18 Best Bike Trails in the U.S. Worthy of a Trip - TimeOut
Best bike trails in the U.S. · 1. Highway One | Big Sur, CA · 2. Canyonlands National Park | UT · 3. Flume Trail | Lake Tahoe, NV · 4. Great ...
dusty canyon trail
This 4.3-mile, expert-level <anchor>dusty canyon trail</anchor> is the stuff of Jeep commercials, with rust-colored canyons and blue sky as the stunning backdrop for advanced bikers. Captain Ahab branches off the popular Amasa Back trail, challenging its contenders with technical slickrock portions and big climbs along the Colorado River that open up into flowing, flatter sections.
Captain Ahab Mountain Bike Trail, Moab, Utah
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# Captain Ahab

DifficultDifficult

 4.7 (162)

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## “Steep, technical, fast and fun. An excellent trail built specifically for mountain biking.  ”

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### 4.2

Miles

### 6.7

KM

Singletrack

### 4,898'   1,493 m

High

### 4,034'   1,230 m

Low

### 326'   99 m

Up

### 981'   299 m

Down

### 6%

Avg Grade
(3°)

### 23%

Max Grade
(13°)

## Toolbox

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### Dogs Leashed

### E-Bikes    Not Allowed  

### Features    -none-  



This trail is a directional downhill trail. Ride up HyMasa Trail or the Amasa Back road to access the top end start.
One Way Only: This is designated as a directional trail.



### Need to Know  

Though only about an 8-mile loop, this is a strenuous trail that may take hours to ride depending on the rider's skill level. Bring plenty of water and look before you leap.

### Description  

This is an outstanding new singletrack along the rim below the iconic Amasa Back 4x4 trail. It's a very well built, thoughtful and challenging trail.

The top end starts with an easy climb that continues from HyMasa Trail. The views of Jackson Hole and Canyonlands are outstanding.

A big rock drop will mark the start of the descent. The upper half of the trail is designed for longer travel bikes and riders who enjoy technical descending. There are plenty of options to avoid most of the larger drops, so you can make it as hard as you want. After the first series of descents and rollouts, Captain Ahab contours a bit with some short punchy climbs and drops.

The lower half of the route drops into tight singletrack nesteled above Kane Creek. This part of the route is fast and exciting with some exposure along the cliff edges. It's has good flow and very little in the way of climbing.

The final stretch of Captain Ahab drops down through a spicy rock garden before rolling out to the Amasa Back / Cliffhanger road.

*Note: If you're looking for a shorter route or want to avoid the more technical upper sections, there is a bypass at 3.3 miles into the HyMasa Trail climb.

### Contacts

### Shared By:

djn Nechrony with improvements
by Kristen Arendt
and 3 others

Full Details

## Trail Ratings

4.7
from
162 votes

### #1

### #3

Show Breakdown

4.7
from
162 votes

5 Star

77%

4 Star

17%

3 Star

4%

2 Star

1%

1 Star

1%

Trail Rankings

### #1

### #1

### #3

424 Views Last Month

65,969 Since May 7, 2013

DifficultDifficult



0%


0%


2%


2%


81%


16%

## Photos

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## 11 Comments

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### Comment Type:

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## Weather

## Current Trail Conditions

 All Clear

39 days ago

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ConditionsSee History



## Conditions History

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## Add Check-In

Date

Mileage

Duration

Notes

Rate QualityRatingRatingRatingRatingRating

Rate Difficulty

EasyEasy
Flat. Few obstacles.

Easy/IntermediateEasy/Intermediate
Some uneven terrain. Mostly flat.

IntermediateIntermediate
Moderately steep. Uneven terrain with small rocks or roots.

Intermediate/DifficultIntermediate/Difficult
Sizable rocks & roots. Steep sections.

DifficultDifficult
Steep. Some technical terrain and limited alternate lines.

Very DifficultVery Difficult
Very steep. Technical terrain with no alternate lines.

Save Check-In

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## Check-Ins

May 12, 2024

Mar 23, 2024

Mar 21, 2024

Show 71 More Check-Ins

Nov 4, 2023

Jun 27, 2023

I only did the lower loop. That was enough! Very technical, had to walk some parts to avoid breaking my rental bike.
2mi

May 20, 2023

14.4mi
—
1h 00m

Apr 15, 2023

Harder than I anticipated
4.2mi

Nov 15, 2022

Picture perfect conditions!

Show 66 More Check-Ins

Oct 9, 2022

Went to Pothole Arch via Hymasa and Pothole and back down Captain Ahab.

Jul 24, 2022

4.2mi

Feb 24, 2022

My favorite trail ever. Seriously fun and techy!!!!

Dec 23, 2021

Lots of punchy climbs - a few pretty sketchy drops but great trail overall and gorgeous views!
9.2mi
—
2h 45m

Dec 18, 2021

Nov 13, 2021

Broken bones:( No Bueno!
10.5mi

Oct 21, 2021

Apr 24, 2021

Fun challenging trail but need to be careful next to drop offs

Mar 27, 2021

Mar 27, 2021

Jan 16, 2021

Had a couple of slick patches of snow in the shade, other than that It was an amazing ride

Nov 14, 2020

Nov 1, 2020

Feb 23, 2020

epic ride as always
—
13h 00m

Nov 13, 2019

Yummmmy..... Lives up to the bikelore! Didn't mind a dismount here and there :)

Sep 27, 2019

Sep 24, 2019

Super awesome!

Sep 7, 2019

May 18, 2019

Apr 7, 2019

Able to ride most of it, but it was challenging. Tested my nerve.

Oct 28, 2018

Oct 26, 2018

With Frenchy, Ryan, and Connor

Oct 14, 2018

Gnar Gnar
8.1mi
—
1h 45m

Sep 15, 2018

dream realized
4.1mi
—
22h 00m

Sep 12, 2018

absolutely amazing. must do again!
12mi

Sep 6, 2018

Amazing weather has arrived
9.2mi

Aug 12, 2018

Aug 1, 2018

Jun 20, 2018

Good for Moab, but hard to ignore that it is a lot of climbing for a couple cool drops and no cool corners. XC trail with lots of drops to flat.

May 2, 2018

Apr 26, 2018

Mar 30, 2018

Hymasa and upper Ahab
9.3mi

Mar 20, 2018

Oct 27, 2017

Sep 30, 2017

May 5, 2017

This is what mountain bikes are built for

Apr 30, 2017

Private User

Apr 3, 2017

Finally got out on CA

Mar 18, 2017

Nov 22, 2016

Nov 18, 2016

Private User

Nov 2, 2016

Oct 20, 2016

Private User

Oct 2, 2016

Oct 1, 2016

Jul 12, 2016

May 6, 2016

Nov 7, 2015

Oct 17, 2015

So fun!!!
4.2mi
—
0h 45m

Aug 14, 2015

Apr 17, 2015

Apr 15, 2015

Apr 9, 2015

Nov 14, 2014

Nov 6, 2014

4.2mi

Oct 25, 2014

Sep 21, 2014

Aug 29, 2014

Hymasa to Captain Ahab as described - amazing trail system
9.2mi

May 24, 2014

Apr 27, 2014

Apr 25, 2014

Mar 15, 2014

Sep 7, 2013

May 18, 2013

Apr 21, 2013

Mar 9, 2013

## Nearby Recommended Routes



## Add Rating

Rate Quality

RatingRatingRatingRatingRating

Clear Rating

Rate Difficulty(optional)

EasyEasy
Flat. Few obstacles.

Easy/IntermediateEasy/Intermediate
Some uneven terrain. Mostly flat.

IntermediateIntermediate
Moderately steep. Uneven terrain with small rocks or roots.

Intermediate/DifficultIntermediate/Difficult
Sizable rocks & roots. Steep sections.

DifficultDifficult
Steep. Some technical terrain and limited alternate lines.

Very DifficultVery Difficult
Very steep. Technical terrain with no alternate lines.

Save Rating



## Rating Details

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## Difficulty ratings

Easy
Flat. Few obstacles.

Easy/Intermediate
Some uneven terrain. Mostly flat.

Intermediate
Moderately steep. Uneven terrain with small rocks or roots.

Intermediate/Difficult
Sizable rocks & roots. Steep sections.

Difficult
Steep. Some technical terrain and limited alternate lines.

Very Difficult
Very steep. Technical terrain with no alternate lines.



## Difficulty Rating

### Average from 125 votes:

DifficultDifficult

### Your Rating

EasyEasy
Flat. Few obstacles.

Easy/IntermediateEasy/Intermediate
Some uneven terrain. Mostly flat.

IntermediateIntermediate
Moderately steep. Uneven terrain with small rocks or roots.

Intermediate/DifficultIntermediate/Difficult
Sizable rocks & roots. Steep sections.

DifficultDifficult
Steep. Some technical terrain and limited alternate lines.

Very DifficultVery Difficult
Very steep. Technical terrain with no alternate lines.



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