Must do St George trail rides..

[Josie7]

Hey all,
I will be rolling through in a couple weeks and probably have 2 days to ride. Looking to have the most fun possible on a trail bike, what are your suggestions??

Thanks in advance..

[k2rider1964]

Well, I'd personally drive 30 minutes east and ride the JEM Trail and Guacamole or maybe even a little further and ride Little Creek Mesa (my favorite) or Gooseberry Mesa (an IMBA Classic). If you must stay in StG, I'd say Church Rocks is my favorite loop and definitely teh go-to riding spot if it's wet outside....

[Josie7]

thanks.. we are definitely looking for the best rides in the area, not just st george, don't mind driving a bit..

Also, any suggestions for a place to camp?

[Pedalfaraway]

Lots of good posts in there about rides and camping.

[Live2rideUtah]

2nd on hitting Gooseberry, should be good weather as we have not seen much snow. Go visit utahmountainbiking.com for a full list of trails to hit and gps routes etc.

[bluejudad]

If you only have two days... do the Mesas (in the Hurricane/Virgin area), since they are extraordinarily unique. They are Goose, Guacamole and Little Creek. You'd likely need a guide for Little Creek and it gets snowed in earlier. Guac could use a guide to hit all the good parts and Goose is well marked. Check in with Over The Edge Sports in Hurricane for details and updates. I agree with Pedalfaraway... check out the St. George area trip planner. By the way... if you tire of the Mesas, Prospector/Church Rocks trail and Jem will provide you with plenty of flow.

[Hurkinite]

Definitely get in touch with Over The Edge. They almost always do a group ride on Saturday morning at Goose, Little Creek or Guacamole.

[STT GUY]

If I had two days I would ride Gooseberry Mesa on day one. It's so well marked Stevie Wonder did it by himself......or was that Ray Charles....I always forget.

Second day I would ride the Hurricane Cliffs system loop (JEM/Goulds/Hurricane Rim) OR the Barrel Roll, Sidewinder and Rim System combo in Santa Clara. FWIW, its closer to where you're staying and its a fantastic trail system that is also pretty easy to navigate.

[Boyonadyke]

If I had two days I would ride Gooseberry Mesa on day one. It's so well marked Stevie Wonder did it by himself......or was that Ray Charles....I always forget.

Second day I would ride the Hurricane Cliffs system loop (JEM/Goulds/Hurricane Rim) OR the Barrel Roll, Sidewinder and Rim System combo in Santa Clara. FWIW, its closer to where you're staying and its a fantastic trail system that is also pretty easy to navigate.

What he said. /\ Barrel Roll, Church Rocks and JEM for the senior folks, and if you want more chunk Gooseberry, Guac and Little Creek.

[STT GUY]

What he said. /\ Barrel Roll, Church Rocks and JEM for the senior folks, and if you want more chunk Gooseberry, Guac and Little Creek.

My selections were made based on mixing the types of trail experince up a bit......not on age of the riders.

Guacamole is called "Gooseberry light" by us locals. Go there if you dont have time to go to Goose or are here for many days but if I was from out of town on my first trip to the area I wouldn't go to Goose and Guac on a two day trip, its duplication.

Little Creek is great, but its (very) poorly marked and if you're riding it without a guide or competent local you're 100% guranteed to waste time navigating and likely to get lost a time or two. Conversely, Gooseberry is extremely well marked and very easy to navigate. An additional bonus is the Gooseberry system is set up so there are multiple bail out points via the White Road, something one cannot do on Little Creek, especially a novice to the area. Little Creek is not a trail system to ride if you're limited for time or daylight.

Nothing on Guacamole, Goose and Little Creek really offers an extended experience of our our fast and flowy SW Utah single track. The Hurricane Cliffs system is an IMBA Epic and the Barrel Roll/Sidewinder/Rim system offers one the option to do rides of varying lengths from a single trail head. Do Barrel Roll, Sidewinder and still want some more....hit the Rim System. Lastly Santa Clara can be many degrees warmer do to its lower elevation which might be helpful at times.

[Josie7]

Thanks for the advice, keep it coming.

I can assure you that we are good mtn bikers and good at reading a map. Is there a map of the area that is preferred? We like to spend our money at the local shops and contribute to making mtn biking a tourism sport.. any decent cheap hotels?

[rhale]

no good maps that I'm aware of except the GPS files on utahmountainbike.com

BTW, my son and I rode barrel roll yesterday and it was excellent as always. he's just started riding and had to hike a bike through the tech stuff. my advice coming from living in the midwest and not being exposed to the amount of rock/altitude is play the first day somewhat safe and hit the santa clara area as was mentioned by STTguy, then the next day if you want a step up head towards Goose (weather permitting)

Lastly, Have a good time! Even riding Bear Claw Poppy is a great ride and something different than what your use to, so pack yer bags and have an adventure!

[shelbster15]

Thanks for the advice, keep it coming.

I can assure you that we are good mtn bikers and good at reading a map. Is there a map of the area that is preferred? We like to spend our money at the local shops and contribute to making mtn biking a tourism sport.. any decent cheap hotels?

All bike shops have a good map that will help you out. Also check out The Skid Map before hand and it will get your bearings straight.

[Josie7]

no good maps that I'm aware of except the GPS files on utahmountainbike.com

BTW, my son and I rode barrel roll yesterday and it was excellent as always. he's just started riding and had to hike a bike through the tech stuff. my advice coming from living in the midwest and not being exposed to the amount of rock/altitude is play the first day somewhat safe and hit the santa clara area as was mentioned by STTguy, then the next day if you want a step up head towards Goose (weather permitting)

Lastly, Have a good time! Even riding Bear Claw Poppy is a great ride and something different than what your use to, so pack yer bags and have an adventure!

we are from the high country of colorado, we experience all the altitude and rock every day.. no worries about that. no safe playing for us, we only have 2 days..

[shiggy]

we are from the high country of colorado, we experience all the altitude and rock every day.. no worries about that. no safe playing for us, we only have 2 days..

I would ride Gooseberry one day.
The Hurricane Rim loop (Goulds, Jem, Hurricane rim) or Zen the other day.

I need to get back down there...

[STT GUY]

no good maps that I'm aware of except the GPS files on utahmountainbike.com

Those GPS files for Little Creek are inaccurate in several areas.....don't rely on them. We're trying to get them updated. Little Creek is best experienced with someone who knows the trail system or dedicate a full day (this time of year) to riding it.

[STT GUY]

I would ride Gooseberry one day.
The Hurricane Rim loop (Goulds, Jem, Hurricane rim) or Zen the other day.

I need to get back down there...

Well what are you waiting for.....come on down!!!

[shiggy]

Well what are you waiting for.....come on down!!!

$$$ have a job for me?

[foxone]

I think you can ride Gooseberry Mesa and JEM on the same day.
My ride at Gooseberry was 15mi long, JEM loop is around 20.

Like this you can go ride Barrel Roll and the other St George trails the other day.

[shiggy]

I think you can ride Gooseberry Mesa and JEM on the same day.
My ride at Gooseberry was 15mi long, JEM loop is around 20.

Like this you can go ride Barrel Roll and the other St George trails the other day.

You can do more than 15 miles on Gooseberry, and if you try to do it and the whole JEM/Hurkin Rim loop in the same day I think you would be doing yourself a disservice by not taking the time to enjoy your surrounding.

[foxone]

You can do more than 15 miles on Gooseberry, and if you try to do it and the whole JEM/Hurkin Rim loop in the same day I think you would be doing yourself a disservice by not taking the time to enjoy your surrounding.

Ok then I'll have to go back explore Gooseberry a little more

[nickz5]

How is the weather in the area mid November? Looking to ride somewhere in Utah late this year but don't know where would be snow affected.

[Jeffbucc]

My new favorite loop is base of Bear Claw Poppy turn left at Stucki Springs then Rattlesnake Alley/Race Course/Barrel Trail/then huck it down Bear Claw Poppy. Fun 20ish miles and you get to see most of Santa Clara area minus Zen Trail.

[Josie7]

I really like the Barrel Trail (not the barrel roll).

Had a blast riding there, but did not get to explore as much as I wanted as the weather wasn't great.

Got to ride the dead horse loop outside of Vegas and Bootleg... good times..

[CortneyJay]

If you need a quick ride to fit in between some of the other 'iconic' ones (...Gooseberry...) then I might recommend Bear Poppy for something a little different. It's relatively tame, but will still put a grin on your face. If you don't shuttle you'll spend half of your time on the pavement though... It's not too bad to do though.