Level: Intermediate
Length: 40 mi (64.4 km)
Surface: Singletrack
Configuration: Network
Elevation: +3,706/3 ft
Total: 475 riders
Mountain Biking 18 Road Trails / North Fruita Desert
#2 of 1,345 mountain bike trails in Colorado
#4 in the world
There are several trails in this network ranging from cruiser to some lung busting sprints. Most trails run up and down the cattle pastures while a couple run along the base of the Book Cliffs. Over all, these are the classics that made Fruita a destination.
First added by david_darling on May 23, 2011. Last updated Jan 7, 2022. → add an update
Before you go
- Drinking water: unknown
- Lift service: unknown
- Night riding: yes
- Pump track: unknown
- Restrooms: unknown
- Fat bike grooming: unknown
- E-bikes allowed: unknown
- Fee required: unknown
This trail information is user-generated. Help improve this information by suggesting a correction.
From Over The Edge Sports in Fruita. Go east on Aspen 2 blocks to Maple. Left on Maple (north) approx. 4 miles to N 3/10 road, go right .5 miles to 18 Rd. Go left onto 18 Rd. approx. 8 miles. The main TH parking is on left.
System trails (14)
- Chutes and Ladders
- Down Uppity
- Edge Loop
- Frontside
- Joe's Ridge
- Kessel Run
- MoJoe
- PBR (Pumps Bumps Rollers)
- Prime Cut
- Sarlacc
- Vegetarian Loop
- Western Zippety
- Zip Off
- Zippety Do Dah
Featured in
- How to Take a Family Mountain Bike Trip
- The 20 Most Tantalizing MTB Trails of 2016, According to Singletracks Readers
- Trail Terrorism on 2 Colorado Trails this Week: 18 Road, Fruita and Hartman Rocks, Gunnison
- Ride Report: Zipping Around at 18 Road, Fruita, Colorado
- News: 18 Road Trails in Fruita, Colorado Go Directional
Ride this network after doing the lunch trails and Kokopelli network and wish I would've changed the order. Of the three networks, this isn't by far the most entry level. The trails marked "moderate" in this system are very generously marked that. If it's your first stop in Fruita and you wanna stretch your legs after a long car ride, goodness's place to stop. If you are camping with the family and want to take the kiddos "Mtn. Biking", great spot. The network has many small loops for the youngsters or you can of course, combine several loops to put in some good cross-country miles. The directional trails seem to be directional more for traffic flow than features, with the exception of PBR. The "must-do" sections, Zippity-doo-dah (cross country with very little climb or decent) Chutes and Ladders (rollers traversing several drainages), and PBR (decent flow trail with small manmade features) all offer a little different ride. If you want more of a challenge with fairly rated trails, head across the freeway to Kokopelli. In either case, be sure to stop in and see the folks at Over the Edge Sports and they'll get you all set up.
| ThankThis trail was a bit underwhelming to me. There's not much tech to speak of other than some steep descents (which take a lot of boring riding to get to). I think if you're a beginner-intermediate this provides a nice challenge. Otherwise, ride the other great trails in the area. 18 road certainly doesn't deserve a top 100. It's also out of the way to get to.
| ThankThis trail is flows and is a lot of fun. I enjoyed this trail as much as Kessels.
| ThankOne more great place to ride in Fruita. Shuttle is a good idea here.
| ThankThis fun trail was probably king in its day. It's still fast and fun, but the berms and rollers are under-sized by today's standards. It is overly beginner friendly.
| ThankThis was my favorite trail at 18 Roads. Fast and fun.
| ThankAlthough this is a great area to ride, I was slightly disappointed, as I expected more based on reviews. I think maybe this was the best thing going before more modern trails were built in the area. Still, I had a blast, as I especially enjoyed Joe's Ridge.
| ThankThis is primarily used as a climb to some fun downhill lines at 18 roads. It's nothing special, but a good way to get to finer things.
| ThankThis is an absolutely awesome ride. I'd advise anyone doing the IMBA epic ride on this app or on MTBproject. Some of the trails have been rerouted or aren't on the map. One major factor to take in consideration is the wind. The first time I rode, this never crossed my mind. The second time I rode it, I had to lean in to the wind to not fall off the trail on some of the narrower sections. Overall, a great trail with a lot of variation throughout the ride.
| ThankFun, flowing trail. Some fun river bed rocks to challenge yourself.
| ThankA great workout. Challenging for those that are afraid of heights.
| ThankSuper fun! A couple of challenging sections for those who are afraid of heights. Love it.
| ThankMy. Favorite. Ever.
| ThankThis is one of those trails to ride and say that you did it. Nothing really great about it... It has long climbs along gas line access roads with little to no shade. Bring plenty of water (2 bottles camelback). After climbing approximately 3600ft to the top, the downhill is a steep loose mess. Once you tip toe down, you have miles of deep sand to ride through on your way out and back to the parking area. The views from mile 14-23 are not bad, but there are plenty of better trails in the area if you are looking for a 30mi ride.
| ThankWe rode it in a loop from the punishing, exposed climb on the west side, but after you get past the Sarlacc hole, there is a lot of forested, flowing single track. It was pretty loose with several different kinds of sand, so have appropriate tires on. Over 1500 feet of descent from the top with almost no brakes though--lots of flow. It's maybe even better starting from the east side--we'll do that next time.
| ThankNot a hard trail, but it is a fast trail! Put the pedal to the metal.
| ThankPretty nice, quick trail.
| ThankCombined this with PBR, very nice.
| ThankThe first trail I did in this area. Very nice!
| ThankLots of trails in this area, lots for all riding levels.
| Thank