Review Date
April 9, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: ekdj ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Had business to take care of in Farmington, and glad I brought my bike! This trail is great, not too technical and had a little bit of everything. Didn't clean the the section just after the bridge (not so skilled with the trials-riding technique) but had fun and got the loop done in just over an hour. Some sections were really sandy this time of year, and the trail was a little hard to find around the sand-stone "slickrock" sections. Other than that definitely worth riding. No wonder Bike Mag selected it as it's pick for New Mexico. Not a newbie trail, but not real hard for more experienced riders.

Recommended Route:
Counter is the only way

Other recommended trails in the same area:
haven't ridden much else up there, other than Engineer trail network in Durango (way fun).

Review Date
March 23, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: jrkakki ,  Racer

Summary:
Amazing. Great Single Track, very environementally friendly as well. The trail builders didn't take out a single tree when making this trail. Great flowy singletrack. Mixed in with a few tech sections. But the the technical sections are short enough that they are easily hike-able by those who choose not to ride them. Plus you get to ride past a UFO Crash Site. Awesome, go ride it NOW! Incredibly well marked as well.

Recommended Route:
Counterclockwise is the only way.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Road Apple

Review Date
July 10, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: Joseph Sawyer ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
This trail is amazing - it is by far the best trail in the Farmington area and there are both long and short versions depending on how energetic you feel -
the trail has a little of everything except long downhills or long climbs. There are some great slickrock sections, some very technical spurs off the main trail and some very tight hard packed single track -
there are very few sand traps, like so many other trails in the area, particularly the very sandy pinon mesa mess.

Recommended Route:
one way trail - pick the long version if you feel inclined about halfway through the main loop - try the spurs marked with the white paint if you want to challenge yourself.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
none! this one has it all, whatever you do avoid pinion mesa unless you are riding a motorized contraption

Review Date
July 5, 2007

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: June Bug ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Rode this trail the second week of June; hit it after Durango, on the way home to Texas.
This seemed like a fairly mellow trail with technical spots, rather than a totally technical trail, but I agree it could be enjoyed by advanced beginners (with some hike a bike)and a great trail for intermediates. Loved the first part along the canyon rim. Very enjoyable with good flow; takes great advantage of natural rock features, especially in the first section. We finished with smiles on our faces. After we had finished and were loading up, we had the pleasure of meeting the Saiz brothers, two locals who designed and built the trail and are the de facto trail stewards. This is a perfect example of appropriate recreational use on public land, in this case BLM. There is dense oil and gas development in this area of New Mexico, with numerous pipelines, well pads,pumping stations and access roads all over the place, so no potential for the pristine "wilderness experience". At the same time, it is fine canyon and mesa country with good potential for many, more miles of trail. I got the impression that there were 5 or 6 more miles of trail that had not yet been signed. Also please appreciate the fact that this is a DEDICATED mountain bike trail, and not a multi use trail.

Recommended Route:
The initial directions were good; we had a moment of inattention on the gravel road and missed the turnoff on the dirt road. Keep an eye out for a larger installation than the pump jacks and small storage tanks; this one has a chain link fence around it and some buildings; a large tan pipeline comes out of the ground at the turn with K-H loop stencilled on it. At the top of the hill, there is a small brown carsonite post that marks the right turn to the parking area.

From the parking area, head out straight along the rim; don't go left across the sage brush meadow. Staying on the rim gets you started in the correct direction on the loop.

Review Date
August 7, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: texasbiker ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
This one will surely test your tech skills but it's so much fun it makes a 2 hour ride seem like minutes. It's mostly climbing on the first half but if you make it to the top you'll be rewarded with some gnarly downhill sections full of big river rocks and roots. Tall guys, watch out for low tree limbs; they'll leave you with a nice souvenier of your day on the Alien (take my word for it). If you don't carry a spare tube or at least a patch kit, they're a must for this trail as pinch flats are common in the rocky sections. I ran a little higher tire pressure to avoid the snake bite, but you do lose some traction on the sandrock this way. So if you're prepared for a good trail that will dish out all you can take (and sometimes a little bit more) make the trip out to Aztec, you'll be glad you did.

Recommended Route:
One way, counter-clockwise.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Kinsey's Ridge (Road Apple trail)