Round Trip Distance: 1.4 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Skill level:
Elevation: 4392 - 4476 feet
Cellphone: 1-4 bars
Time: 45 mins.
Trailhead: Midway
Fee: none
Attractions: Good views of the area
The Topspin trail is located in the Klonzo Mountain Biking Area north of Moab, Utah. The trail forms a loop that begins at Big Joe Bend where it climbs through the boulder strewn hillside to a high point above the surrounding valleys. From there it finds its way to the north side of the mountain before looping around the hill through more boulders until it returns to where the loop began. Topspin also makes connections with the Edge and Roller Coaster trails for alternative starting and jumping off points.
Big Joe Bend is at the southern end of the Midway trail. For this post we parked at the Midway trailhead off of the Willow Springs Road and took the Midway trail from there. At Big Joe Bend we began the loop in the clockwise direction. The choice was purely arbitrary with the only big decision being whether a person would rather ascend or descend through the boulders above BJB.
The trail does enough meandering around to make the climb a more enjoyable event.
Near the top of the hill the trail works its way around the rim.
A natural bridge of rock carries the trail over a wash.
Once on top the trail cuts across the hill heading northwest where it overlooks the Willow Springs Road area.
As the trail turns east it crosses some broken slickrock.
From there it makes a bit of a technical move down to another level that requires some more advanced maneuvering.
Well placed rocks carry the trail over a few difficult spots as it works its way around the mountain.
A little surprise comes up where a large rock, with a nasty tilt, tends to upset one's balance.
At the 0.81 mile point the Edge trail makes a connection via a short spur. This would be a good alternative starting point for the Topspin trail.
The trail turns south and comes to another connector that runs about 30 yards or so down to the Roller Coaster trail.
The Topspin trail spends the rest of its time traversing around the mountain above the Roller Coaster trail and the valley below until it gets back to Big Joe Bend. Most of this section of the trail falls into the intermediate skill level and goes by pretty quick.
There are a few tricky spots no matter which direction you choose to ride but for the most part it is just a big romp around the loop. We rode the Topspin trail after the Houdini, Red Hot, Edge, Hot Dog and Midway trails. From here we rode back up Midway and came down the Roller Coaster trail and then knocked off everything in the Carousel group before calling it a day. As far as the Topspin trail goes it is a little more advanced than some of the other Klonzo trails but not too bad and it was fun enough. If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is grab your bike or 'Take a hike'.