Kokopelli
Loops
Ledges above the Colorado, and a river that keeps showing up when you least expect it.
Ten minutes west of Fruita the desert cracks open and the Colorado River runs through the bottom of it. The Kokopelli Loops are stacked along that rim — rocky, exposed, and considerably more opinionated than anything at 18 Road.
If 18 Road is the friend who talks you into one more lap, Kokopelli is the one who asks whether you have really thought this through. It is technical riding on ledges, slickrock and loose desert rock, and it hands out views that stop conversation.
Both systems are within fifteen minutes of the same cup of coffee. That is the part we still find slightly unreasonable.
Rocky, exposed, and considerably more opinionated than anything at 18 Road.
Stacked,
not sorted
The loops hang off one another, so you decide how big a day you are having while you are having it.
Rustler’s Loop leaves straight from the trailhead and asks very little. It is also genuinely lovely, which is not always the same thing.
Mary’s Loop is the spine. From it you can drop to Horsethief Bench, run out to Steve’s, or turn around with your dignity intact.
Link Rustler’s to Mary’s to Horsethief to Steve’s, then out the access road to Moore Fun. Twenty-plus miles and the best full day in the Grand Valley.
The loops
If it is your first time out here, ride Rustler’s before you ride anything else — even if you are certain you are past it. It teaches you what this rock does under a tire, and that is worth knowing before you are doing it above a river.
Our one piece of advice
Two BLM systems, fifteen minutes apart, that could not be less alike.18 Road flows · Kokopelli bites
Get off the
bike for this
There is a point on Mary’s Loop where the trail runs out onto a shelf of rock and the whole canyon opens up beneath you — river, cottonwoods, the Book Cliffs stacked up behind. It is the sort of view people plan a trip around.
Nobody has ever regretted stopping there for ten minutes. Bring a snack and use them.
Kokopelli is exposed country. Sun, wind and very little shade — plan accordingly.
When to ride
Know before you go
Ledges, slickrock and loose stone rather than smooth flow. Ride it a gear easier than you think and let the bike move under you.
Sections of Steve’s and Horsethief run close to a long drop. There is no shame at all in walking a move.
None at the trailhead and almost none on the trail. Two liters minimum, more in summer.
Desert clay takes a rut and keeps it all season. Give it a day after rain.
Download your map in town before you drive out.
Hikers, runners and riders all use these loops. Uphill has right of way, and a hello costs nothing.
Getting there: head west from Fruita toward and follow signs for the Kokopelli trailhead. Roughly ten minutes, paved most of the way, with a large lot at the trailhead.
Make a weekend of it
Ride Kokopelli on Saturday, 18 Road on Sunday, and eat extremely well in between. That is the classic Fruita weekend and we are not ashamed of it.
