St George Thanksgiving Time

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by LLPoolJ, Sep 19, 2018.


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  1. LLPoolJ

    LLPoolJ iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Moreno Valley
    Name:
    James Johnson
    Current Bike:
    Specy Epic, Stumpu and Enduro
    We are meeting my son in Vegas for a few days. Wife suggested after we visit for a few days head up to St. George. She is not a rider. Are there things to do there? How long are the typical rides?
     
    mike, Cyclotourist, Sidewalk and 2 others like this.
  2. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    Contact @Cougar

    He moved out there a few months ago, so he should have a locals knowledge.
     
    mike, Cyclotourist, herzalot and 3 others like this.
  3. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    Zion National Park is 30 minutes from Saint George. Several state parks. Hiking galore. Cedar Breaks & Brian Head are 70 miles away; north on I-15, turn right at Cedar City.
     
  4. LLPoolJ

    LLPoolJ iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Moreno Valley
    Name:
    James Johnson
    Current Bike:
    Specy Epic, Stumpu and Enduro
    Thanks guys
     
    mike and Cyclotourist like this.
  5. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Hmmmm I have Thanksgiving week off. I know @Cougar is probably missing his old riding buddy...

    :sneaky:
     
    UPSed, mike, Cyclotourist and 3 others like this.
  6. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    @herzalot I'm actually going to be driving back to SoCal for part of that week (my Dad and FIL are still in the area) Turkey day specifically in Dana Point/RSM. So let's chat, I was going to reach out when my plans got firmer :)

    As far as what I've discovered being a St. George local:

    • Depending on where you are staying, you have a lot of ride options from 15-65min from St. George.
    • There are almost no climb sufferfests to be had (no Mathis, no Blackstars, no fire road climbs of doom)
    • That also means there aren't very many 5-40min gravity fueled trails to be had after doing your sufferfest (no Rock-It, no San Juan, etc.)
    • Lots of paved bike paths and a strong roady community/events (not that I have any personal experience there) - but I have taken the family (3 boys and a non-biking wife) to some of the bike paths with success
    • Most of the rides near town have a Choose Your Own Adventure length to them. Lots of loops and possibilities for combining trails, or to just do a trail on it's own. You can just as easily put together a 30min loop as you can a 2hr loop -- I have not yet tried to do any 3+ hour suffer fest locally as of yet, mostly keeping my rides in the 10-15mile range (usually only 1k elevation, but you can get 1-2k in that mileage with different trail selections)
    • Some epics are within that driving range; Gooseberry Mesa, Hurricane Rim, The Whole Guacamole - but they are all near the outer time limit of 60min from St. George
    • Of those, I've only yet done Gooseberry Mesa - very challenging terrain, especially coming from SoCal. Lots of start/stops - technical burst-y rock climbing, not a ton of flow although the northern rim had a bit more flow
    • Overall I've found my Enduro bike to be a bit of overkill for many of the trails I've been choosing; an FS XC bike would be a killer steed out here --- note as I'm riding solo, I am riding cautiously and choosing easier trails to warm up to the area/terrain before I tackle the super gnarly stuff
    • Note; Brian Head/Cedar City area is within the same time distance as the epics above and provide a bit more elevation opportunities. I did go up to Brian Head a few weekends ago and did their bike park up there. It didn't have as many options as say Snow Summit, but far more natural features than SS. (Almost no man made jumps/table tops -- the DH trails are legit; rocky and steep)
    • For family dirt riding; look no further than Bear Claw Poppy in the SW part of town. Choose your own adventure of green/blue/black on the 1-way downhill, lots of criss crossing options. The climb isn't a big deal, especially if you go to the shortest possible climb transition to the downhill. Trailforks has the downhill section listed as blue, but I'm near 100% positive that there is a dedicated green trail option at every fork
    Feel free to ask questions!
     
    UPSed, doublewide, kioti and 11 others like this.
  7. LLPoolJ

    LLPoolJ iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Moreno Valley
    Name:
    James Johnson
    Current Bike:
    Specy Epic, Stumpu and Enduro
    Thanks @Cougar for the ride info.
    My wife hikes a little, looking for stuff she can do while I ride other than hiking.
     
    mike and Cyclotourist like this.
  8. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    I'm not a huge hiker myself, so I'm unsure what to look for in that. But the SW of St. George / S of Santa Clara has a lot of options for smaller bike loops (that can be big hiking loops) inclusive of Zen Trail (which is a destination trail in and of itself).

    Hiking in that area is usually talked about in reference to Zion National Park, but there's no riding inside that Park. The Whole Guacamole is close to Zion, but still a bit of a haul if you were to drop your wife off at Zion and then drove over there. (Probably to the point of impracticality).

    Grafton Mesa area is probably a bit more doable if you left your wife at Zion, but I haven't explored over there yet personally.

    Ultimately, I think finding a place in the Zen Trail area for your wife to hike and you to bike is probably your best bet. Lots of different lengths and loops for you to bike depending on how long your wife is going to be out and about. Still great views and interesting terrain to both hike and bike in. (from Zen Trail up to Barrel Roll north of there).
     
    mike, herzalot, Cyclotourist and 3 others like this.
  9. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    Zen Trail is a good option for you to ride....you wife can hike. It’s about a 1 hr loop for you. She can hike out a ways and turn around. Views are spectacular. Challenging for both of you.
     
    mike, Cyclotourist and LLPoolJ like this.
  10. LLPoolJ

    LLPoolJ iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Moreno Valley
    Name:
    James Johnson
    Current Bike:
    Specy Epic, Stumpu and Enduro
    Thanks guys. Any nightlife in town @Cougar
     
    mike, Cyclotourist and DangerDirtyD like this.
  11. pperrelle

    pperrelle iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Oracle, AZ
    Name:
    Paul
    Current Bike:
    Ripley V4 & Ripmo V2
    We're going to be there 10/5-10/8. You should come join us for a ride.
     
    mike, DangerDirtyD and Cyclotourist like this.
  12. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    @Cougar have you gone up Kolob Terrace out of Virgin yet? Looks pretty promising before you hit the NP boundary.
     
    DangerDirtyD, mike and Cyclotourist like this.
  13. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    I'm game :)

    @Runs with Scissors No, not yet. I've only gone north of town once for the bike park at Brian's Head. I'll take a look at it. I was trying to see if I could get up to Signal Peak, but it only looks like there is a hiking trail up there - not much mountain riding in that range sadly.
     
  14. pperrelle

    pperrelle iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Oracle, AZ
    Name:
    Paul
    Current Bike:
    Ripley V4 & Ripmo V2
    I'll pm you my #. Not sure which trails we're riding which day as @mtbMike is the trail boss for the weekend but we can connect when it gets closer.
     
    mike, Cougar and Cyclotourist like this.
  15. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    When you get a bit of free time, head up to between Cedar City and Beaver - only about 1.5 hours north of you. Fishlake National Forest. Literally a thousand miles of trails. Granted, they're mostly designed for ATVs, but that doesn't stop a bike from riding on them.
     
    OTHRider and mike like this.
  16. mtbMike

    mtbMike iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    PRESCOTT!!!
    Name:
    Mike
    Current Bike:
    Ibis HD5, Ripley & Mojo 4
    I’m game to do whatever. I’ve ridden them all but usually stick towards Hurricane. Always love a Zen ride though. Whatever @pperrelle and his buddy want to ride is fine with me.
     
    mike and pperrelle like this.
  17. pperrelle

    pperrelle iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Oracle, AZ
    Name:
    Paul
    Current Bike:
    Ripley V4 & Ripmo V2
    We’re counting on you to show us the Hurricane goods. :thumbsup:
     
    mike likes this.
  18. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    I think @Cougar likes fun trails... :sneaky: ;) :D
     
    mike, mtnbikej and Cougar like this.
  19. kazindeep

    kazindeep Newbie with Hope!

    Name:
    Norm
    I ride there a lot because of a friend that lives in Virgin and I have ridden in all of the areas mentioned above. If I were bringing my wife, I would drop her off at the bus in Zion Canyon and she can do one of the many spectacular hikes and take the bus back to Springfield and shop or dine/drink while you are riding Gooseberry mesa or the trails in the wire mesa area. Those are the closest to Zion and you can find out everything you need to know from Mtb project or Trailforks. Oh, I forgot that Guacamole is also very close to Zion. I think this is a plan that will make both of you happy. Good luck!
     
    LLPoolJ and DangerDirtyD like this.
  20. LLPoolJ

    LLPoolJ iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Moreno Valley
    Name:
    James Johnson
    Current Bike:
    Specy Epic, Stumpu and Enduro
    Thanks, that is good info
     
  21. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Hmmmm, you have a very independent and understanding wife. Mine is too, but dropping her at the bus to go hike Zion while I ride would NOT go over well. Neither would leaving her to dine and drink alone. :stop: But thanks for the tip nonetheless. It may work for some, ya never know. :thumbsup:
     
  22. kazindeep

    kazindeep Newbie with Hope!

    Name:
    Norm
    Bless your heart...
     
    LLPoolJ likes this.
  23. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    Lots of good info here. I'll be sending you a PM in the next week or so. Jennifer and I will be there Thanksgiving week and want to put together a couple of bigger rides. I know miles are tough to be had out there but maybe linking a couple of riding areas together will give us the mileage we want.
     
  24. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.

    Look up the True Grit routes. They have the 45 mile mountain route, but they also have a gravel route.
     
  25. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    I threw out the idea of bringing both bikes but it got shot down. I may try again. :whistling:
     
    Cyclotourist and mtnbikej like this.
  26. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower

    Leave the gravel bike at home....there is too much fun mtn biking to be had.
     
  27. Rumpled

    Rumpled Well-Known Member

    Location:
    OC
    Name:
    Jim Martin
    Current Bike:
    2018 Specialized Epic Carbon C
    I know this is two years old, but found this hilarious.
    It's Utah.
    We went to St George a few years ago for a family reunion.
    There is one State run liquor store in town. Beer is sold by the each and warm..
     
    ~JB~, Cyclotourist, Faust29 and 2 others like this.
  28. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    I remember the place. We went there to pick up some beer and the cashier was refusing to sell to someone that was already intoxicated. He had to be escorted out.
     
    ~JB~, Cyclotourist, Rumpled and 2 others like this.
  29. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    Just like Florida, but the individual cans are kept on ice near the main door, and they usually have the camouflage sleeves right there to hide the contents for the drive home.

    Almost the same... :p
     
  30. Voodoo Tom

    Voodoo Tom MTB Addict

    Location:
    Castaic
    Name:
    Tom Kokkinakis
    Current Bike:
    Mango one, black one, Ti one
    Ugh we had no problem getting beer from Albersons last December...:D
     
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?