The Ribbon has it all. Long slickrock with great views, ledges and edges (don’t cliff out!), and a bonus cave at the end to walk through.
After living for two decades on the Colorado front range, I decided to not blow through Grand Junction for Fruita and Moab, and check out the Lunch Loops. I gotta say, this area is now high up on my favorites list.
I started with The Ribbon, and was a bit nervous because my friend Jon warned me about this trail. It isn’t all that well marked, and takes some sharp turns to avoid 10-30 foot cliffs. Jon has a friend who cliffed out and had to be air-lifted to St Mary’s in Grand Junction (she healed up nicely).
So I took my time.
But wow, it’s such a cool trail. Shortly after leaving the top parking lot you pop out onto an enormous slab of slick rock.
You ride fast for a long time, but you must pay attention as the rock narrows to just a few feet wide.
Then you drop down into a tight set of turns through a feature.
After the feature you again get atop a long slab of slickrock and fly down it to a stream bed.
Near the end of the trail you pass the start of Andy’s Loop, and hike up out of the canyon. But as you ascend, you’ll find a bonus – a cave on the left. Stop to walk into and check it out.
I had parked up on the road, and so I headed back to my car, but if you started below, Andy’s is a great ride.
