Red Rock Rangers
hiker-trash extraordinaire!
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2015
- Messages
- 23
We're definitely on a mountain biking roll! Last weekend Jordan and I rode the trails at Red Canyon, and it only whetted our appetites. It's still way too hot to ride down in St. George, but we learned about the Three Peaks Trails up near Cedar City and decided to check them out.
The Three Peaks Trail System has lots of goodies -- cool man-made structures, swoopy flow sections, and rocky technical challenges. There are lots of different route options, ranging from super-easy to seriously tough. The trail system is really close to Cedar City, and at 5,800' in elevation, temperatures were a lot cooler than St. George's 102°F.
up high on the Race Loop
Get there:
To get to the trailhead, drive just north of Cedar City along I-15. Take exit #62, and head north on U-130 (towards Minersville.) After 2.6 miles, turn left on Midvalley Road. Drive 6 miles west. You'll see a welcome area at the first turnoff -- start watching for signs for 'Mountain Bike Trailhead.' Turn right on that gravel road and take it to the trailhead.
Do it:
Overall, we made a big loop out of the Practice Route and the Race Loop, but we also took lots of little spurs and figure 8s with the connector trails. On the way back, we ended up riding parts of Sweat Pea, Outlaw, and Lost World as well. For the most part, it was all fairly easy riding punctuated by fun intermediate challenges. There were rocky granite outcrops, which were a blast to ride on -- granite grips your tires so much more than sandstone. There were also tons of little bridges and ramps. Man-made features aren't super-prevalent in Utah, so those were a fun novelty. There's a lot more left to explore, so I'm sure we'll be back!
nailed it!
The Three Peaks Trail System has lots of goodies -- cool man-made structures, swoopy flow sections, and rocky technical challenges. There are lots of different route options, ranging from super-easy to seriously tough. The trail system is really close to Cedar City, and at 5,800' in elevation, temperatures were a lot cooler than St. George's 102°F.
up high on the Race Loop
To get to the trailhead, drive just north of Cedar City along I-15. Take exit #62, and head north on U-130 (towards Minersville.) After 2.6 miles, turn left on Midvalley Road. Drive 6 miles west. You'll see a welcome area at the first turnoff -- start watching for signs for 'Mountain Bike Trailhead.' Turn right on that gravel road and take it to the trailhead.
Do it:
Overall, we made a big loop out of the Practice Route and the Race Loop, but we also took lots of little spurs and figure 8s with the connector trails. On the way back, we ended up riding parts of Sweat Pea, Outlaw, and Lost World as well. For the most part, it was all fairly easy riding punctuated by fun intermediate challenges. There were rocky granite outcrops, which were a blast to ride on -- granite grips your tires so much more than sandstone. There were also tons of little bridges and ramps. Man-made features aren't super-prevalent in Utah, so those were a fun novelty. There's a lot more left to explore, so I'm sure we'll be back!
nailed it!