Canyonlands Mountain Bike Tour on the White Rim Trail

One of the advantages of a bike trip is the flexibility of the daily itinerary. It can vary widely from one trip to the next based on group desires, Mother Nature, and courtesy for other groups in the area. This typical itinerary illustrates a bike trip through the Island in the Sky District. The White Rim itinerary will vary with the time of season, weather conditions on the trip, and scheduling of campsites.

Day 1: Meet group at Holiday River Expeditions headquarters in Green River, Utah. A two-hour van ride to the head of the Shafer Trail marks the start of the trip. The first day's ride will take the group down the switchbacks of the Shafer trail before cutting back south toward Musselman Arch. The trail continues to wind southward as it follows the meandering course of the Colorado River. Camp on this evening is made at or near Gooseberry Canyon.

Day 2: Our ride will take us over undulating roads past the white, sandstone-capped monoliths of Monument and Twin basins. Then in the afternoon, up to Murphy's Hogback, the first of this trips’ two challenging uphill stretches. After conquering the hill we will set camp for the night.

Day 3: By the morning of this day the trail has turned back north and is following the contours of the Green River. We ride around the labyrinths of Soda Springs Basin and by Candlestick Tower before reaching Potato bottom, where we camp for the night.

Day 4: This morning we will tackle the challenging Hardscrabble incline and visit prehistoric Indian ruins at a lookout point above Fort Bottom. After descending from Hardscrabble Ridge to river bottom, we will follow the Green River to Mineral Canyon. Our vans will meet us for a 2-hour drive back to Green River.

This is a sample itinerary and should not be thought of as the trip you will experience. It is intended to give an idea of what the trip will be like. It could also be exactly what you do. Keep an open mind, be flexible, go with the flow, and enjoy!