Utah is the place where mountain bikers’ dreams go on vacation. No matter what type of riding you like to do, what time of year you like to do it, you can rest assured that you will find it somewhere in Utah.
Whether you are on the fast-banking turns of the Draper downhill, the world-famous slick rock trail in Moab or right here in the South Fork of Provo Canyon riding the Big Spring Hollow trail, you are riding in an area that is the mountain bikers’ Mecca.
“I love that I can ride local during the workweek and then take a short road trip north or south and find a completely different type of trail,” said Matt Hillman, 26, from Rigby, Idaho studying Public Health. “All the trails are so diverse and challenging in their own ways.”
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There are a good amount of trails that extend south from Payson up north to Alpine. However, Provo Canyon is a good place to start experiencing local trails. There are trails for the inexperienced and out of shape biker, as well as to the avid ones.
For a novice rider, a good place to start would be the Provo Canyon Race Loop. This trail offers a gentle climb with many variations in its route that can be matched to any skill level. If you are a seasoned vet and want to challenge yourself and get a good cardio burn, you might want to venture to the Windy Pass trail that will provide you with 3,300 feet of tough vertical climbing. If you are looking for a fun trail that doesn’t require too much skill or endurance, but is a lot of fun, the Big Spring Hollow trail will not disappoint.
Across Utah Lake in Eagle Mountain bikers will find an extremely fun park. The Mountain Ranch Bike Park offers a wide array of man-made obstacles like teeter-totters, pump tracks and skill-enhancing ramps. Above the bike park there are also quite a few trails that are extremely fun.
“I used to ride park back in Vegas, so this is a fun mixture of mountain biking and park riding,” said John Thuet, a recent BYU graduate. “I also like the downhill trail on the backside of the park. It’s pretty epic.”
Southern Utah Trails
Southern Utah has some of the most challenging and scenic trails in the world. People from all over the country and the planet go to Moab to ride the legendary Slick Rock Trail that gives you 14 miles of pedaling over solid rock. Right past the Slick Rock Trail Head, you can venture up to one of the best downhills ever conceived, Porcupine Rim. Porcupine Rim takes its riders on a 25-mile downhill that is technical, fast and over the top in a few places. From Porcupine, bikers will get a grand view looking over the Castle Valley Monuments and the Colorado River.
[/media-credit]Moab has seen an influx in the number of visitors in recent years according to the City of Moab website. Because of this influx, the City of Moab and biking enthusiasts have been building new trails in the surrounding areas. Some of the new trails include: Mag 7, DinoFlow, EKG, Pipe Dream and many more.
Another area that is filled with fun southern-Utah trails is the St.George area. Gooseberry Mesa is a trail that will push its riders to the limit. It combines large sections of slick rock riding with tight-turning dirt single track trails. The Mesa will make riders wonder why they do anything else with their time except live on a bike. Close to Gooseberry is the J.E.M. trail that is a fun steady ride which is scenic going up and extremely fast and rhythmic coming back down. The Zen trail and Bear Claw Poppy are popular trails located near the Green Valley Gap in St.George. Bear Claw has many steep drops that will keep the adrenaline pumping and the Zen trail will take you to your happy place with its above-it-all views.
Point of the Mountain Trails
Corner Canyon in Draper has received a lot of attention lately as the trail system has exploded in numbers in the area. A new tunnel has now joined the trails of Corner Canyon with 633 acres in Little Valley. Little Valley Trails will be a good addition to the Draper Downhill Trail, Rush Trail and Ann’s trail.
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With a plethora of trails to choose from, things can get a little overwhelming. The best thing to do is find someone that has ridden some of the trails and go with them. If you have biking experience, and have an adventurous spirit, you can navigate to the utahmountainbiking.com website and find a trail near you and start biking today.
