The Mabeline Trail is a 189 mile backcountry route between Moab and Bluff across the Colorado Plateau of the American South-West. It links some of the most stunning canyons, mesa-tops, ridges, and mountain areas of South-East Utah via a series of established trails, dirt roads, Jeep trails, and little-used backcountry routes. The trail crosses the high desert of the Colorado Plateau in 18 individual stages, the lowest elevation being around 4,000’, with the highest point being over 8,500’. The initial stages overlap several sections of the Hayduke Trail, which runs for 800 miles from Arches National Park to Zion National Park, via The Grand Canyon.

 

The Colorado Plateau refers to a 130,000 square mile area of high desert, centered on the Four-Corners region of South-West US, and straddling four states: Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. It is often referred to as ‘Red-Rock Country’. Its unrivaled beauty is encapsulated by the fact that there are 9 National Parks, and 18 National Monuments within the region; the highest concentration in the entire country, outside of Washington D.C.

 

In addition to the natural wonders of this area, one of the great attractions of this route is the possibility of encountering much of the history of the region along the way: from evidence of the Ancient Ones from many hundreds of years ago; to the routes of the intrepid pioneers of the 19th century; to the hardy cowboys of the early 20th century; and to the modern outdoor enthusiast. 

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This guide provides detailed information on each of the 18 stages, with section descriptions, maps, elevation profiles, potential water sources, caching opportunities, and GPS coordinates of key locations given.

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Click on this link for more information on Trip Planning and please read this section Warning.