Cycling Southern Utah

Mountain biking in the desert of Southern Utah isn’t a traditional Thanksgiving activity, but it certainly is one worth considering. I had a blast! Let me tell you about it…

First; Southern Utah is a mountain biker’s heaven. From the western corner of St. George, just two-hours drive from Las Vegas, across to Moab on the east side, Utah has a lot to offer when it comes to riding for activity, sport, or sight-seeing.

Utah boasts some of the most picturesque trail riding in the world, including petrified sand dunes, wooded forest, deeply-eroded canyons and high mountain tops. All colored in brilliant red sand and world-class geology. With a hundred miles of blue sky, and perfect temperatures, Fall in Southern Utah is wonderful.

On this trip we spent time in the St. George area, mountain biking the Bear Claw Poppy Trail in an area near Green Valley. Lots of well-marked trails and plenty of options, from ‘easy’ to ‘difficult’.

We drove to the trail head and started from there on a loop that had us among high desert buttes within a few minutes. Our trail kept us plenty busy for about two hours with plenty more to see for die-hards. At the top of the ‘loop’ we found ourselves looking out over a large rolling valley with red rock buttes and hidden canyons; absolutely stunning!

There were a few others on the trail, so you don’t have to feel ‘alone’ if you don’t want to, but there is also so much wide open space that you could feel solitude and enjoy some deep-thinking as you scan the expansive horizon.

For those of you looking for a nice easy ride, there are ‘Easy’ trails well marked along the way that provide enough challenge to be exciting, but not too dangerous. For those of you looking for some action, there are plenty of challenges, both up and down hills, bumps and cliffs. -I went down the easier of the ‘Three Fingers of Death‘, for instance.

Southern Utah offers plenty of options and is a great place to run to for a quick weekend trip. With plenty of challenges and more view than you can shake a stick at.

Have you ever taken a bike ride trip?