Photo Essay: Slickrock and Singletrack in St. George, UT

Late last month we spent several days in the St. George / Hurricane area of Utah, working on a little project for our friends over at Canyon Bicycles.  Details on that project will be released in late May, but we wanted to share a handful of the pictures we captured.  And if you’re wondering, their new Spectral and Strive absolutely rip.

Day One: Zen Trail

The Zen Trail is one of our absolute favorites, as it’s a perfect balance of tech and flow… and sitting on the west side of town away from the “must-do” rides of Gooseberry, Little Creek and JEM, it’s relatively empty.  We rode on a Sunday afternoon and saw one other mountain biker over the course of 3-4 hours.

The Zen Trail is also one of the most scenic spots in the area with amazing rock features, huge views and an afternoon light that wouldn’t quit.  Bring your big-boy pants for this trail, as the technical features will push you… and you’ll love it.

Day Two: Guacamole Mesa

Guacamole Mesa is probably the lesser known of the famous riding areas in Hurricane, but it definitely shouldn’t be.  Sitting right on the doorstep of Zion National Park (you literally ride along the fence line of the park for several hundred feet), the views are absolutely incredible.  The terrain is like a more “mellow” Gooseberry Mesa, but it’s still quite challenging with plenty of features to session over the course of 10+ miles.

Day Three: Gooseberry Mesa

On the last day of the project, we hit Gooseberry Mesa: one of the top trail systems in the country that should be on any serious mountain biker’s bucket list.  The terrain on Gooseberry is other-worldly, and because of that offers lots of amazing photo opportunities.  You can bet your paycheck that we’ll ride Gooseberry on every single Chasing Epic trip to St. George!

Note: Some of these photos were taken by our trip leader and amazing photographer, Scott Cody.  Seriously, check out his site for more of his killer work.