Riding St. George Part One: The Santa Clara Trails and Hurricane Rim
Anyone familiar with the trail options in St. George knows that there are literally dozens of incredible options within a 30 minute drive of downtown… so how do you choose which to ride? Luckily, there’s such a great mix of trail types that you can’t go wrong, and it’s great to try a little bit of everything. Last week, a few of us headed down to the St. George-Hurricane area to scout trails for our spring trips and we ordered a sampler platter of what they had to offer.
Santa Clara Trail Network (Barrel Roll- Sidewinder- Suicidal Tendencies)
Riding all three of these trails in their entirety gives you an awesome 15 mile ride with incredible views and a mix of just about everything. From fast, flowy singletrack to technical, exposed rock sections, you get it all… and only a few miles from town. Great for intermediates and experts alike, this trail network will be a go-to staple on our trips for a first or last ride.
Heading down from Sidewinder to Suicidal Tendencies:
The views looking into (and beyond) Snow Canyon are beautiful:
Lots to enjoy as you rip through the desert landscape:
Hurricane Rim (Hurricane- Goulds Rim- JEM)
On the second day of riding, we wanted to do the IMBA Epic Hurricane Rim. Unfortunately, the area saw decent snowfall the previous week, so our efforts were somewhat thwarted by mud and poor conditions. We did manage to ride part of the Hurricane Rim (proper) trail as well as Goulds Rim and the JEM trail. As you can see, the scenery is fantastic, the trail is fast, and riding this gives you a true backcountry feel.
Negotiating the ins-and-outs of Goulds Rim:
There’s always something to look at when you ride in St. George. In this case, the snow-capped Pine Mountains tower over us in the background.
Can you picture yourself ripping this trail when it’s 70 degrees in April?
Nearing the end of Goulds Rim, just before conditions deteriorated to sticky clay and mud:
