lonely trailhead is located off of the Mineral Bottom Road about a half mile from its junction with Highway 313. The west end of the Big Mesa trail is on the opposite side of the road.
The Big Lonely trail is marked with stripes of green wherever there is rock to paint it on. From the parking area the trail heads west crossing patches of dirt and slickrock.
As the trail continues it climbs a large dome of smooth slickrock.
At the top of the slickrock the trail continues west along the ridge with large tracts of Navajo sandstone coupled with more stretches of dirt. At this point the elevation changes are mostly minor.
After reaching the trails furthest point to the west it turns sharply in the opposite direction and travels back across the tops of the bluff. Distant scenic views can be seen from this highpoint.
After turning south toward Highway 313 the trail is once again a mix of slickrock with stretches of sand and dirt.
Another dome of sandstone is crossed where the highway can be seen below.
The trail crosses the highway at the 2.5 mile point where the it is flat and sandy.
The last stretch of the trail is more dirt and slickrock. Here the dirt sections are better packed than many of the earlier spots. This is a new trail and it should only get better with time after more and more riders travel over it.
