St. George/Hurricane Trip Planner

[shelbster15]

Let's get with the program here people. There is a need for a sticky thread with good detailed info on planning a trip to SW Utah. Every week there is a new thread about what to ride, when to ride, what to expect and where to eat/sleep. With some help I'd like to get one together that will help declutter the Utah board with more important stuff like the Humdinger endurance Race. Of course my opinion might not be like everybody elses but some feed back from everybody would be a great idea so I can edit this down to a few solid posts.

First order of business is there is a website that is a huge chunk of detailed info that can be extremely helpful in planning a trip out here and it is http://utahmountainbiking.com There are pictues, descriptions, gps files, and maps to help pick and choose what to ride. Even better is to stop by the local bike shops and get maps and ask around

Hurricane Area:
Over the Edge
http://otesports.com/shops/hurricane/

Springdale/Zion Area(grafton):
Zion Cycles
http://zioncycles.com/

St. George Area:
Red Rock bicycles
http://redrockbicycle.com/
Bikes Unlimited:
http://www.bicyclesunlimited.com/

After hours there are some bike essential (tubes, patches, etc) vending machines. one even at the chevron below Gooseberry
http://24hrbikeshop.com/NV_ID_UT_CO_Locations.html


Local Guides and Biking Services:

Utah Mountain biking adventures


Mountain bike buddies


1. First question that is asked the most is "what to ride."
The trails in this Corner of the state can be broken down into two different areas, Hurricane riding and St. George riding. For the most part the two towns can be as close as 20 minutes to around and hour to get from one town to another depending on where you are coming from. So I would plan trails down to riding in one area at a time. Ride Hurricane for a day or two and then ride STG and vise versa. The Trails I would suggest are in my mind how I would do it. Not counting beginner or advanced in this list but more as an all around most riders best choice options.

Hurricane area:

-Gooseberry mesa: Technical Slickrock riding and is a must do.

-Little Creek Mesa: More great slickrock riding but tough to navigate and not well marked yet so not for people that can get turned around easily.

-Jem/Hurricane Rim/Goulds loop: Can be broken into shorter parts/loops or done as a large loop but is great and is mostly buff singletrack

-Guacamole: Similar to Gooseberry riding but a mini/shorter version of it.

-Grafton Mesa: Technical Chunky Singletrack. Appeals more to the all mountain/DH bike type of riding. Best done shuttled

-Babylon/Little Purgatory: The trail is actually in Leeds but is in between the 2 towns. Technical singltrack with some climbing and some good descending. Not for beginners


St. George Riding.

-Zen Trail: Technical Singletrack with a good amount of climbing and descending. More for intermediate and advanced riders. Must do trail. loop

-Barrel Ride: right next door to Zen and is very similar riding. More technical but does have several jumps/drops, most have alt lines/ride arounds. loop

-Green valley loop/Bear claw Poppy/Stucki Springs: Classic mountain bike trail that can be done several different ways from. All different riders from beginner to advanced. 99% dirt singletrack with short ups and downs similar to a rollercoaster.

-Icehouse/Broken Mesa: Longer loop options or shuttled. Technical singletrack from buff to chunky and technical. Mostly gradual climb and descent but has a steep final descent off mesa that would be difficult for begenners. Like Jem trail but with more vertical feet lost.

-Santa Clara river Preserve Trails:
Barrel Roll, Sidewinder, Rim rocks, Anazasi trail: Great XC style singletrack. Lots of loop options. All levels of riding. Trail is dirt/rock

-Church rocks/Prospector trail/Dino cliffs: Moab style riding on Red slickrock and singletrack. Great for all riders. short and longer loops. XC and technical riding.

-Paradise Canyon/turtle wall/chuckawalla: More Moab style Red rock riding. Mostly singletrack but does have small areas of slickrock and technical riding. Great for all levels and in town riding. Has some advanced/short drops in areas.




Here is more info for the Hurricane/Springdale area: (Thanks STT Guy)

Dining Options

Zion National Park

The Zion Park Lodge ($$-$$$) Breakfast, Lunch Dinner – Good food and reasonable prices. Located in the heart of Zion Canyon..We recommend lunch on the deck….the veiws are spectacular. Between April 1 and Oct 15 you will have to ride the Zion Park Shuttle to get to the lodge, it’s easy and it’s free.

Springdale

Oscars ($$). – (our personal favorite!) Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner - Eclectic Mexican inspired dishes and the absolute BEST burgers and sandwiches in the area. The Mahi-Mahi fish tacos are my personal favorite and the ribs are excellent. Plenty of vegetarian options as well.

Flying Monkey Pizza and Pasta ($$) open at 11AM every day - Great Pizza and pasta dishes. Good selection of appetizers and sandwiches.

Pizza Noodle ($$1/2) open at 4pm daily – Excellent pizza, pasta dishes and good grinders.

Wildcat Willies ($$$) Steaks, chicken and American fare. Excellent ribs and steaks. Full liquor bar.

Whip-tail Grill ($$) Small café with varying eclectic menu items. Vegitarian options.

Jacks ($$) sports bar and pub but great food as well. State Liquor Store is adjacent.

The Switchback ($$$ - $$$$) steaks, chops, seafood. Classic American fare.

Spotted Dog ($$$) Rather eclectic menu selection prepared and presented a bit upscale.

Parallel 88 ($$$$) Excellent local chef creates some very tasty dishes. Good wine list as well.

Bit and Spur ($$$) Local watering hole bar as well as good Mexican influenced fare. Full liquor bar.

Hurricane

Main Street Café ($$) – Breakfast and Lunch Only– Great breakfast and lunch and a local favorite.

Ted and Allens ($$) Lunch and Dinner – Sports pub atmosphere with good sandwiches and a variety of menu choices including salads and daily specials.

Durangos Mexican ($$) Lunch and Dinner – Yummy mexican food served fast. Great value and good for to-go dishes as well.

Papa Murphy’s Pizza ($) – They make it, you take it home and bake it. Hard to beat this pizza value.

Little Caesars ($) - Pizza-Pizza J


Groceries & Supplies

Farmers Market & Gas Station in La Verkin, is a nice full service grocery store with a good selection of meats and fresh vegetables - Take State Route 9 right into LaVerkin and the Farmers Market is on the SW corner..


Sporting Goods


Ace Hardware and Sporting Goods – Located in Hurricane, these are good folks and have a great selection and very fair prices. Fishing licenses can be purchased here as can tackle, shooting supplies, camping supplies, etc..


Gas & Diesel

Farmers Market – is the closest. Gas is also available is Springdale but is 30 to 40 cents more per gallon.


Area Attractions & national parks..


Zion National Park – Turn right out of our driveway and then left on State Route 9…in 16 miles you’re there!

Grand Canyon North Rim – Turn right on State Route 9. Follow SR 9 back into Hurricane and take a left on State Route 89 and follow the signs to 89A and the North Rim.

Bryce Canyon national Park – Take SR9 right to the Chevron. Go right at the light and follow the road back out to I-15. Take I-15 North through Cedar City and follow the signs to Bryce Canyon National Park.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park – Beautiful sand dunes created from red Navajo sandstone. Ask us for directions.

Snow Canyon State Park – Area of beautiful white rock formations and home of many movie sets. Several good areas for novice rock climbers with pre-bolted routes. Also a paved bike path that extends for several miles.

Sand Hollow Lake and State Park – Nice fishing lake (bluegill and bass) and a large OHV area accessing the sand dunes. If you are an ATV’er this is your kind of park. Miles and miles of sand dunes and slickrock areas provide hours of enjoyment.

Fishing

Quail Hollow Reservoir – Good trout fishing and it is accessible from shore. Kolob Reservoir – Trophy trout lake… they’re kinda’ picky!!
Sand Hollow – Crappie, Bluegill and Small Mouth bass

Fishing licenses can be purchased at ACE Hardware on SR 9 in Hurricane. Hours” M-Sat 8AM – 8PM







This is a good start for now

[michaelsnead]

Hey shelbster15,

Thanks for posting those resources and suggested rides. They certainly fit my experience during the two biking vacations we’ve enjoyed in St. George. Even after those two wonderful weeks there are rides on your list that I want to do when I go back.

I would add one additional local resource that added to our enjoyment. We had a wonderful time using the services of Mark Erickson at Mountain Bike Buddies

http://www.mountainbikebuddies.com/

Mark’s extensive local knowledge of the trails saved us time and effort. He made sure my wife didn’t get on a trail that was over her head and maximized our fun every day we rode with him.

I highly recommend him and his service!

Thanks again,

Michael

[STT GUY]

Let's get with the program here people. There is a need for a sticky thread with good detailed info on planning a trip to SW Utah. Every week there is a new thread about what to ride, when to ride, what to expect and where to eat/sleep. With some help I'd like to get one together that will help declutter the Utah board with more important stuff like the Humdinger endurance Race. Of course my opinion might not be like everybody elses but some feed back from everybody would be a great idea so I can edit this down to a few solid posts.

First order of business is there is a website that is a huge chunk of detailed info that can be extremely helpful in planning a trip out here and it is http://utahmountainbiking.com There are pictues, descriptions, gps files, and maps to help pick and choose what to ride. Even better is to stop by the local bike shops and get maps and ask around

Hurricane Area:
Over the Edge
http://otesports.com/shops/hurricane/

Springdale/Zion Area(grafton):
Zion Cycles
http://zioncycles.com/

St. George Area:
Red Rock bicycles
http://redrockbicycle.com/
Bikes Unlimited:
http://www.bicyclesunlimited.com/

1. First question that is asked the most is "what to ride."
The trails in this Corner of the state can be broken down into two different areas, Hurricane riding and St. George riding. For the most part the two towns can be as close as 20 minutes to around and hour to get from one town to another depending on where you are coming from. So I would plan trails down to riding in one area at a time. Ride Hurricane for a day or two and then ride STG and vise versa. The Trails I would suggest are in my mind how I would do it. Not counting beginner or advanced in this list but more as an all around most riders best choice options.

Hurricane area:

-Gooseberry mesa: Technical Slickrock riding and is a must do.

-Little Creek Mesa: More great slickrock riding but tough to navigate and not well marked yet so not for people that can get turned around easily.

-Jem/Hurricane Riml/Goulds loop: Can be broken into shorter parts/loops or done as a large loop but is great and is mostly buff singletrack

-Guacamole: Similar to Gooseberry riding but a mini/shorter version of it.

-Grafton Mesa: Technical Chunky Singletrack. Appeals more to the all mountain/DH bike type of riding. Best done shuttled

-Babylon/Little Purgatory: The trail is actually in Leeds but is in between the 2 towns. Technical singltrack with some climbing and some good descending. Not for beginners


St. George Riding.

-Zen Trail: Technical Singletrack with a good amount of climbing and descending. More for intermediate and advanced riders. Must do trail. loop

-Barrel Ride: right next door to Zen and is very similar riding. More technical but does have several jumps/drops, most have alt lines/ride arounds. loop

-Green valley loop/Bear claw Poppy/Stucki Springs: Classic mountain bike trail that can be done several different ways from. All different riders from beginner to advanced. 99% dirt singletrack with short ups and downs similar to a rollercoaster.

-Icehouse/Broken Mesa: Longer loop options or shuttled. Technical singletrack from buff to chunky and technical. Mostly gradual climb and descent but has a steep final descent off mesa that would be difficult for begenners. Like Jem trail but with more vertical feet lost.

-Santa Clara river Preserve Trails:
Barrel Roll, Sidewinder, Rim rocks, Anazasi trail: Great XC style singletrack. Lots of loop options. All levels of riding. Trail is dirt/rock

-Church rocks/Prospector trail/Dino cliffs: Moab style riding on Red slickrock and singletrack. Great for all riders. short and longer loops. XC and technical riding.

-Paradise Canyon/turtle wall/chuckawalla: More Moab style Red rock riding. Mostly singletrack but does have small areas of slickrock and technical riding. Great for all levels and in town riding. Has some advanced/short drops in areas.

This is a good start for now

Hurricane RIM not Hurricane Canal. The canal trail is a non-motorized hiking trail that drops down to the virgin river.

Prospector and Church Rocks...... it's "Old Faithful" when it's wet out.

Might also waht to putr some stuff up about what is good when it's wet and what's not. Our trails took an absolute beating this winter between cows and riders who were not aware of where to and where not to ride.... and a few who just didn't GAF.

[SlowerThenSnot]

Thanks S!

[shelbster15]

Good eye. fixed it. I'm far from perfect. Chime in also with camping advise and restaurants or what not.

[STT GUY]

Good eye. fixed it. I'm far from perfect. Chime in also with camping advise and restaurants or what not.

Shoot me your email address via PM and I'll shoot you what we give to our guests... Covers Hurricane, Springdale and Zions.

[SlowerThenSnot]

Shoot me your email address via PM and I'll shoot you what we give to our guests... Covers Hurricane, Springdale and Zions.

SST you just had too

Zions

[ilovemtnbiking]

Shelbster,

Can you put on the sticky that there is a Bike Box (trail maps, tubes, lube etc) at the Chevron gas station on your left just before the Gooseberry dirt road turn off?
http://24hrbikeshop.com/NV_ID_UT_CO_Locations.html

thanks

[k2rider1964]

I like knowing where the Zions are just in case I need some quick cash

[STT GUY]

I like knowing where the Zions are just in case I need some quick cash

I did that to see how long you guys whould take to pounce on me. Thank you for not disappointing...

[Boyonadyke]

Mods, can we make this a sticky, please?

[CdaleTony]

Mods, can we make this a sticky, please?

Sure thing!
Sounds awesome out there! My neighbor will be retiring out there across the highway from St George. He has had the land for over 20 years, good foresight!
CDT

[k2rider1964]

If I wasn't married, I'd buy a place out in Hurricane right now. I'd use it as a rental for a few years and then move out there myself when I retire. My wife has never been to the area other than driving thru on the way to Lake Powell. As of now, we plan on retiring in SW Colorado outside of Durango. 7-12 years to go depending on how long she wants to keep working full time, I'm done in 3 years, 6 months and 24 days!!

[essjss]

Any updates on lodging?

I have gotten no response from the few VRBO listings in Hurricane. I can't tell if staying in St George is too far from Gooseberry or if it would be fine to stay there.

Thanks in advance!

[STT GUY]

Any updates on lodging?

I have gotten no response from the few VRBO listings in Hurricane. I can't tell if staying in St George is too far from Gooseberry or if it would be fine to stay there.

Thanks in advance!

When are you looking to stay..... a link in my sig line takes you to our place.

[essjss]

Last weekend in Sept (2011). Looks like your place is booked but I sent an e-mail anyway.

[essjss]

Any updates on lodging?

I have gotten no response from the few VRBO listings in Hurricane. I can't tell if staying in St George is too far from Gooseberry or if it would be fine to stay there.

Thanks in advance!

Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?

[shelbster15]

How long are you staying down here? For hurricane its about 30-45 minutes to get to the white trail parking lot. For stg its going to be 15-30 more minutes depending on where you stay in town. Are you riding anything else?(stg trails and what not) that would be a major determining factor.

[essjss]

Right now it looks like a Thursday eve arrival and Sunday mid-day departure. I have heard that Gooseberry can be covered in a day and the mesa to the south can take another day, as far as the 1/2 day, I'm not sure where to go.

I'm not sure if that is the best use of time for 2.5 days of riding, any and all suggestions are welcome.

We don't really want to be in the car too long before/after rides so it sounds like Hurricane might be the best bet but I guess another 15 min wouldn't kill anyone if the options are better.

[shelbster15]

You can make a full day out of gooseberry. Or at least a big chunk and go ride something else if your legs can take it. Im usually done for the day after 15 miles up there. Go ride little creek in the morning and jem in the afternoon. On sunday go to st. George and ride zen and try to add barrel ride.(dos mesas). That would be around 3 hours of good riding.

St. George has a better selection of motels and food selection but hurricane will be more practical

[k2rider1964]

If STTguy's place is booked, the next best option is Hurricane. I'm surprised you aren't getting any replies. I had great luck when I was using VRBO for Hurricane lodging. Check www.homeaway.com as well. We found a 2BR/1BA place there for $85 a night in NW Hurricane...bonus that it is literally across the street from Church Rocks riding and has a designated bike/ATV wash area. It was about 15-20 minutes to JEM Trail, unknown how much further to Goose as it was snowed in/over on our trip.

[essjss]

Anyone know where the coral springs condos are in relation to Gooseberry? I'd like to spend as little time as possible in the car. Thanks!

[STT GUY]

Anyone know where the coral springs condos are in relation to Gooseberry? I'd like to spend as little time as possible in the car. Thanks!

Your just over an hour to the White Road trailhead.... unless you have a rental car with damage waiver.. then maybe 40 minutes. You have to go SR 9 to SR 59 and then catch Smithsonian Butte Buyway to the Goosebery turn-off.

[essjss]

Thanks for the info Monte. That is good to know before we get there. You're still booked for Sep 29-Oct 2 right?

[pinnacle10]

Am planning a trip this weekend. I've been before, but have only ever done Gooseberry, Bearclaw Poppy, and Zen.

Our plan is to ride Gooseberry and make almost a full day of it. But we'd like another 1-2 hours somewhere else in the Hurricane area. Any suggestions?

What's a time estimate for the JEM/Hurricane/Goulds trails? Is there enough to make it a full day (6 hours or so)? Or would it be good just doing a portion for 1-2 hours after Gooseberry.


Another question.....I see it's raining today and rain in the forecast for Thursday. Will trails be okay on Friday? Saturday? Any trails particularly bad with drainage that we should stay away from?