The trail starts at the northern end of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. You'll make an initial singletrack climb up some fairly buff switchbacks. At 0.5 mile, the trail reaches a doubletrack with a pipeline on the far side. Find the continuing singletrack trail on your right, just across the pipeline. Now the climb gets a bit more technical, with frequent basalt rocks to negotiate.
At mile 1, the trail reaches the Broken Mesa Rim. It twists through juniper and brush, with more basalt boulders to keep things interesting. At mile 1.6, the downhill begins. The trail twists for 5 miles towards the edge of the cliffs at Washington, first in juniper and rock, then on the mesa-top.
At the edge of the mesa, you'll drop at a 20% grade through the broken lava. It's not as bad as it looks. Nothing too tricky here; just hang your butt back and aim the front tire straight down the trail. You'll be fine.
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I rode the loop from the water tank. Dirt road up is smooth to trail head. The climb up is challenging with small loose rocks and hard to get any momentum up. You are constantly maneuvering large then small rocks in the trail. There are very few open clear parts of the trail. Some parts the trail is just a washed out ditch and you have to ride on the side. Hard to get any rhythm. Take you eyes off the trail for a second could be a disaster. The drop down off the mesa was pretty much walking down. Only a few sections you could ride. Then the power line road ride back to the water tank was a recovery from the tense ride down. Once on this trail is enough for me.
| ThankThis trail is in terrible shape. Worst is the 'plunge' off the mesa. It is now strewn with large boulders and is a slow hike down. Not rideable at all.
| ThankHarsh, brutal, vicious, and well worth a stop for the adventurous rider in search of something different. The initial climb is nothing short of hateful, but it's not too long. The rim top riding is mostly spent dodging the lava rock mine field. The descent has some fast sections, some fun sections and some really loose, treacherous sections. This is not a ride for the faint of heart. The final plummet off the ridge is particularly sketchy.
| Thank