Round Trip Distance: 2.5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Skill level:
Elevation: 4679 - 4828 feet
Cellphone: 2-5 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: Moab Brands
Fee: none
Attractions: Loop trail
The Bar B Loop is in the Moab Brands Mountain Biking Area north of Moab, Utah. For the most part the trails in the area are named after various cattle brands within the state of Utah or some other cowboy or western theme like Sidewinder or North 40. The Bar B Loop begins off of the Bar M Loop at the same point as the south end of the Rockin A trail. The west side of the loop courses up and over various hills and ridges and down, through and along the drainages to its southernmost point. The east side of the loop follows a much easier course along an old double track road.
For this post we rode the loop in the counterclockwise direction. We saw about an even split for the direction other riders were taking. It didn't seem to make much difference difficulty wise so it comes out to whether you want the easy part first or last.
Going in this direction the trail begins with a relatively easy climb up to the ridge of the hill.
Once on the ridge there is an intersection where the first of two short spur trails that connect Deadman's Ridge with the Bar B Loop comes up. And look, someone left a Barbie doll and it still has its head. Of course, it is tied to a stake that is surrounded by dry brush.
The trail across the top of the ridge takes a bumpy path as it works its way south.
At the south end of the ridge the trail begins descending. There are a couple of advanced skill level points through here also known as good places to get off and stretch your legs a bit while watching the young and invincible give it a go.
At its southernmost point the Bar B encounters the Long Branch trail and then after popping over the hill the Killer B trail.
From here the rest of the Bar B Loop follows an old double track that begins with a little bit of climbing.
At the top of that hill the trail levels off. Through here the trail is hugging the boundary of Arches National Park. It comes to a junction that begins a hiking only trail that crosses into Arches. This part of Arches is overlooking Courthouse Wash but there is no indication that the trail descends into the wash from here. We will have to come back at some future date and find out.
The last leg of the trail is a pleasurable rest compared to the west side of the loop.
The east side of the loop is also a lot shorter. As it comes to an end the options are to tackle the Rockin A trail or follow one of the branches of the Bar M Loop. Going left on the Bar M leads to Lazy, EZ and the north end of Deadman's Ridge. You can get there quicker though by going straight and then taking the first left you come to. For us, we went straight, took the first left, rode Lazy over to the North 40 and Maverick trails and then finished up the day on the EZ trail. As far as the Bar B Loop goes, if you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is grab your bike or 'Take a hike'.
