An easy guide for a fall trip to Southern Utah
There's very few places in the world that hold more allure and beauty than Southwestern Utah. This is double so if you happen to be a mountain biker. Everyone knows about the National Parks in our area, Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef, but did you know that there is great riding just outside of those parks that give you spectacular views that cannot be rivaled!
To help you get the most out of your stay, we've put together a quick guide for a three-day weekend stay in Southern Utah focused around Zion National Park and mountain biking. This will give you world class mountain bike trails with the best scenery in our area.
We'll start with the riding and give you a few local tips to get the most out of your stay. This guide is based on a three-day weekend that includes travel time on both Friday and Sunday to ensure you can get here and back home while making it well worth the trip.
wire mesa
Arriving Friday midday, head up to your first taste of the area with Wire Mesa. Being the easiest of the mesas doesn't mean it is lacking in views. To the contrary, it is super photogenic giving you views right into the heart of Zion National Park. By putting this one on your itinerary later in the day, you will be treated to amazing colors and views of the park.
The trail itself is a moderate blue and is 7 miles long. Most people can finish the whole loop in a little over an hour. If you are looking for a bit more, a lot of riders will do the loop both directions to get the most views and to lengthen their ride.
The main Entree, Gooseberry
Gooseberry Mesa is the trail that put Southern Utah mountain biking on the map.
We recommend putting this one on Saturday giving you a full day to explore the area and revel in the trail. Starting with Windmill, head up the North Rim to get your legs under you. If that feels a bit too much, head back to the practice loop. If you are digging the sandstone domes, Just keeping going out to the point and finish by coming back down the South Rim to Hidden Canyon and loop back around to Windmill. This is typically about an hour ride with plenty of bail outs.
guacamole
Grab your bike and make it to Guacamole Mesa early Sunday morning. This will provide you with some amazing sunrise views.
Guacamole Mesa is often considered the little brother to Gooseberry being a little shorter and generally a bit less technical. The trail is marked with rock cairns and paint cans filled with rocks. The paint cans mark the junctions. We like to go left at every junction which will take you around the outer loop and give you a solid 2-2.5 hour ride.
local highlights
A few other items to put on your itinerary to round out your days.
- Check out Zion Hot Springs for an after ride soak.
- It's tucked away, but Red Fort Indian's is some great after ride food.
- And if you're looking for an adventure for your non-cycling friends, check out Southern Utah Adventure Center. It's just around the corner from our Hurricane location.
Make your stay even easier, by renting a bike from us. We'll make sure it's ready to go for you and you won't have to worry about transporting your bike. Check 'em out below!