Riding the Loop

The Porcupine Rim trailhead is accessed by driving through the Sand Flats Recreation area near Moab. There is a fee collected at the entrance booth whether you drive in and park, or ride through on your bike. Camping costs more. There are hundreds of campsites along Sand Flats road. Believe it or not, they fill up quickly during the spring and fall riding season.

Once through the entrance station continue on Sand Flats road for about 7 miles to the trailhead. Here you can park for a roundtrip ride of 32 miles. Other options include leaving a second vehicle along the river on Highway 128 and riding the 14 1/2 miles to the river. You can also take advantage of one of the shuttle services leaving you car at the river, or in Moab, and getting a ride up to the trailhead.

I have been on this ride many times, each time doing the full 32 mile roundtrip. I usually camp at Sand Flats, get up with the sun, and hit the trail first thing. There is a newer camping loop, the Juniper loop, just over a mile from the trailhead. If you camp here you are certain to be one of the first on the trail.

Running the Loop

I have run the Porcupine Rim Trail as a loop one time, in July of 2005. I camped at the Juniper loop campground on that occasion and was on the road as soon as I could see, around 0500 a.m. I was the first person on the trail and did not see anyone else till I was on Highway 128 along the river. I ran the loop in a rather slow 6 hours, but by 11 o'clock when I was back at my camp the temperature had reached 90 degrees, the main reason for the slow run. Perhaps next time I'll try leaving earlier and running with a headlamp? If you do it as a run, which is a great way to see Porcupine Rim, plan accordingly for the weather. I carried 4 liters of water, survival items, and plenty of food in my pack. I still needed to resupply water on the way through Moab- it was that hot.

As for maps for this loop, if you are planning to do a bunch of riding in the area, check out the Latitude 40 Degrees Moab East map (there is also Moab West). The Latitude 40 Degrees maps have text describing the trails, elevation profiles, and are waterproof. Otherwise, the Trails Illustrated Moab North map shows all the same topographic details including the trails, is the same scale, and is also waterproof.