Things to do / Travel Guide
Southern Utah is an extraordinary landscape for bikers, especially for mountain bikers ready to explore the often challenging and exciting slickrock trails systems that the region is known for. Even though mountain bikes must stay on designated roads in most National Parks, they are welcome almost everywhere on land run by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). There are also hundreds of miles of beautiful and challenging backcountry trails outside the parks. Bike rentals are available in most major cities or biking hubs, including Moab, Cedar City, St. George, Springdale, and Brian Head.
Biking near Moab
Moab claims to be the capital of mountain biking in the region and often contests for the title on the national level as well. The city even hosts an array of biking events and festivals throughout the year. The Moab area features hundreds of miles of trails through a wide variety of terrain. Bikers can explore the National Parks along the four-wheel-drive roads, and BLM and forest lands offer less-crowded trail options. Bike rentals are available at numerous retailers in the city and companies offer guided mountain bike tours for daylong or multi-day combined hiking biking trips.
One of the most famous trails in the area is the Slickrock Bike Trail, a 10-mile route that loops across a mesa of orange Navajo sandstone. The loop starts just a few minutes from downtown Moab and it offers views of the La Sal Mountains, the Colorado River, and Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. It is physically and technically challenging and not recommended for novices, but the trail has a practice loop for beginners. Bikers should allow 4-5 hours to complete the loop.
Another famous ride at Moab is the Porcupine Rim Trail, a 15.6-mile trail that requires expert technical skills. It's one way with a shuttle car or a 34-mile loop for those brave enough to ride the 10 uphill miles from Moab to the trailhead.
Biking Bryce Canyon
Although bikers are only allowed on paved roads in Bryce Canyon National Park, trails in the surrounding area provide acclaimed red rock mountain biking, including single- and double-track trails, forest roads, and pioneer trails. In the park itself, cyclists can ride the main road to Rainbow Point at the end of Bryce Canyon for a narrow and winding 17-mile thrill, the only bicycling allowed in the park. The road turns through meadows and forests with views of the colorful spires, monuments, and pinnacles of the park.
An easy double-track trail called Dave's Hollow outside the park connects the entrance of Bryce Canyon to Tropic Reservoir to the west, a 12-mile trip that travels through ponderosa pine forests and meadows.
Thunder Mountain is a red-rock single-track trail near Bryce Canyon that is intermediate and advanced on a technical level. It is a downhill trail with shuttle access and it is open from mid-April-October.
Biking in Brian Head
Pack up your skis and bust out your bikes as the Brian Head ski resort becomes a popular mountain biking destination when the snow melts. The Brian Head Resort has its own Bike Park and Activity Center that opens in the summer months, accessible via the Giant Steps Lodge and Lift. Shuttle and lift services take bikers to over 200 miles of single- and double-track trails on the forested mountain, featuring 5,000-foot vertical drops and freestyle elements with a variety of trail lengths for bikers of every level of ability. The trails are about 3-4 miles in length and are fairly open and straight, most intermediate in difficulty. The bike park is open for shuttles and bike rentals in the summer from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., with lift service open on the weekends.
The Bunker Creek Trail is considered a local epic downhill trail that starts atop Brian Head Peak at 11,300 feet and heads east to Panguitch Lake. Dark Hollow is another famous trail, dropping west from the peak to Parowan in a 5,000-foot vertical drop. Bunker Creek is 12 miles long, and drop off and pick up service is available via shuttles and can be arranged in the bike shops in town. It's fast and fairly straight, with a couple challenging sections that are rough at the steeps.
Biking near St. George
Biking is becoming extremely popular in the St. George area. Visitors can rent bicycles in St. George and head down the popular 24-mile biking loop from St. George through Santa Clara, Ivins, and Snow Canyon State Park. The route follows paved roads with very little traffic. Heading north out of St. George on State Road 18, bikers should head west to the village of Santa Clara. The trip takes about 2-4 hours.
For an off-road experience that still gives riders a taste of Zion National Park, the 7-mile round trip on West Canyon Road is open to mountain bikers. Road biking is popular at Zion National Park.
The Green Valley Trail outside of St. George comes highly recommended for adventure-oriented riders looking for an off-road BMX-style challenge. The six-mile trail is located west of the city and can easily be turned into a loop by mixing it with paved roads. One of its sections is called the “roller coaster,” and for good reason. With steep climbs up narrow canyons, successive rollovers and drops, banked turns, and exceptional views of Zion National Park and the Pine Valley Mountains, Green Valley Trail is bound to prove a fantastic ride.
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