Name: Big Mesa
Rating: 4.7

Toolbox

Plan in onX Backcountry

Driving directions
Download GPX File

Know This Trail?

Upload a photo

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Features -none-

Stay on the trail and be aware of preserving biological soil crust! One Way Only: This is designated as a directional trail.

Description

Big Mesa trail is the jewel of the Nile of this ride. Take your time, stop to take pictures, go slower, and LOOK UP! Enjoy the scenery of this incredible ride. Sure, the trail is awesome and real buttery, but take your time and enjoy this one.

The old rebar bridge has been replaced with a wide, easy wooden one.

Contacts

Local Club: Moab Trail Mix

Land Manager: BLM Utah - Moab Field Office

Shared By:

Scotty Chaco Vinas with improvements by Conor Intemann and 2 others

Full Details

Trail Ratings

4.7 from 97 votes

#2

in Navajo Rocks

#25

Overall

4.7 from 97 votes

5 Star		71%
4 Star		25%
3 Star		4%
2 Star		0%
1 Star		0%

Trail Rankings

#2

in Navajo Rocks

#3

in Utah

#25

Overall

58 Views Last Month

8,580 Since Sep 30, 2015

		0%
		2%
		80%
		9%
		9%
		0%

Add a Photo

Photos

Oct 12, 2016 near Moab, UT

Heading westward over the white-colored slickrock on Big Mesa...

Mar 4, 2018 near Moab, UT

Moab riding has epic scenery around every corner.

Oct 12, 2016 near Moab, UT

Aubyn following the lines on Navajo Loop Trail. Spectacular!

May 3, 2021 near Moab, UT

Aubyn crossing the bridge on Navajo Rocks on a gorgeous day!

Jun 1, 2022 near Moab, UT

May 3, 2017 near Moab, UT

3 Comments

Weather

Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 12 days ago

Update Conditions See History

Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Mar 8, 2025

Jay Holsten

Feb 4, 2025

Roylnn Serati

Jul 14, 2024

Carol Wright

May 11, 2024

Casey M

May 3, 2024

Nikki LC

Mar 17, 2024

Jamey Mossengren

Mar 15, 2024

Noli E

Oct 16, 2023

Prosper Wang

Jun 11, 2023

Walter Harris

Jun 6, 2023

Rob Scher

Amazing trail. Difficult in some sections. 3.4mi

Apr 29, 2023

Jason Anderson

Mar 28, 2023

Jay Holsten

A great waty to end a month in Moab!

Oct 28, 2022

Holly Godsey

Lovely ride!

Sep 20, 2022

Matthew Goldatein

May 29, 2022

Bence Tamas

Lots of fun! First desert/slick rock ride. 5.2mi — 1h 44m

Mar 5, 2022

Kim Craft

Dec 16, 2021

Lost Justpastnowhere

Oct 16, 2021

Sue U

Jun 4, 2021

Greta P

May 22, 2021

Sue U

Apr 22, 2021

Michaela Thormod

loop middle earth to big mesa

Mar 19, 2021

Hung Hau

Nov 24, 2020

David Schmid

Nov 23, 2020

Thomas Checkley

Nov 7, 2020

Timothy Howard

2nd and final trail of the day. Exhausted and need to recover, as well as train more in order to do this more successfully next time I'm in Moab — 1h 24m

Oct 31, 2020

Stephanie Striefel

sundown, beautiful light; only walked a couple times; so swoopy and awesome!

Oct 22, 2020

Sue U

One of my favs.

Oct 18, 2020

Wendy Segrest

Love the ride and views

Apr 25, 2020

JK H

Mar 20, 2020

Carla Von Holtum

amazing views!!!

Mar 14, 2020

Moe Norton

3.4mi

Nov 30, 2019

Steven Mullalley

Oct 15, 2019

Patrick Bracken

Oct 11, 2019

Tim McCabe

Jun 22, 2019

Jim Leano

With Becky 3.2mi

May 26, 2019

Sue U

Always love this ride. Cool to do it this way cause the rock looks totally different.

May 25, 2019

Sue U

One of my favs due to the views and rocks.

May 24, 2019

Lauren Faul

Apr 23, 2019

Keith Process

Feb 9, 2019

Tom Dancs

Dec 1, 2018

Tom Dancs

Oct 8, 2018

M C

Oct 7, 2018

Clayton Saltijeral

Sep 9, 2018

Dan Hart

Jun 30, 2018

Marie-Eve Lepine

this trail ROCKS

Jun 6, 2018

Taryn Brooke

May 22, 2018

Gosia Lieske

West 3.4mi — 0h 46m

May 9, 2018

Private User

May 3, 2018

Tom Millhoff

Extremely scenic semi technical with smooth slick rock and tricky ledges excellent ride for winding down last day if you’re tired bring your camera

Apr 21, 2018

Jim Bob Pipes

Loved the Big Mesa trail!

Apr 15, 2018

Mikel Hale

Apr 14, 2018

Jerry Opperman

Apr 10, 2018

Lisa Martinez

Apr 2, 2018

Jay Holsten

A breathtaking ride in the high desert.

Mar 27, 2018

Holly Godsey

Yesterday, Big Chief was my favorite all-time ride. Today, Big Mesa is my favorite! There is so much amazing riding out here!

Nov 23, 2017

Craig Champlin

Nov 6, 2017

Lindsey Stuart

Oct 21, 2017

TresSki Roach

Oct 3, 2017

David Darling

Ramblin>Big Mesa>Big Lonely out n back 18.3mi

Oct 3, 2017

Damon Roth

Jun 20, 2017

Adam Post

8mi — 1h 30m

May 28, 2017

David Edwards

3.3mi

May 26, 2017

ColeG3 Gardner

5.8mi

Apr 29, 2017

Private User

Apr 6, 2017

Gregg Andrick

Mar 31, 2017

UnWise Owl

Amazing terrain

Nov 3, 2016

Jeff Spain

Oct 18, 2016

Ry Zy

Great climb!

Oct 17, 2016

Ry Zy

With Kelli and Tony. Wades first ride

Sep 26, 2016

David Darling

Part of Loop w/ Big Lonely>Chisholm>Mustang>Whirlwind>7-Up>Middle Earth>Big Mesa. 18+ miles

Aug 12, 2016

Jeff Gauvin

Jun 5, 2016

Amy White

Great views, fun trail. 3.3mi

Apr 7, 2016

Carl Fisher

Amazing ride! Beautiful scenery. — 11h 55m

Nov 9, 2015

Ed Pfromer

Wow, what a fun ride! Relatively easy and flowy, perfect for young riders. 3.3mi

Oct 25, 2015

Koye Carlstrom

Oct 24, 2015

Koye Carlstrom

Oct 24, 2015

Hunter Maddox

Sep 10, 2015

Jim McKee

Nearby Recommended Routes

Getaway

7.9 mi 12.7 km • 133' Up 40.51 m Up • 1,023' Down 311.66 m Down

Moab, UT

Bull Run

5.5 mi 8.9 km • 80' Up 24.48 m Up • 719' Down 219.09 m Down

Moab, UT

One of my favorite photos I've taken. What do you think?

Bar-M Loop

7.9 mi 12.8 km • 289' Up 88.1 m Up • 284' Down 86.55 m Down

Moab, UT

Intermediate Brands Loop

7.9 mi 12.7 km • 742' Up 226.25 m Up • 742' Down 226.09 m Down

Moab, UT

Seven Mile Rim Loop

15.6 mi 25.1 km • 1,490' Up 454.1 m Up • 1,490' Down 454.04 m Down

Moab, UT

Rolling down the last few turns into the lower Klonzo parking area.

Klonzo - Lower Loop

3.3 mi 5.3 km • 350' Up 106.56 m Up • 352' Down 107.18 m Down

Moab, UT

Your Rating:
Your Difficulty:
Your Favorites:	Add To-Do · Your List

Big Mesa

“This is a great 3-mile trail in the Navajo Rocks biking area. ”

3.4

5.4

5,395' 1,644 m

5,244' 1,599 m

200' 61 m

303' 92 m

3%

17%

Toolbox

Know This Trail?

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Features -none-

Description

Contacts

Shared By:

Trail Ratings

#2

#25

#2

#3

#25

Photos

3 Comments

Comment Type:

Weather

Current Trail Conditions

Check-Ins

Nearby Recommended Routes

Getaway

Bull Run

Bar-M Loop

Intermediate Brands Loop

Seven Mile Rim Loop

Klonzo - Lower Loop

Join the Community! It's FREE