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mroy
10-17-2005, 10:13 AM
After living & working in Moab for a summer, plus countless trips down there, I hate to say it, especially to you guys, but I'm kind of tired of going there. So I've taken some time out to go on a trip in 2 weeks and I'm looking for a new place to go. St. George is at the top of my list since it'll be warmer & I know there's a good biking scene down there. I've seen a couple TR's for rides down there, but wanted to get some suggestions on what you guys think the top 3 rides are down there, and suggestions on where to camp. Or if you know of a place a little further down the road in NV, CA, or AZ with some good rides, I'm open to suggestions.

accadacca
10-17-2005, 11:02 AM
My top three and there are two others (Hurricane Rim, Little Creek Mtn) that I need to ride. They may make the list.

#1 Gooseberry Mesa
#2 JEM Trail
#3 Green Valley Loop

TreeHugger
10-17-2005, 12:04 PM
Go to Fruita!! (CO) It's awesome.

Only another hour from the I70/191 junction.

Shan
10-17-2005, 12:29 PM
If St. George and Fruita, CO are on the list, I'd go with Fruita also. Have you been there mroy?

I though it was another 30 minutes from the Moab junction.

mroy
10-17-2005, 01:45 PM
I've never even heard of Fruita, but I checked it out for a minute & it looks like it has some good options. I'll check it out more tonight. What are your favorite trails there?

Shan
10-17-2005, 03:38 PM
Fruita is amazing. You should defintely go there!

http://www.otesports.com/shop/category.cfm?cid=2&sid=2

http://www.otesports.com/images/products/12.jpg

I would consider buying this book and their map to get orientated with the area.

We camped at the Colorado River - Fruita State Park (there's an Island C.G. also) right across from town. It's very nice with hot showers (5 stars in the realm of state campgrounds) and easy access, yet tucked away from town. You can camp in the Bookcliffs, but you need a fire pan and groover.

There's 3 main areas we visited:

1. Bookcliffs - north of town (good trails there Zippety Do Da, Western Zip, Chutes and Ladders, Prime Cut, Joe's Ridge)

2. Kokopelli's area - (Mack's Ridge, Horsetheif Bench, Mary's Loop)

3. Loma exit - dang I can't remember some names...

Anyway, lots and lots of riding all pretty much concentrated at 3 big trailheads. There's other areas too for riding, but these were the main 3 we rode.

Sombeech
10-17-2005, 07:23 PM
I've been hearing a lot about Fruita lately. Sounds like we'd better check it out next year.

We're heading to St George sometime soon... But then again we could switch to Fruita... :ne_nau:

So tell us, who of y'all has been to Fruita?

mroy
10-18-2005, 08:22 AM
What it's going to come down to is weather. Fruita averages highs of 58 & St. George averages 71 for the time I'll be on my trip. If it warms up for that weekend, I'll definitely go to Fruita, otherwise I'm going to stick with St. George for this trip, and head to Fruita in April or May.

So, for you guys who go to St George, where do you usually camp at? Or do you just stay in hotels?

TreeHugger
10-18-2005, 10:47 AM
58 is perfect for riding! A little chilly at night but that's what ya have a campfire and a warm sleeping bag for!

I agree with everything Shan said. Those are the main areas.

There are some Fruita pics posted on the Utah Mountain Biking site (UtahMountainBiking.com) in their general forum if you want to check it out. I have a couple, too, I'll post here when I get home.

Sombeech
10-18-2005, 09:59 PM
So, for you guys who go to St George, where do you usually camp at? Or do you just stay in hotels?

My grandparents have a Condo down there. Yeah, I've got the hookups!!

It works out pretty well, too. It's right there in the middle of St George. I like camping, but nothing beats coming back from a ride, hopping in the shower, and heading down to Mesquite for a Crab Buffet!!!

Friday Night (http://uutah.com/forum/download.php?id=537)

Saturday Night (http://uutah.com/forum/download.php?id=538)

This is another bonus over the other destinations, but seriously, I'm going to look into Fruita for next year.

mroy
10-18-2005, 10:07 PM
58 is a pretty good riding temp, but with days as short as they are now, it won't be 58 for very long & with lows in the 20's the mornings would suck. I'll definitely get down to Fruita next year though.

mroy
10-19-2005, 08:12 AM
My grandparents have a Condo down there.

Yeah, that's gotta be nice.

Shan
10-19-2005, 10:13 AM
So, for you guys who go to St George, where do you usually camp at? Or do you just stay in hotels?

I always camp it! Went down to St. George the week before Christmas last year and camped. Just wear/bring alot of down clothing and wood for a fire. By the time we cook some breakfast, fix a hot drink to sip on, pack the car with bikes and get to the trailhead, it's sunny/warm enough to change into bike clothes at the TH.

Here's my fave campground. This is across from Leeds, exit 23 if you're heading south I believe. Prospector Trail and Church Rocks can be ridden right from you tent! There's a hose there too if you get mud on your bike.

http://www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/

http://www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/pages/gallery/images/10camping_jpg.jpg



Snow Canyon State Park is another place too.

http://www.stateparks.utah.gov/park_pages/scenicparkpage.php?id=scsp

mroy
10-19-2005, 01:51 PM
Thanks Shan, they look like great places.

Sombeech
10-22-2005, 04:39 PM
http://www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/

That's pretty cool. We'll have to check it out.

http://www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/pages/gallery/images/23sandstone_jpg.jpg

greyhair biker
10-31-2005, 03:46 PM
I know this is a Utah site but, another great place to ride - and it is virtually untouched , is the Green River, Wyoming area - southwest wyoming from I 80 south along the Flaming Gorge to Manila, Ut & then up into the uintahs. I have personally been working on over 200 miles of rideable stuff & some not so rideable...awesome freeride stuff! Check out my website at http://balder.prohosting.com/greyhair for trails & despriptions & pictures. :2thumbs:

Sombeech
10-31-2005, 05:53 PM
I know this is a Utah site but, another great place to ride...

Yeah, although it's a Utah based site, I think it's good to know about all activities that are easily accessible for us in Utah, or those of us who were once in Utah.

mroy
11-01-2005, 10:27 AM
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to check it out -- when do you think the best times of the year are for riding out there?

greyhair biker
11-01-2005, 11:53 AM
Green Rivers' elevation is 6100 feet so naturally it's cooler here. This time of year you just have to be a die hard rider sometimes. Today I ride..tomorrow it might be snowing. April to October is my best guess for all around riding. I am ready to put my order in for the studded Nokians :mrgreen:

greyhair biker
11-01-2005, 12:02 PM
Green River is in the middle of high arid desert area - lots of sagebrush, cactus & if youre lucky juniper. Trails here usually start out life as game trails...deer & antelope mostly, along with sheep & cow.Rock shelfs are everywhere if you like to bomb downhill & drop big. SO, make a road trip loop through Green River south on highway 530 to Manila, Ut then south over the uintah mountains & drop to Vernal, Ut ...a non-stop bikepark for nearly 200 miles. :nod:

Shuntavi
11-01-2005, 01:50 PM
I know St. George has already been mentioned but I would throw in my recommendation to choose some place on the East end of Washington County UT, like Hurricane, Springdale, Virgin, Toquerville, Apple Valley, etc. My favorite being Hurricane. You are real close to Zion Park, JEM trail, Gooseberry, Little Creek, Guacamole (Upper Coal Pits), Prospector, Virgin Rim Trail, Rockville Bench, Grafton Mesa, Flying Monkey, and a score of other atv/jeep and dirt trails/roads like Nephi's Twist or Smiths Mesa. You could ride for a year every weekend and never cover your tracks twice and the scenery is breathtaking. Your close to St. George but you don't have to fight the traffic, you are minutes from Zion and I15 is close so you can be on the Freeway and heading to Vegas, Salt Lake or Mesquite in no time at all. Lake Powell is an hour and a half away and then for Summer riding you have Brian Head and all the Cedar Mountain trails. All I know is that I love it here and hope to never move.

Picture taken from Gooseberry towards Zion with Crater Hill in the middle left where Guacamole Trail flows beneath it. Some of the best riding on earth.

accadacca
11-01-2005, 03:10 PM
I know St. George has already been mentioned but I would throw in my recommendation to choose some place on the East end of Washington County UT, like Hurricane, Springdale, Virgin, Toquerville, Apple Valley, etc. My favorite being Hurricane. You are real close to Zion Park, JEM trail, Gooseberry, Little Creek, Guacamole (Upper Coal Pits), Prospector, Virgin Rim Trail, Rockville Bench, Grafton Mesa, Flying Monkey, and a score of other atv/jeep and dirt trails/roads like Nephi's Twist or Smiths Mesa. You could ride for a year every weekend and never cover your tracks twice and the scenery is breathtaking. Your close to St. George but you don't have to fight the traffic, you are minutes from Zion and I15 is close so you can be on the Freeway and heading to Vegas, Salt Lake or Mesquite in no time at all. Lake Powell is an hour and a half away and then for Summer riding you have Brian Head and all the Cedar Mountain trails. All I know is that I love it here and hope to never move.

Picture taken from Gooseberry towards Zion with Crater Hill in the middle left where Guacamole Trail flows beneath it. Some of the best riding on earth.
Sombeech and myself will be drawing upon your expertise in the future. We have ridden many of the trails that you mentioned. But there are a few yet to explore.
Boy its good to have you. :five:

Sombeech
11-01-2005, 09:42 PM
Sombeech and myself will be drawing upon your expertise in the future. We have ridden many of the trails that you mentioned.
Boy its good to have you. :five:

Yes it is. This is a great picture...

http://uutah.com/forum/files/img_1244-2.jpg

Shuntavi, we'll be talkin' with you on some of these trails. We've been on Gooseberry several times, and are currently trying to make it down again this year.

November is turning out to be crammed full for me. I don't know if I can make it down before December. How's the riding in St George in Dec? All I know is it probably won't be snowing, so if it's dry, we can just dress up warm.

You'll have to tell us more about this Guacamole Trail. I've never heard of it.

mroy
11-02-2005, 08:43 AM
How do you get to the Guacamole Trail? And, do you have any details on how long it is, the trail condition, that kind of stuff?

I'm leaving either tonight, or tomorrow morning to get down there. I plan on riding Gooseberry Mesa, JEM, Green Valley, and if time & energy allow a couple others. I'm going to be staying in Hurricane at some hotel till Sunday. Since none of my riding friends can come, and if anyone's down there & wants to go for a ride, PM me before the end of the day, or give me a call, my cell # is listed on mikesdesigns.net. It might be a little late to throw out the invite, but there it is anyway.

Sombeech
11-02-2005, 09:05 PM
How do you get to the Guacamole Trail? And, do you have any details on how long it is, the trail condition, that kind of stuff?

I'm leaving either tonight, or tomorrow morning to get down there. I plan on riding Gooseberry Mesa, JEM, Green Valley, and if time & energy allow a couple others. I'm going to be staying in Hurricane at some hotel till Sunday. Since none of my riding friends can come, and if anyone's down there & wants to go for a ride, PM me before the end of the day, or give me a call, my cell # is listed on mikesdesigns.net. It might be a little late to throw out the invite, but there it is anyway.

You going alone?

Sombeech
11-05-2005, 03:50 PM
Ok, I think I found Guacamole Trail using Google Earth.

Here's an image, and the location attachment.

We'll have to hit it.

Shuntavi
11-06-2005, 07:09 AM
Yes, that's it. I posted a couple of low res maps on the site under the Album area. It is an awesome trail. Once you know where to ride. It isn't marked very wel and not marked at all in some areas.

mroy
11-07-2005, 08:14 AM
You going alone?
Yeah, I went alone. Met up with the local riding group on Saturday though to do the north rim of gooseberry mesa.

Guacamole Trail

It isn't marked very wel and not marked at all in some areas.
You can say that again, lol. I added some cairns to the places where I had to stop & walk around to find the next set of cairns. I only made it 2.8 miles in (of the 4) before I couldn't find the rest of it, but what I did manage to ride was a lot of fun, and I think it has a ton of potential. The path is tight in places, and the brush unforgiving, so unless you protect your arms and legs on it you could get some nice bloody scratches as souvenirs. The easiest parts to navigate were the ones with a turn laid out with rocks, kind of shows you which direction to head & look for the next cairn. Doug, for the directions to the turn off past Virgin, you can add that it's at mile marker 20 -- exactly at 20. Should make it pretty simple to get to the dirt road.

Shuntavi
11-07-2005, 02:11 PM
Sorry I missed you. I heard you stoped by the shop and then rode with the OTB crew on Saturday. I had other commitments and ended up taking photos at the rampage course on Saturday. How was Gooseberry.

Yeah, Guacamole is rough and is only now statring to be ridden. It has never really been built, it has just been ridden, mostly by following old motercycle tracks or deer trails. The lower portion is by far the best and you probably came close to getting there. Lots of rock and technical areas.

Next time you come down let me know and we can hit it.

mroy
11-07-2005, 02:50 PM
Gooseberry was great. I really like the type of riding it offers. I can't wait to get back and ride the other sections of it. I don't know when I'll come down again, but probably in the next couple months.

Sombeech
11-07-2005, 04:47 PM
Did you get pics of Guacamole Trail? We'd love to see 'em!

mroy
11-08-2005, 08:24 AM
I just took one. I thought about taking more, but when it comes to stopping for pics or just riding, riding usually wins out. Shuntavi probably has some better ones (or knows where to find them).

Shuntavi
11-08-2005, 11:20 AM
Nice Picture.

I have some I will have to post.

One thing I love about this area is the seclusion. I have only run into one person that I can ever remember while on this trail and they were hiking. The views of Zion are incredible and the solitude is amazing.

Fuzzy TheBikeGuy
11-18-2005, 05:18 PM
:frustrated: Blah Blah Blah...

Bob Laubloblab Law.

Fruita fruita fruita, froot tah.

You guys have the same Book Cliffs, with Super Sweet desert Singletrack (that I've been building for four years)winding through the same junipers and pinions, running along cliff-lines and spines...

... and it's all right here in Price, Utah...
... less than an hour away for many of you...

...and no amount of enticement can get you to come check it out. GOOD!!
:twisted: IT'S ALL MINE!!! :twisted:

Sombeech
11-18-2005, 07:46 PM
You guys have the same Book Cliffs, with Super Sweet desert Singletrack (that I've been building for four years)winding through the same junipers and pinions, running along cliff-lines and spines...

... and it's all right here in Price, Utah...
... less than an hour away for many of you...

...and no amount of enticement can get you to come check it out. GOOD!!
:twisted: IT'S ALL MINE!!! :twisted:

Dude, you've got to put together some trip reports for us on some trails! I'd love to have those trails in Price to put in our Trail Index.

Make a thread on each trail with pics and descriptions, and I'll put them in the index immediately. I am very interested in hitting those things, I just haven't been out on a bike for the last 4 months.

I promise we'll get some of the guys and gals down there once they're in the trip report.

I'm with ya, man. :2thumbs:

Sombeech
11-19-2005, 05:30 PM
BTW, I just fixed that Guacamole Google Earth attachment. It was bringing up the JEM trail before when we clicked on it.

mroy
11-20-2005, 04:04 PM
Fuzzy:
I'll second Price as a good, close place to ride. I lived there for a while. The place I probably had the most fun was at the top of 700 E, just because it was so close, and it's a little playground. I don't know if it's named, or what, but it's fun. It reminds me of the Lion's Paw on the Green Valley Trail in St. George, but on a much larger scale. When I had a little over an hour I'd take the dirt road that heads north behind the baseball fields, turn West up the plateau and then hop on a singletrack that leads back to that playground area at the top of 700 E. I haven't made it back for any riding in years, but some of the stuff I've heard about the trail development makes it sound pretty good, better than anything I used to ride there for sure. If you get some info up I might have to plan a trip.

Sombeech
11-20-2005, 06:02 PM
Fuzzy:
I'll second Price as a good, close place to ride. I lived there for a while. The place I probably had the most fun was at the top of 700 E, just because it was so close, and it's a little playground. I don't know if it's named, or what, but it's fun.

700 E? Hey, let's name it! I wanna get some of these trails in the Index, cuz I want to hit them this spring.

Serious, man. I know you've got pics on here already of those trails, just organize them into individual trails, slap some details and directions on them, and it's all good.

Fuzzy TheBikeGuy
11-21-2005, 08:53 AM
Fuzzy:
I'll second Price as a good, close place to ride. I lived there for a while. The place I probably had the most fun was at the top of 700 E, just because it was so close, and it's a little playground. I don't know if it's named, or what, but it's fun.

700 E? Hey, let's name it! I wanna get some of these trails in the Index, cuz I want to hit them this spring.


The big spine running out into that playground is called the Devil's Backbone. It's at the bottem of about 2.5 miles of pee-yer-pants single&double-track called the Devil's D.H. We'll be running our Easter Weekend race through there.

We all love this spot, and there are three Sweet Singletrack loops that all end with this downhill. :twisted: :mrgreen: :twisted:

I'm a barely-functional illliterate with computors, and the pic's on disk are too big to post. I'll take the time to figure it out soon. :rockon:

BrainDamage
11-21-2005, 11:38 AM
Fuzzy I can get the pics re-sized and get them posted, I'll be down to Price, on Thanksgiving.

We already have a listing and some of the pics posted.

http://groups.msn.com/PriceAreaSingletrackSociety/_whatsnew.msnw

It is also listed at http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/ Look under central region

Sombeech
11-21-2005, 05:26 PM
I'm a barely-functional illliterate with computors, and the pic's on disk are too big to post. I'll take the time to figure it out soon. :rockon:

Hey, man. If you want to email all of those to me, I'd be glad to post them for you, or at least resize them, and send them back to you.

My email address is jeepjustinjeep@yahoo.com

Fuzzy TheBikeGuy
11-22-2005, 08:33 AM
Hey, man. If you want to email all of those to me, I'd be glad to post them for you, or at least resize them, and send them back to you.


:2thumbs: Dude, you rule.

Somethings wrong with our msn group page, and I can't bring-up the 50-60 BITCHIN' pics we had on there, So I'll get the disks together and we'll do it.

BTW- VULGAR DISPLAY is on my 5-Fave pre-ride list. Long live Dimebag. :flag:

Hey Gary- I'm gonna try to come ride Black Dragon with you & A P; See ya then.

accadacca
11-22-2005, 09:21 AM
Hey, man. If you want to email all of those to me, I'd be glad to post them for you, or at least resize them, and send them back to you.


:2thumbs: Dude, you rule.

Somethings wrong with our msn group page, and I can't bring-up the 50-60 BITCHIN' pics we had on there, So I'll get the disks together and we'll do it.

BTW- VULGAR DISPLAY is on my 5-Fave pre-ride list. Long live Dimebag. :flag:

Hey Gary- I'm gonna try to come ride Black Dragon with you & A P; See ya then.
You might end up having to mail them to him? If you are talking about that much....might be too big to email.

R.I.P. Dime........a huge loss to the guitar world. :flag:

mroy
11-22-2005, 09:30 AM
You can PM me for a ftp site to upload them to.

accadacca
11-22-2005, 10:18 AM
You can PM me for a ftp site to upload them to.
Yeah, thanks for that. I could do that as well, Sombeech already has access to it. Just thinking of the easiest method for Fuzz. :ne_nau:

BrainDamage
11-22-2005, 11:45 AM
Fuzzy- Hope to see you there, If you Have the pics on a CD I could get them from you then. If you don't' go I could just swing by you house over the weekend while I am down there.

Fuzzy TheBikeGuy
12-17-2005, 04:54 PM
Okay, Sombeech, I sent you the goods.I hope it worked.

We're ridin' tomorow at noon! SEE YA?

:2thumbs:

Sombeech
12-17-2005, 05:51 PM
Okay, Sombeech, I sent you the goods.I hope it worked.

I got 'em, man! Look for some Price trails in the trail index by tomorrow! Thanks.

Udink
12-17-2005, 07:19 PM
We're ridin' tomorow at noon! SEE YA?
I'd go, except those switchbacks up the hill on Dead Dog look like a little too much for me. Besides, I rode Luke's again today, that's enough for one weekend. :ride: