Biking in Utah in April

Submitted by jhelmer on Thu, 30/03/2023 - 1:16pm

Hi! I'm planning on heading to Utah mid April for some biking and hiking. I've never been so looking for recomendations on trails to ride, places to stay (camping), recomended hikes, and anything else! Looking at Moab, Hurricane, Richfield, and of course Zion/Bryce canyon. Please share any info and if you're heading down feel free hit me up as I'll be traveling solo. TIA -Jessica 

Town: Rossland, BC
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Submitted by JLandry on Thu, 30/03/2023 - 4:09pm.

Hi Jessica

We've been down a few times, to Hurricane and Moab, primarily for biking. Both excellent destinations, and if you are a confident, fit, technical rider, you can spend a week in either destination. 

Moab: Free camping outside town near some of the trailheads (like Klondike Bluffs), however I don't think there is any free camping with basic facilities, like a pit toilet.  There are many rustic campsites around town that are pretty cheap, with pit toilets and a minimal cost. The horsetheif campground is pretty popular, with lots of great riding blue/green riding around. 

 Riding in Moab, there is lots. You can always get a shuttle and do Porcupine rim, it's pretty awesome. Its part of the whole enchilada, and depending on snow conditions, you may get up higher. 

 If you like technical riding, Captain Ahab is great. As well as riding from the Horsetheif campground towards Gold Bar and Gold bar rim, finishing with Portal (this is another shuttle ride, long and technical, with exposure, but pretty awesome). 

 Easier riding, Navajo Rocks is great, and definitely do Big Lonely and Big Mesa in the direction recommended on Trailforks. 

Hiking you have Arches Park close by (but I haven't really explored that). 

 

Hurricane: Great free camping both at Gooseberry Mesa and Jem trails, that includes pit toilets. Be very careful about the roads you drive and trails you access around Hurricane, if it's wet, the trails turn to a slick, muddy mess and a high clearance 4x4 is required to even consider driving them. If you happen to be camping up at Gooseberry and it rains hard, probably just camp another night. 

Riding. Gooseberry Mesa, Guacamole, Wire Messa, Little Messa, all fun. Expect slow, relatively flat, but technical riding. Jem trials are much less techincal, and good for ripping around and pedaling. In St. George, the Zen trails have more climbing and are more varied than the mesa riding. 

Obviously there is Zion park near by for hiking. 

 

Submitted by jhelmer on Thu, 30/03/2023 - 5:06pm.

Thank you JLandry!

Submitted by rosslandskibike on Thu, 30/03/2023 - 6:50pm.

Great advice above, you'd have a fun time following Jeff's recommendations. Another location worth a stop for biking is Fruita, ~30mins drive west of Grand Junction. There are two main trail networks, 18 Road and Kokopelli Loops, both offering numerous options which most Rossland riders would say range from green to easy black. Even the greens can get fun if you push the pace. 

It's been 15yrs since I've been there and I'm sure both the trails and camping have expanded/improved. Each time I went I stayed at Highline State Park (fee camping, showers, laundry, etc), west of town. In spring it was pretty much full of mountain bikers, with at least half rocking toques and pasty white legs (Canadians). Apparently the 18 Road trailhead now has a campground, I'm not sure what style it is.

All of the riding in those areas is quite different than we are blessed with. Big canyon views (some with fall exposure), smooth grippy (velcro grippy) surfaces, slow rock crawling techy trails for miles, and the occasional rattlesnake. Great fun!   

Youtube is your friend.

Submitted by jhelmer on Thu, 30/03/2023 - 9:27pm.

Thank you @rosslandskibike :)