Open in App
Get this route on your phone instantly.
15.6 miles
Distance
1,127 ft
Climb
-1,120 ft
Descent
1 mile
High Point
7 ft
Altitude change
6,134 ft
Altitude min
6,134 ft
Altitude start
6,142 ft
Altitude end
-27.3%
Grade max
29.6%
Grade min
7 miles
Distance climb
7 miles
Distance down
1 mile
Distance flat
Overview
The Alien Run Super Loop combines the Alien Run and Alien Run Outer Limits trails. It has a fair amount of climbing and descending and provides a multitude of experiences from fun slickrock to swooping singletrack.
The route is best done counter-clockwise to maximize the rolling descent on the north side of the loop.
Description
Start the ride on Alien Run with a nice warmup on dirt tread, swooping in and out of small arroyos just off the edge from the Hart Canyon rim. This eventually transitions to a mixture of slickrock and distinct trail.
After the optional "Black Hole" loop (an area that rolls around the convexities and concavities of the canyon edge), the route transitions again to slick rock with Moab-style paint arrows. Some are faded or missing so a bit of route finding may be needed. Throughout this section, there are lots of opportunities for sessioning.
At an intersection around 2.9 miles, you can turn left and do the 5-mile loop. Continue straight to follow along the rim.
Eventually, the trail leaves the rim and climbs up a canyon through boulders to reach a different elevated rim. This terrain change completely alters the character of the trail.
Around mile 4, the alleged "UFO Crash Site" is off to the left somewhere. Cue the "Close Encounters" soundtrack
At 4.3 miles, you reach the Alien Run Outer Limits intersection. Continue straight here and enjoy new surroundings with very different characteristics.
The beginning of this part of the ride head east and up a hill. The tread is coarse gravel and the grade considerable and much different from the rim riding.
Once over the hilltop, the benefits of a directional trail become apparent. There are no switchbacks on the downhill side... you just plunge down!
From here, the trail meanders north, skirting the edge of John Brown Canyon along high cliffs.
Beyond the canyon, the trail joins a road for about 700 feet. At the top of the hill, bear left and back onto the trail. Signage is pretty good. Watch out for fast-moving vehicles.
Now the trail turns back south, contouring along the base of a low escarpment. After a number of road crossings, the trail rejoins itself and closes the loop.
After rejoining Alien Run, you'll be on the north side of the loop and away from the canyon rim. From here to the end of the ride, the trail is tight singletrack with swooping turns among pinons, with occasional sandy sections.
Detailed Description
Alien Run Super Loop is a 16 mile popular intermediate route located near Aztec New Mexico. This mountain bike primary route can be used one direction and has a hard overall physical rating. This route includes 2 trails. This route climbs 1,127 ft with a max elevation of 6,771 ft then descends -1,120 ft.
Route Supporters
Local Trail Association
Please consider joining or donating to the local riding association to support trail development & maintenance.
Donate to earn trail karma!
Stats
-
Distance16 miles
-
Altitude min6,134 ft
-
Altitude start6,134 ft
-
Altitude end6,142 ft
-
Climb1,127 ft
-
Descent-1,120 ft
-
Grade max-27.3%
-
Grade min29.6%
-
Distance climb7 miles
-
Distance down7 miles
-
Distance flat1 mile
7 Reviews & Comments
We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!
Create a FREE account to view route comments and much more.
close
-
Layers w
- Weather Layers
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- More Layers
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
-
Upgrade to
3D
Trail Conditions
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users activity logs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans activity logs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
- < 2 days
- < 1 week
- < 2 weeks
- < 1 month
- < 6 months
- > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
- Downhill Only
- Downhill Primary
- Both Directions
- Uphill Primary
- Uphill Only
- One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
- Description
- Photos
- Description & Photos
- Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans activity logs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months.
Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades.
Think of this as a heatmap, more activities = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
Radar Time
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Personal Heatmap
▶
Activity Types
all
/
none
▶
Options
2
Date range
month
–
Winter Trails
Warning
A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where users jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
BC Backroad Status
![map legend]()
Service Road Atlas is a free to use, community-driven service for viewing and creating reports on the numerous back-country service roads around B.C. and Alberta.
Slope Aspect
Direction the slope faces
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
Only show trails with no bike usage.
Suggested Layers
Based on selected activity type
Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.
Save
Trail transparency
- Singletrack
Photos
Recent Trail Reports Along Route
| status | trail | date | condition | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb 28, 2026 @ 10:13pm (America/Denver) Feb 28, 2026 | Perfect and dry | |||
Feb 7, 2025 @ 7:50pm Feb 7, 2025 |
- By WillieJacobsz
Trailforks SBP SWW & contributors - #60212 - 436 views
Hit the Trail
Download Route
Save to wishlist, Garmin & download.