Mountain biking at Hurricane Cliffs, Utah means not looking down, unless you have to. And sometimes you have to.
Mountain Biking at Hurricane Cliffs in Hurricane, Utah outside St. George, was a bonus day ahead of a long-scheduled trip to Zion National Park, The Grand Canyon, and Bryce Canyon. So I wasn’t expecting much.
Man, was I wrong.
What was supposed to be a day just killing time prior to the real adventure, turned out to be every bit as much fun and exciting as the days ahead.
And that’s saying something.
My friend, John Schrader had arrived in Utah a few days ahead of my wife, Mary, and me, as well as another friend, Karen Deer.
He sent some pictures of a mountain bike ride he had done, and we told him via text to plan on returning.
No way I was missing this.
A whole new landscape in Hurricane, Utah
When we talk about falling over a cliff in Virginia, 95-percent of the time what we really mean is falling down a steep embankment.
In Utah, it means falling off an actual cliff.
Like hundreds of feet before the umph that kills you.
Not to be dramatic or anything, but look at the pictures and judge for yourself.
Novices at Hurricane Cliffs
The folks at the Over the Edge Sports, where we rented high-end Rocky Mountain bikes, assured us there were plenty of beginner trails — and not to worry.
We looked at a map and saw lots of green trails along with blues for intermediate riders.
In our group of experienced road cyclists, I was the only one to claim intermediate status on the dirt.
But even I was a bit concerned as somehow the lines on that map and the terrain we had seen out the car window didn’t exactly match up.
But off we went.
Riding Hurricane Cliffs
It was a short van ride from the bike shop to the Hurricane Cliffs mountain biking area, where we found a couple of designated parking areas, and the occasional oasis, with a restroom and a kiosk with information on local plants and wildlife and a map.
The trails were well marked and we set off on More Cowbell, an awesome trail to match the name of the famous Saturday Night Live skit.
We used this trail to warm up and get comfortable. It had a fantastic, smooth surface, unlike the rooty and rocky terrain I was used to riding in the east. At the loop’s end, trail builders installed an actual cowbell, which John rang happily.
From there we rode a series of beginner and intermediate trails with names like Goosebumps, Cryptobionic, JEM, and Hurricane Rim.
Rim is a good word for the last one, as we were looking straight over the edge at the Virgin River.
Despite the potential for danger, which also includes running into the occasional rock garden or, say – a cactus, the riding was sensational. Perhaps the most fun I’ve ever had on a mountain bike. The smooth trails were swoopy and offered dips and jumps that a better rider would have enjoyed even more than me.
Occasionally the trail would come to a vee and offer an easier or more difficult section. Even then, there was no real need for concern.
I will say there was a black section on JEM that we hiked our bikes down. I can’t imagine anyone could ride this, but we later learned that the guys at the shop do it regularly.
Well, ok.
But, no. Just no.
I had a hard time walking it, slipping and sliding and maneuvering over larger boulders on a steep downhill.
There’s something about that landscape at Hurricane Cliffs
As an east coast guy, my riding has been on rounded, older mountains with lots of trees. Think Virginia, Vermont, and even West Virginia. So riding in the car to the area around St. George, Utah seemed like being on the moon.
(Click here for a look at some east coast adventures)
What were these flat-topped hills? Why is it all so brown? And, how cool is it going to be, not just to look at it from the car – but to go play in it?
A philosophical approach to riding
It occurred to me that I drive through and around our local mountains every day and hardly notice them anymore. I’m sure it’s the same for the people who live in Utah. Mountains, plateaus, mesas, buttes, or whatever you call them, are just there. Something you drive past while you worry about work or whatever, like so much background noise to life’s main chorus.
Even though the formations have those steep sandstone sides, and are unnaturally flat, if you have always lived there they are likely as common as a cliche.
But, if you’ve not grown up with them, they are infinitely cool-looking. Oddballs of earth’s architecture. I remember staring out the van window, trying to figure out the deal, to understand what I was seeing — to decode their desert DNA.
So, for those of us whose adrenaline glands are pretty much kaput and whose muscles and bones are long past their prime, it was more than enough to just be there, riding mountain bikes on a smooth trail, overlooking the edge of a big drop but not really dangerously close. We were not testing the limits of the bike’s technology, our balance, or even our nerves.
No need to do wheelies, or huck off the cliffs.
Not that we could.
Just a simple cross-country bike ride over terrain that for us, was more than enough just because it was both beautiful and curious.
Click below for a link to my Strava record from the ride!
https://www.strava.com/activities/5944364904/embed/1e7b383507c4c75dd51e7069aeb48089dd226c1a
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Hurricane Utah is just a short drive from St. George, which is a bit of a launchpad for numerous National Parks, most notably Zion. We were very pleased with the help and service at Over the Edge Sports, which is a nice bike shop with a ton of inventory and a fantastic selection of rental bikes.
We were all on Rocky Mountain Altitude bikes with brand new Shimano XT components. I’m quite sure mine had never been ridden before. Luck of the draw, but I’ll take it.
(Click here for information on the many rental options)
We paid $80 each for a bike for the day and a helmet. The shop threw in a multi-tool and a tube to carry — just in case. The short shuttle ride to Hurricane Cliffs was $10 each round trip. All we had to do was call when we were done and they came to get us. The wait was no more than 10 minutes.
Kudos to Zach, who was super patient, and helped us through all our newbie questions, and for driving us up and back, and changing out my pedals from flats to Shimano SPD’s. All with a smile.
I should mention that it was hot. Each of us carried hydration packs — and we were glad we did. Mine holds 2.5 liters of water, and it was dry when we completed our 15 miles.
Clearly, we are older riders. All of us are at or about 60 years old. If you like this kind of riding, check out some of my videos at Biking 4 Boomers
