{"id":4845,"date":"2015-06-30T09:00:08","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T16:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=4845"},"modified":"2018-11-11T22:01:15","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T06:01:15","slug":"mountain-biking-road-trip-hurricane-and-st-george","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/mountain-biking-road-trip-hurricane-and-st-george","title":{"rendered":"Mountain Biking Road Trip: Hurricane and St. George"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Moab is the celebrity of the Utah mountain biking world, the trails around Hurricane and St. George in the state\u2019s southwest corner are sleeper candidates threatening to steal the show.<\/p>\n

The Red Bull Rampage mountain bike event draws fat tire fans to Virgin, right up the road, but you don\u2019t have to be a pro freerider to get in on some of the area\u2019s best action. With everything from rolling flow trails to natural bike park-style runs and plenty of Instagram-worthy campsites to boot, southwest Utah should be on every mountain biker\u2019s vacation to-do list.<\/p>\n

Ride the natural bike park at Gooseberry Mesa<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Slickrock Trail doesn\u2019t hold the trademark on sandstone bowls and steep, curvy, naturally carved trails. If you love park-style terrain, Gooseberry Mesa<\/a> is the place to put your rubber down. Gooseberry towers over the Virgin River valley just a few miles east of Hurricane and St. George, and you can see all the way to the massive walls of Zion National Park<\/a> from the sheer rims of the mesa. A network of trails weaves together a variety of options, including double black diamond technical spots perfect for sessioning with friends.<\/p>\n

\"mountain<\/p>\n

Go for the flow<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just below the sheer cliffs of Gooseberry Mesa, the JEM Trail peals down some of the most laugh-out-loud fun flow sections around. And if you like riding up as much as down, you can link it with the Hurricane Rim and Goulds Rim trails for the IMBA Epic Hurricane Rim Loop<\/a>, clocking in at 20+ miles of gorgeous views and big grins. Just remember to pronounce it \u201cHer-uh-kin\u201d when you\u2019re talking to the locals.<\/p>\n

Or get both in one ride<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the west side of St. George, opposite of Gooseberry Mesa, the Zen Trail<\/a> is only six miles long, but is packed with technical fun. If Gooseberry has you longing for more, hit up a short second session at Zen. The climb will wear you out, but the descent will leave you satisfied.<\/p>\n

\"mountain<\/p>\n

Savor the free and cheap camping<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nothing makes a mountain biking trip more satisfying than cracking a beer on the tailgate when you\u2019re still covered in sweat and dirt and catching your breath. Even better if your tailgate is already parked at your campsite. Between the dispersed camping on BLM land at Gooseberry Mesa, the Red Cliffs campsite<\/a> northeast of Hurricane and the more developed campgrounds\u2014read: warm showers\u2014at Snow Canyon State Park<\/a>, there\u2019s sure to be a site you can stake out close to your favorite trail.<\/p>\n

Fuel up in town<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you need to fill your belly after a long ride, hit up Lupita\u2019s in Hurricane for Mexican. Especially if it\u2019s $1 taco Tuesday or $1 enchilada Thursdays. If pre-ride espresso and cinnamon rolls sounds good, try River Rock Roasting Co. in La Verkin\u2014just take the time to enjoy it on their scenic back patio. And if you want to know what a breakfast sandwich tastes like when it\u2019s made with pure love, make the gorgeous drive along the Virgin River into Springdale to meet Scott and Heidi, owners of Deep Creek Coffee. Their \u201cbro-rito\u201d and fresh scones will take good care of you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Moab is the celebrity of the Utah mountain biking world, the trails around Hurricane and St. George in the state\u2019s southwest corner are sleeper candidates threatening to steal the show. The Red Bull Rampage mountain bike event draws fat tire fans to Virgin, right up the road, but you don\u2019t have to be a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[25,370,138,140],"internal-tag":[1675],"class_list":["post-4845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycle","tag-cycle","tag-hilary-oliver","tag-united-states","tag-utah","internal-tag-pre-redirect-cycle"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/mountain-biking-road-trip-hurricane-and-st-george","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Mountain Biking Road Trip: Hurricane and St. George","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/mountain-biking-road-trip-hurricane-and-st-george","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/mountain-biking-road-trip-hurricane-and-st-george"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/prospector-by-Brendan-Leonard-2.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/prospector-by-Brendan-Leonard-2.jpg?fit=1500%2C1125"},"articleSection":"Cycle","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["cycle","hilary oliver","united states","utah"],"dateCreated":"2015-06-30T16:00:08Z","datePublished":"2015-06-30T16:00:08Z","dateModified":"2018-11-12T06:01:15Z"},"rendered":"