Round Trip Distance: 4 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Skill level:
Elevation: 4653 - 4742 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: hr. 15 mins.
Trailhead: Agate/Jasper Loops
Fee: none
Attractions: agate and jasper
The Jasper Loop trail is located in the Klondike Bluffs Area north of Moab, Utah. The trail gets its name from the abundance of jasper specimens that are found in several spots along its course. Jasper Loop is just south of the Agate Loop and is connected to it by the Midline trail. For this post we began at the Agate/Jasper trailhead and followed the Midline trail to the Jasper Loop which we rounded by completing first the Jasper West section followed by Jasper East and then returned to the trailhead via the Copper Ridge Road.
To get to the trailhead either drive 23 miles north of Moab or about 9 miles south from Crescent Junction on Highway 191 and turn east at the North Klondike Bluffs sign. Follow the dirt road for about 1 mile to a fork. Stay to the right at the fork and follow the unmarked Copper Ridge Road for about 4 tenths of a mile to the trailhead. The Agate and Jasper Loops trailhead is about halfway between the Chilkoot and Mega Steps trailheads.
From the trailhead it is 0.15 miles along the Agate East trail to the start of the Midline trail.
The Midline trail travels south across Little Valley with the Agate East and West trails on either side.
At the 0.65 mile point the Midline trail crosses the southern end of the Agate Loop and continues on toward Jasper.
The two loops are separated by a small ridge.
The beginning of the Jasper Loop is reached at the 0.92 mile point. For this post we took the right fork and rounded the loop in the counterclockwise direction and upon returning to this spot we exited out to the Copper Ridge Road.
Jasper is an opaque form of Chalcedony that comes in a variety of colors including white, green, red, blue, yellow, orange, gray and black. It is a gemstone that at one time was considered precious. The samples here tend to be small and rounded but well suited for making pendants and beads. There are a variety of colors here and careful hunting may yield some interesting patterns.
One particular outcrop has huge chunks of some blood red rock specimens that look like big pieces of meat.
The trail travels south to the 1.74 mile point where it is met by the newer Jurassic trail and begins its loop back to the north.
Here the Jasper Loop courses along the rim of a hill overlooking the Copper Ridge Road.
The Jasper Loop comes to an end at the 2.75 mile point. The right fork leads over to the Copper Ridge Road which was used for the return route to the trailhead.
