Last fall some of our good friends put together a four-day, three nights, vehicle supported trip on the White Rim Trail in Southern Utah. The goal? To bike as much of the 100 mile White Rim Trail as possible with our kids, enjoy backcountry camping in secluded parts of Canyonlands National Park, and have a ton of fun on our bikes. We had no idea what we were getting our family into but we were stoked to find out.

This lengthy trip report is ultimately for those wondering, “Can we even do the White Rim trail with Kids?” Yes! You absolutely can! My kids are begging to do it again. For those, like us, who want to know as much as possible before venturing into the unknown, this will be a good read. But we also encourage you to visit our post, Planning Your White Rim Trail Trip. It has a ton of the details on permits, planning, and preparations.

 

I scoured blogs and trip reports before I went, such as this helpful post by Barefoottheory.com: Mountain Biking the White Rim Trail However, I found very little info on doing it with kids, only the verbal encouragement from my friend Kristen from Brave Ski Mom and her post about doing it with her boys. Well, now there will be more info for anyone else looking to do it with kids!

So buckle up, get ready for tons of info and tons of photos! A special thanks to our trip sponsors for equipping us for this!

What is the White Rim Trail?

The White Rim Trail is a 71 mile (100 if you include the dirt road access to Mineral Bottom), 4×4 road that travels through the vast and rugged landscape of the Island in the Sky region of Canyonlands National Park. The old uranium mining road travels along the Green River, up rocky embankments, and along the White Rim Sandstone formation, giving travelers a unique experience of Utah’s desert southwest.

 

We successfully finagled our crew of 6 adults and 7 kids through all 100 miles of the White Rim Trail. It was a trip for the books! Trip recap coming up this week! PS: No, the kids didn’t bike ALL 100 miles but some did as much as 18 miles a day! Not bad for ages 6-11. . . . . #cycling #cyclinglife #bicycle #velo #cyclingphotos #cycle #cyclingshots #biking #stravacycling #getoutside #getoutstayout #exploremore #theglobewanderer #letsgosomewhere #campvibes #optoutside #earthfocus #rei1440project #slc #utahisrad #saltlakecity #igutah #utahgram #outdoorfamily #mountainbike #moab #travelfamily #optoutside

A post shared by Alyssa | Team Erickson (@alyssakerickson) on Oct 22, 2017 at 2:51pm PDT

Four-wheel drive vehicles and mountain bikes are the most popular form of transportation but we did occasionally see hikers and trail runners as well.

If you want to skip all the reading, scroll to the bottom for a fun video recap of our time on the trail!

The White Rim trail traditionally starts at Shafer Hill, for those looking at the map, that is the eastern end. However, we chose to go the opposite direction due to many suggestions from others who had gone before. I will include the miles and our campsites in the trip report below! Please note all mileages are approximate.

Trip Report / 3 Families (6 adults, 7 kids ages 6-11)

Day 1: Mineral Bottom Rd To Hardscrabble B (17.5 miles)

(Info on the bikes we brought along in caption)

White Rim Day 1: It isn’t an adventure if success is guaranteed. We start our journey on easy dirt road, as we head toward Mineral Bottom. We have almost every type of bike in existence. 😂 Full-suspension, Hard tail, 16”, 20”, 24”, mid-fats, fatties, tag-a-longs…. We are a proverbial circus on wheels, and the stoke is high. For those who are just joining our story, the White Rim Trail is a 100 mile 4×4 trail in Canyonlands National Park. Follow along as I share our 4 day journey with 6 adults and 7 kids ages 6-11. . @canyonlandsnps . . . . #cycling #childrenofthewild #bicycle #velo #desertsouthwest #cyclingphotos #cycle #cyclingshots #biking #stravacycling #adventurefamily #getoutside #getoutstayout #exploremore #theglobewanderer #letsgosomewhere #campvibes #optoutside #earthfocus #rei1440project #liveoutdoors #slc #utahisrad #saltlakecity #igutah #utahgram #adventuretravel #adventuretrip

A post shared by Alyssa | Team Erickson (@alyssakerickson) on Oct 24, 2017 at 7:23am PDT

Today was the easiest day! High stoke, high energy levels, and an overall downhill trend during the bulk of the miles led to a ton of fun. As shared above, we started our riding on the dirt road to Mineral Bottom. At this point you are high on the plateau and the dirt road is well maintained.

After a few miles we arrived at the descent to the river:

Looking down, I was so nervous about sending 7 kids down it, with nothing between them and the cliff side except their little hands and their brakes. But all the kids rocked it. I wrote:

We hit the top of the road to Mineral Bottom and stoke was high! All the kids cheered as they looked over the edge. And the descent was punctuated by their hoots and hollers around the switchbacks.

At the base of the descent, the actual “White Rim Trail Rd” starts and you take a left. (Everything was well signed as of 2017.) The rest of day 1 was very mellow. The start of the White Rim Trail from this direction is mostly flat and scenic as it follows the river. The sandy road was by far the crux of the day and we found that the fat bike had its purpose on this trip. 🙂

The kids biked as many as 18 miles! The road was straight forward, except for a few narrow sections.

We arrived at Hardscrabble B with time to spare. We let the kids play, set up camp, enjoy an amazing dinner by camp chef Iris, and watch the sun paint pink and orange in the skies above the steep canyon walls.

Day 2: Hardscrabble to Murphy’s Hogback (27.3 miles)

Oh, wow friends. We woke up to the most beautiful landscape. I sat and just drew the scene before me with a hot cup of coffee sitting next to me. I’ll never forget it. But we knew that we had a hard climb straight out of camp, so we expedited the packing and hit the road early.

White Rim Night 1: There is no other way to fully experience @canyonlandsnps than to immerse yourself deep it its canyons, under its stars, covered in its dirt. PC: Chuck Konopa . . . . . #getoutside #getoutstayout #exploremore #theglobewanderer #letsgosomewhere #campvibes #optoutside #earthfocus #rei1440project #liveoutdoors #travelstoke #skyporn #sunsetsniper #skylovers #sunrise_and_sunsets #sunsets #sunset_hub #sunsetlovers #instasunsets #all_sunsets #sunsethunter #slc #utahisrad #saltlakecity #igutah #utahgram #ourpubliclands #landscape #letscamp

A post shared by Alyssa | Team Erickson (@alyssakerickson) on Oct 25, 2017 at 7:18am PDT

What we didn’t know:

1. The climbing would continue all day. (I guess we did know this, but it was harder than expected.)
2. The road was about to get much rougher.
3. Which meant the trucks were now the slow ones…
4. Yes. Even the kid’s on bikes were faster than the trucks for much for the first 5 miles out of Hardscrabble towards Murphy’s Hogback. I was terrified to drive the truck up 2′ rocks, steep drops, and shelf roads that were equal in width to the truck. So I tackled the miles by bike. Abs biked with me, rocking the hard climbing (900 vertical feet in the first 4 miles.)
5. Bring your tools. All the bumpy roads might/will loosen nuts and bolts on your bike rack. Bike down!

It was amazing how stressful the driving was at this point. Now you all should know we aren’t 4×4 drivers by trade. We can hold our own on rough roads, but we don’t go four-wheeling for fun. The trucks were support vehicles for the 4-day journey. So we were all a little stressed by the driving on day two. And we kept running into people saying it only would get worse! (IMO it didn’t. Murphy’s Hogback, the next big climb, was just fine.)

After tackling the hard road, we stopped for lunch at Holman’s Slot Canyon. I’d say this is a must-do. It is right off the road to the south, super accessible and a fun change of scenery from the saddle. Since you drop into the slot canyon, just make sure you feel comfortable enough that you can get back up!

After lunch the winds picked up considerably. All the kids were toast and jumped in the trucks. The support vehicles are what makes this possible with kids and more than possible with kids of any ages! Whenever they are tired, they simply jump in the sag wagon. 🙂 We worked hard all afternoon to make up miles, tackling the infamous climb (over 1000′) to camp on the top of Murphy’s Hogback.

 

We arrived right at dusk, leaving the cooking and camp set up to happen in the dark.

Day 3: Murphy’s Hogback to Airport A (27.9 miles)

Rise and Shine! After a long night of wind and more wind, we awoke early, hoping to hit the road faster and arrive at camp before dark this time! One thing we learned: the crux of the trip is camp management. The miles were slower than expected, especially on day 2. So our camp set up and break down skills were put to the test. How fast could we set up and start dinner before dark? How quick could we break down, load trucks, and get on the road in the morning? It was not leisurely in this way. We did not have hours at camp just chillin’. (I imagine it might be different in the spring when daylight hours are longer.)

Unlike day 2, day 3 was mostly downhill, with a steep descent right away off of Murphy’s Hogback. While we’d been warned it is rough in terms of driving, we found it to be rather straightforward! Today the kid’s biked a ton again and even the mom’s got out for some solo miles on the trail!

We made much better time, bolstered by relatively smooth 4×4 roads and flat or slightly downhill miles for most the way! We got to camp with time to spare and were even able to celebrate a special birthday!

 

Day 4: Final Day, Airport to Shafer Overlook (19.7 miles)

Today, Shafer Hill stood like a huge parentheses at the end of the trip. Reports are it is epic, whether biking or driving. And while I hoped to enjoy the last miles on the road, I found my mind constantly wandering to the unknown of the final climb out. (SPOILER ALERT: It is really no big deal! At least by car. By bike it is a great workout.)

But first, we made our way to Musselman Arch for lunch. A worthy stop.

Fast forward fun and flat miles to Shafer Hill. I wrote:

I gulped when I looked up at the seemingly endless cliff side. Some one decided to put a road up that?! I couldn’t see how were we going to get back on top of the plateau. But I put the truck into gear and started up the road.

Two of the dad’s decided to tackle it by bike, but we knew the kids weren’t a match for the climb. All of us piled in the trucks for the last miles. The road was very well maintained and smooth, with wide areas frequently for passing. In our Ford F150 we could make every switch back without having to make it into a 2 or 3 point turn. I imagine this depends on your vehicle.

In the end, I wondered why I had been so stressed! The drive up Shafer was totally fine, we even saw a mountain goat! (See video)

We all convened at the top of Shafer Overlook and headed to the nearby Island and the Sky Visitor’s Center to grab some much-needed souvenirs!

 

If you are still reading this… feel free to add your own experiences or questions in the comments section! Happy Adventuring friends!