This is the much vaunted, legendary, near mythological slickrock trail. Though the trail was pioneered by motorcyclists in 1969, the Slickrock has become dominated by mountain bikes. About a 150 million years ago these were all dune fields, but as climates changed and seas advanced and receded the sand dunes and sea beds lithified into the sandstone playground that we see today.
In 1859 an exploring party led by Captain John Macomb passed through this area and deemed it worthless. Later pioneers dubbed the fossilized sand dunes slickrock because their metal rimmed wagon wheels gained no purchase on the rock faces. Quite the opposite situation is enjoyed by mountain bikers as rubber tires provide unending traction.
Arguably the world's most popular trail, The Slickrock draws over 100,000 people every year. And Grand County does more search and rescue here than any place else. Because of this popularity, there has been some slickrock backlash going on in recent years. Some folks claim that the trail is overrated and crowded, both of which may be true. But if you've never ridden Slickrock, I highly recommend it.
Some pics of me can be found here.
