St George trail recommendations

Headed to St George area at the weekend and looking for 2-3 hr trail ride recommendation. Riding solo so no double black for me this trip!! I’m comfortable riding in Sedona so don’t mind some exposure/rocks.
Thanks

 

Paging... @Im Livin the Dream ... Paging... @Cougar ...

Recommendations needed on aisle 3 stat.

 

You'll have to loop some things together to get 2-3 hours. Seems like most rides out there are about 1 hour.

 

This area is really fun and you can loop alot together for a solid ride. If you avoiding black trails just skip Suicidal Tendencies.

 

Lots of trails in the Bearclaw Poppy area. Lots of stuff to play on like the Three Fingers of Death, the Acid Drops and Clavicle Hill. Not as bad as they sound and you can have some fun. Take a look at Trailforks.

 

Oops. I should have looked at @Bluesrider post. Same general area

 

Zen, baby, Zen. Gotta add some Zen to the ride.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I’ll take a look at those recommendations...

 

zen is fine.. but the two times I've been there, no locals... so asked local where is good stuff? they recommended a different area... only trail name i remember is suicidal tendencies... about 15 minutes away from zen area... liked it more than zen...

 

All those trails are in the same general area....Grass Valley....just different sides of it.

then again, during True Grit, we ride from one end to the other....so my perspective might be a bit....skewed.

 

Green Valley no?

 

Green Valley/ Grass Valley....it’s all the same to me.

 

I think it's actually Green Grass Valley... It's better over there.

 

Wire Loop Mesa is a new trail that's easy to follow and fun.

 

I have done those loops and think they are good if you are looking for 2-3 hours (if you combine them). Suicidal Tendencies is BARELY black, I was expecting something MUCH harder with a name like that! I think the top loop was Black Brush, can't remember the bottom loop.

 

Disclaimer: Sidewalk’s expectations may kill some of us.

 

haha.. suicidal tendencies was way black in my view.. but also doable and fun.. cool trail.. I liked it way better than zen...zen.. zz. zz.. sleepy..

 

Wow, what a response, thank you all.. Will report back on what I end up doing

 

If you have the time, Brian from BKXC (Youtube) has recently put up a bunch of videos from the southern Utah area. You might want to check his youtube page and see if anything strikes your fancy. I'm not sure how many are St. George specific, but it may give you some ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/c/bkxc/videos

 

If you can only do ONE ride, I'd do Gooseberry Mesa....or Little Creek Mesa. If you do Gooseberry from the White TH and go out to the South Rim to Hidden Canyon out the North Rim to the point and then back via the Yellow Trail, you'll get your 2-3 hours in. If not, head over to Bowls & Ledges and on to Windmill if you want some more.

 

As mtbMike says, if only one, either Gooseberry or Whole Guacamole - the whole thing.

 

Agreed with if you only had one ... Gooseberry... but if you had a few more days... then just drive to Moab...

 

So that area that @Bluesrider posted is a really good area. They are prepping the Red Rock Rampage course (In that area) which you could do laps on that if you wanted. I recommend the Hurricane Rim Loop with Goulds. It was about 24 miles and 3k climbing. You can hit 2 laps on it nothing crazy technical on it but it does have one rad descent in the middle but you can take it easy, it is just fast not technical. I really enjoyed it and I rode it solo. it does have some cool little tech climbs but nothing too big or that I would think anyone would have to walk. Here is the link to the course page. The map doesn't load for me. https://intermountaincup.com/races/cross-country-races/red-rock-rampage-2020-2

 

@steve447 btw feel free to hit me up if you want a riding partner. If the schedule works out i would go!

 

That’s really kind of you. It looks like there’s some weather coming in later so I’m going to try and hit the trail at sunrise or close to. I have to be back in St George for lunchtime to meet someone. I’ll send you a PM with my cell.

 

Figure I'd post here instead of starting a new thread. I'll be visiting St. George for the first time in March. Staying for a week. If any local riders are up for some company, please send me a message. I can ride any time of day. I'm happy to cover gas or beer/lunch after the ride.

 

@Im Living the Dream and at least one other member lives out there but another suggestion is to check out where the Saturday morning ride is with the Over the Edge bike shop in Hurricane. They pick a new location each week and usually bounce from Little Creek, Gooseberry, Guacamole & Grafton Mesa. The owner, Quentin, is a phenomenal rider and if it rains, they'll go to the Boy Scout Trails which is a tough nut.

 

True Grit is the weekend of March 11-13, with the mountain bike portion going on the 12th. That course hits a lot of the best ones, but it can easily be broken into smaller segments. I'll be there for that, hoping to survive.

An absolute must is the Zen loop. Insane chunky ledgy riding. That was the first trail I rode there, and can't imagine skipping it. Parking right at the entrance. https://www.strava.com/activities/2200325095

For a little larger outing, it's easy to add Bearclaw Poppy (fast flowy single track) to the Zen ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/2930706162

Barrel Roll is another part of the True Grit course that is a must. There are a few sections that are as technical as Zen. If you have a vehicle with decent clearance, you can drive close to the trailhead. I don't believe we do the entire trail during the race, but this will give you an idea. https://www.strava.com/activities/2204885253

Alternate way to get to Barrel Roll: https://www.strava.com/activities/2930992581 We had plans to ride Suicide the last time we were there, but got rained out on the last day... Never did get to it.

Gooseberry is not far from Saint George, and is another world of riding.

I have videos uploaded to YouTube if you want to check them out... https://www.youtube.com/user/sjmacko Search for "Zen" or "Saint George" or "Gooseberry" or "Three Fingers of Death".

 

Thanks MTB Mike. I'll reach out to @Imlivingthedream and also see if I can make a Sat ride at Over the Edge.

Faust29--I appreciate the intel. I'll check out the YouTube link for sure. I have a lifted 4x4, so should be fine. My trip will overlap with True Grit, so I'll find other places to ride on those days.

 

@Cougar - but I don't think he has been outside since the pandemic began. I may be exaggerating, but he and his family took the pandemic very, very seriously.