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Sovereign Trail
27 reviews
4.67 of 5
The southern end of the trail (the first part) is a bit sandy, but the payoff beyond is well worth the trouble!
The trail varies between slickrock and dirt (some minor sand spots after the first portion). It drops in and out of several small but steep canyons. The downs rip, and the climbs test your legs and technical skills. The trail ends at Dalton Wells Rd.
Turn around and ride the trail back. This is where it really gets fun. The return is more downhill than up, and while you still have to conquer the canyon climbs, the return is a much higher speed romp!
One shop recommended this trail as a loop using several miles of sandy dirt road (both Willow Springs and Dalton Well) as well as a couple of miles on the highway. If you do it as a loop start at Dalton Well and ride north to south to get the benefit of the downhill.
There is no benefit to the loop option unless you find the trail to be beyond your abilities. As an out and back, the trail rocks! And you don't save any real time making it a loop. I think the distance is greater, and the roads are sandy and not fun to ride.
I strongly recommend the out and back starting from Willow Springs to get the downhill run at the end rather than the beginning.
I guess you could do this as a shuttle too, but again, Why???
I am setting skill level at intermediate, but there are some challenging sections. Other riders might call this an advanced trail.
It is Moab's only full singletrack ride! Check it out!!!
Go North on 191 out of Moab. After passing 313 to Canyonlands begin watching for Willow Springs Rd (a dirt road) on the right. Turn here. The gate will not be locked. Be sure to leave it as you found it.Follow this road for a couple of miles (not sure of distance). Watch for a pumping station on the right. Park on the left. Ride your bike a short distance past the pumping station watching for a dirt road that turns off to the left. Follow this road until it enters a dry-wash. In the wash turn left and follow the single track from there.
Summary: My name is Clif Koontz. Through Ride with Respect, Dale Parriott and other volunteers created the Sovereign Trail System.
It includes the Sovereign Singletrack for two-wheelers and Sovereign ATV Loop for four-wheelers. The singletrack is pretty technical, while the ATV Loop is less so. As other reviews suggest, Willow Spring Road is generally the best starting point for pedal heads. Both Willow and Dalton have sandy wash crossings, so you might have to find a parking spot before reaching them.
In 2008, Ride with Respect completed a trail expansion to create looping opportunities. Naturally, the new sections are loose, but should compact (so long as riders avoid locking their brakes). Pickup the latest RwR map at local bike shops, or order one before your trip at RideWithRespect.org. Proceeds from the map go back to trail maintenance. To provide quality trails, our 501c3 nonprofit relies heavily on personal contributions of time and/or money. But I digress.
Recommended Route: On the new map, you'll notice suggested travel directions. Rugged terrain forced our crew to construct several rather steep sections, which are best ridden downward for the sustainability of the trail (and your legs!). This means riding northward on Saltwash Singletrack, and south back on Sovereign. Several links (numbered 1-6) allow you to create other route options. This loop between Willow Spring and Dalton Well roads is only about ten miles.
For a change of scenery and fewer crowds, check out the other ten miles of trail north of Dalton. The Schwarck Switchback can be used to extend the traditional route from Willow. Terry's Tunnel is perhaps the most challenging section, so we kept its entry points kinda hidden. Garden Mesa tends to have loose rocks, but you could ride six miles of singletrack and possibly not see a soul.
Other recommended trails in the same area: In the high desert, it's key to bring lotsa water (like a gallon, not a quart), and stay precisely on the trail (by a matter of inches, not yards). Non-motorized singletrack exists both north and south of Sovereign (Baby Steps and Moab Brand Trails, courtesy of Trail Mix and Moab Trails Alliance).
If you choose to ride Sovereign, then anticipate encounters of the motorcycle kind. Most of the trail's sweat equity is from moto heads, so please tolerate responsible trail users, regardless of their modality. That means anyone who's legal, reasonably safe, considerate, and sticking to the trail. By all means, educate the ignorant, and report the careless.
Working for RwR, I've learned that 'user groups' share far more interests than they tend to realize. More quality singletrack, both motorized and mechanized, would benefit all recreationists in the long run. For better or worse, Moab's a changin'. So please ride right, and support responsible recreation!
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Summary: Five us rode this trail on 10/02/07. We'd met a guy on South Boundary a few days earlier who told us this was his fav tail at Moab.
It is a super cool trail.
We'd bought one of the little Cheap is Real maps and we got screwed up at the start and missed some of the beginning of the good stuff.
Still it is just a lot of fun!
A little bit of everything.
Quite a bit of slick rock, some fun drops, some bigger drops, some twisty tight stuff. It was a trail when I finished I felt like, "Wow, I want to do that again!"
Three of us took the bail out at Dalton Wells and two back tracked. They said we'd missed some pretty technical stuff at the start.
This trail is not a long ride done as a loop.
Recommended Route: I don't know if it is the "best way" but we started at Willow Springs and rode south to Dalton Wells then back up the road to Willow Springs.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Klondike Bluffs
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Summary: Wonderful trail, great aerobic workout, lots of technical fun. I'd rate this as one of the 5 best trails in the Moab area - not the equal of Slickrock or Porcupine Rim, but really good.
I was surprised to see so many riders on the trail for a Saturday in late October. Given that this is a singletrack and can't support a lot of two way traffic.
This trail was more technical than I had expected. I'd rate several sections as advanced technical. There were a couple spots that even the best rider in our group had to walk up, and several sections that some in our group walked down.
Recommended Route: We rode from the Willow Springs trailhead north for about 6 miles, then rode the same trail back. This was a good way to do it.
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Summary: I've been biking for about 13 years and I love this trail. The last time I rode it I decided it may be my current favorite trail. It's kinda grown on me. It's at least in my all time top 3. The other 2 are probably the Wasatch Crest trail up by Salt Lake City and Amasa Back (with the secret single track spur) right here in Moab.
I ride it as an out and back starting at the south end (willow springs, right?) but at the northend I don't turn around at Dalton Wells. At Dalton Wells the trail keeps going north up a small creek bed. The trail eventually ends up on some nice slick rock thats fun to explore.
But the main Sovereign trail is just a fun turny, twisty, rocky blast. On the way back the slight downhill makes for some nice swoopy turns. Other than one or two brief sections it's not that difficult its just fun.
Recommended Route: see my summary
Other recommended trails in the same area: Amasa Back (including the secret single track spur. But I can't tell you where that is)
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4.67 of 5
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