Moab Trail Ratings

Moab Trail Ratings

[Home] [My Xterra] [Offroading] [Links] [Xcursions]

There are alot of different trail rating systems out there but since Moab is 4-wheeling Mecca I prefer to use their system. Keep in mind how rated the trail when you look at a difficulty rating, if the trail got a difficult rating by somebody who doesn't do much 4-wheeling then it will probably only compare as a moderate to somebody who does harder trails.

The Moab trail rating system is rated on a 1 to 5 scale in .5 increments, it used to be 1-4 but one trail (Pritchett Canyon) was decided as being worthy of a 5. The rating can also be bumped up by a +, if its a little harder but not enough to warrant a new rating. Many trail rating systems are based off a 1-10 scale, generally you can convert to the Moab rating by dividing the rating in half. There are a few trails that exceed a rating of 5 but you'll only be told where they are by word of mouth and as such I won't tell where they are.

The Moab ratings are as follows:

1 All weather dirt or gravel road. Can be passed in a 2WD car.

1.5 Graded road. Usually passable in a 2WD vehicle but 4WD may be required in poor weather.

2 Unimproved or rarely graded road. 4WD or extra clearance needed at times, with no special driving skills required.

2.5 Road rarely maintained. 4WD, extra clearance, and low gear often needed. A bit of driving experience useful.

3 Road in difficult terrain, rarely maintained or repaired. 4WD, good clearance, and low transfer case gears essential. Some driving skill required.

3.5 Road in difficult terrain, probably maintained only by occasional users. Excellent stock truck or utility vehicle required, with considerable driving skill needed.

3.5+ Not quite a 4 but usually too much for many stock vehicles.

4 Trail in difficult terrain or badly eroded, only repaired enough to get well equipped vehicles through. Modifications for improved off-road performance and top driving skills needed.

4+ Like a 4 but worse. Low gears, large tires and limber suspensions required. Limited-slip or Locking differentials strongly recommended. It's common to have as many as 10 percent of the vehicles to experience catastrophic damage (gears, axles, driveshafts) on these trails.

5 Locking differentials necessary. Winch urgently recommended. If only 10 of the vehicles suffer catastrophic damage you're lucky. Rolling your vehicle on these trails is a very real possibility.

Trail descriptions provided by Red Rock 4 Wheelers.

[Home] [My Xterra] [Offroading] [Links] [Xcursions]