Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Grand Junction, Colorado

Monument Rocks

Spend some time with the wild horses on this out-and-back trail through LIttle Book Cliffs Wild Horse Area. There will be chance to take photos at some overlooks, and there are a few camping options.…
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Total Miles
25.8
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa

Rattlesnake Arches Jeep Trail

This is a mostly easy two-wheel drive dirt and gravel road. The last few miles do require a high clearance vehicle. This route is an out and back through BLM lands with lots of Pinyon…
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Total Miles
14.7
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa

Rattle Snake Canyon

Fairly easy trail, the majority of the trail is dirt. There is one section of the trail that is gravel but then turns back into dirt. The trail is on the backside of the Colorado…
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Total Miles
10.4
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Sp

Dry Fork

Follow Cocoran Wash for 13 miles and you will reach an overlook with great views into Hunter Canyon. The trail then follows a ridge with many opportunities to walk around and explore hoodoo rock formations.…
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Total Miles
40
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa

Cloud City

Cloud City is a short trail in the North Fruita Desert that can be ridden as part of a bigger day loop with Cicada, Sky Walker, and Sarlacc. It meanders through low grass in a…
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Total Miles
2.8
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa

16 Road, Coal Gulch

Take this trail through a beautiful, winding canyon. Early on, you will have the option to continue straight to an overlook, or take a left and view the end of the extreme 21 Road trail.…
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Total Miles
13.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa

Cicada

Cicada is a short trail in the North Fruita Desert trail system that is mostly fast and scenic. It winds along several ridge lines in a burn area, through sagebrush, and has 4 or 5…
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Total Miles
3.6
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa

Divide Road

This is a 90-mile long, wide-graded road up the middle of the Uncompaghre Plateau from Montrose to (almost) Grand Junction. Go from farmland to expansive areas of forest, then to the desert. This mellow graded…
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Total Miles
85.4
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Sp

Trail 150

Running south to north, this trail starts as a fast single track through barren desert terrain in valleys, washes, and along ridge lines. The first split for 150A is a short steep climb onto a…
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Total Miles
6.6
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

Lane Mine

This is one of the easier trails in the North Fruita Desert that runs parallel to Coal Gulch Road at the bottom of a scenic canyon. It is a fast and flowy single track that…
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Total Miles
1.9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa

Trails 137 and 145

This is a fast dirt single track that goes through valleys and ridge lines on barren rolling hills in desert terrain. It's very easy to follow and has no significant obstacles. This would be a…
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Total Miles
4.7
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa / Su

Trails 135 and 136

This is a fast trail through rolling desert grasslands, along ridge lines, and dips in and out of ravines. The narrow dirt single track dips into a wash and crosses barren prairie terrain. There are…
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Total Miles
6.3
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

Gill Creek Loop 50"

This fun trail on the Uncompaghre Plateau provides east access to a 50" track with some slick rock sections early in the loop. The trail has easy access with a fair amount of traffic so…
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Total Miles
13.6
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Little Dolores Canyon

This trail offers some amazing views of Kings Canyon and the Little Dolores Canyon. Colorado National Monument is in this area, so you'll want to take your time do drive through this as well. It…
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Total Miles
12.3
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa

Divide Cut-off

Divide Cut-off trail is right off Divide Road outside the DIvide Campground in the Uncompaghre Plateau Wilderness. The trail is fast and flowing, with a few climbs and descents. Parts of the trail meander through…
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Total Miles
3.1
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Trail 5

This is a mostly flat dirt ATV trail that is road width, fast, and with lots of whoops. It goes through a scenic valley in Rabbit Valley, Colorado, and can be connected to Trails 4…
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Total Miles
1.8
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

Trail 1

This trail follows a scenic desert wash and is a fast and fun trail for ATVs. Some sections are pure sand, and some are very rocky. A dirt ATV trail parallels the wash at times,…
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Total Miles
2.9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

Trail 4

This is a fast ATV trail that goes through rolling desert grasslands from the trailhead. It is a mix of dirt and loose rock, with lots of whoops and bumps. It rides through a scenic…
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Total Miles
1.5
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

Escalante Canyon

Escalante Canyon is a very nice run from the desert at the Gunnison River to the forest on the Uncompahgre Plateau. This Jeep trail takes you upstream through Escalante Canyon (west side of the loop),…
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Total Miles
57.9
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su / Sp / Fa

Trail 6

This is an easy, fast, fun, and scenic single track in Rabbit Valley that would be great for a new rider learning to ride the single track with minimal consequence. It's a narrow trail on…
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Total Miles
1.3
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

Trail 2

The first .8 of this trail is an ATV track, which is a wide dirt trail that is fast and full of whoops and some small rocks. It crosses a small rocky wash and has…
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Total Miles
2.3
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

Dolores Triangle

The Dolores Triangle is a scenic high desert dirt/jeep trail in Eastern Utah, ranging in elevation from 4,500 feet to 6,500 feet. It features rugged landscapes with pinion and juniper trees, granite rocks, red sandstone…
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Total Miles
35.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa

Overlook Trail Part 1

This is a fun trail on the rim of a canyon ledge in Westwater, Utah with stunning views of the canyon below and surrounded by colorful mesas. The trail is fast and flowy on the…
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Total Miles
3.8
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

North Connector

This is a fast and flowy desert singletrack that connects the staging area for Mel's Loop to the Westwater Trail System. It's mostly ridden as a connector trail, but it's also really fun and has…
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Total Miles
4.3
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

25 Mesa Road

25 Mesa Road is a wide, smooth well-graded road running all the way across Uncompahgre Plateau from Nucla to Delta. We did not find any specific attractions along the route, but it is an enjoyable…
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Total Miles
26.3
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Sp

Rim Rocker

The Rim Rocker is a 160-mile route winding it's way over red rock, through aspen groves, along the edges of sheer cliffs, and across rivers in order to bring travelers from Moab Utah to Montrose…
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Total Miles
158.5
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su

Roubideau Jeep Trail

This is a 12-mile loop trail off Divide Road beginning 30 miles from Montrose. We did this trail by following a fence line up the east leg to join the original Roubideau Jeep Trail. We…
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Total Miles
11.8
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

South Divide

This is a series of well-graded or slightly bumpy roads that will take you from Ridgway to Olathe over the Uncompaghre Plateau. The south part has vast views of open ranchland, the center is in…
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Total Miles
80.1
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Park Creek/Salt Creek Loop

This loop offers an easy to moderate mix of terrain with great vistas, aspen groves, moderate stream crossings, and wildlife. A Colorado state park pass will be needed to enter Vega State Park which gives…
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Total Miles
17.2
Tech Rating
3 Moderate
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Overland Reservoir

A scenic graded road over Grand Mesa between Paonia and Collbran. Easy enough to be done in a passenger car.Overland Reservoir is owned by Overland Ditch and Reservoir Company, founded in 1903 as a mutual…
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Total Miles
58
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Sp / Fa