It's just chilly enough to think about putting on another layer.
It's late May in Cedar City and we are at the Southview Trailhead anxious to get moving. The sun is just starting to peak over the top of the mountain and the glow is hitting the fields in the valley. I choose not to put on a layer. The afternoons have been peaking into the 90s and having a little chill feels pretty good. I also know that we are going to be climbing for a bit and that will warm me up nicely.
A couple hundred yards up the bike path and we jump on to some flowy singletrack that immediately begins to climb. We're cruising. It's one of those climbs that doesn't feel like you're climbing. It makes its way up by slowing ascending with plenty of grade reversals and well-built turns. Any time your legs start to burn there is almost immediately a little respite from the elevation gain.
Soon we're up high enough to see out in the valley and appreciate how far up we've gone. Seeing how high we are gives us a jolt of energy as we know the downhill is just around the corner and sure enough, we hit the junction for our descent. We stop for high fives and stoke sharing before we lean into the descent. It's fast and flowy, but you've got to stay on your toes. The basalt rocks line the smooth singletrack and punctuate the drops. The Junipers and Pinyons fly by as we scream down the mountain.
Southwestern Utah has been well-known for world-class singletrack for decades. Think Gooseberry Mesa, JEM trail, Zen Trail, and the Bear Claw Poppy. It's always been a place where the locals ride year-round, but that required early mornings, lights, and being strategic with your ride timing and location.
Enter Cedar City.
Located 45 minutes from downtown St. George, the small town is nestled in the foothills of Cedar Mountain and sits at over 5,000 feet in elevation. This gives it cool mornings and very pleasant evenings through the summer with most days cool enough to ride even in the afternoon.
A recent partnership between the BLM, the local trail group Iron Trail Craft, the city, and the county has led to the development of some serious singletrack. In contrast to its southern neighbors, the trails wind through the Juniper and Pinyon forest that flanks the valley. Being in the foothills, the trails have more elevation gain and obviously, more downhill. Allowing for big loops of killer climbs followed by long, flowy descents.
Having some higher elevation trails to the area was certainly a welcome addition, but these trails round out the areas offerings quite well. Being machine-built flow trails, they stand out from the chunky, slickrock trails found around St. George and Hurricane. They are still plenty techy to keep you on your toes, but they make excellent use of berms, jumps, and flow.
The Iron Hills Trail System are certainly loved by locals, but they have also become a magnet for the area. Maggie Youngblood breaks down how these trails are a draw for university students and tourists alike.
A few of our favorite trails in the area:
We stop a few times on the way down Lava Flow. The descent keeps us grinning the whole way down. We contemplate a 2nd lap as we roll into the trailhead, but we have work waiting and we know we'll be back soon for another lap and bigger loops.