One-way Distance: 2.1 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Skill level:
Elevation: 5085 - 5477 feet
Cellphone: 2-5 bars
Time: 45 mins.
Trailhead: North Fruita Desert/18 Road
Fee: none
Attractions: Fun downhill
The Zippity Do Da trail is located in the North Fruita Desert Area, at the end of 18 Road, about 8 miles northwest of Grand Junction. The 18 Road area has over 70 miles of trails counting the 28 mile long Edge Loop that goes up and around the Little Book Cliffs. The various trails can be combined to form routes of about any length. A campground at the upper end of 18 Road has several restrooms and roughly 35 free camping sites that can be had for $10/night while some primitive sites across 18 Road from the North Fruita Desert are free.
Zippity Do Da is a downhill route that begins off of the Frontside trail. It is often done as a loop that begins at the North Fruita Desert trailhead where the Prime Cut trail can be followed up to the Frontside trail to get to the top of Zippity Do Da. The Zippity trail is then followed back to the trailhead to complete the almost 7 mile loop.
Most of the work for the Zippity Do Da trail is in the getting there. From where the trail departs from Frontside there is only a short section of uphill.
The Zippity trail follows the ridge crest of a broken string of hills as it heads south.
Downhill runs like this make it easy to forget all the effort it took to get here.
The run down the ridge is broken up by a rocky outcrop.
After the trail bends around the rocky outcrop it lines up for a section of short but steep uphill climbs.
After the last hump is climbed the trail runs out toward the end of the hogback and makes a dramatic plunge into the valley below.
The trail is briefly interrupted by V 7/10 Road. This road is getting a lot more traffic in recent years so it is a good idea keep that in mind.
After crossing the road the trail makes a moderate climb to reach the top of the hill on the other side.
After cross the top of the hill the trail adds a little more zip to its do da by dropping down to a saddle in the ridge and climbing up the next hill.
The last stretch of the trail turns into an easy roll.
