Where Would You Ride in Late April or June?

[HankScorpio]

My buddy's wife is planning a surprise 40th bday trip for said buddy and our small riding crew of 4 guys. We've got 2 windows of time we can all agree on - late April and late June. I'm looking for advice on where out West will have ideal riding conditions during those chunks of time. Also, we'd ideally like to get there by a direct flight from Boston. We'll be renting a car so we'll be able to drive once we land. We're strong New England riders who also love drinking beer and we wouldn't say no to legal green. With our limited knowledge we've brainstormed a few places:

Late April:
Moab
Sedona

Late June:
Bend
Bellingham
Park City
Denver

Our biggest concerns boil down to getting there reasonably easy and not running into snow and/or muddy spring trails. We're shipping our bikes so rentals aren't needed. Advice is sorely needed and appreciated.

[toast2266]

Are you limited to the US? Because Canada is the answer. Specifically, BC. More specifically, Sea to Sky. Or Nelson / Rossland. Or Fernie. Or pretty much any of the spots in BC that are southern and low-ish elevation.

[HankScorpio]

Are you limited to the US? Because Canada is the answer. Specifically, BC. More specifically, Sea to Sky. Or Nelson / Rossland. Or Fernie. Or pretty much any of the spots in BC that are southern and low-ish elevation.

Yeah, we're sticking to the lower 48. Not all of us have updated passports.

[plugboots]

Non stop flights from Boston to Moab? Sure.

[HankScorpio]

Non stop flights from Boston to Moab? Sure.

Direct flight is ideal, not required if the everything else lines up.

[toast2266]

Yeah, we're sticking to the lower 48. Not all of us have updated passports.

Gotcha.

If you did Moab, you could fly into Grand Junction and ride there and around Fruita for a couple days. GJ and Fruita trails are fantastic, and they're in Colorado, so you can stock up on greenery. It's ~2 hours to Moab from there.

Another option for late April would be to fly into Vegas and drive to St. George / Virgin. Compared to Moab, the trails tend to be flatter (more low speed tech, less sustained descending / climbing), but it's a cool area. And you could hit Bootleg for a day, which has fun trails and is a great place to rip off all of your skin when you crash.

[mntlion]

1) you have TIME to get a passport?

2) BC is great, but some longer drives from airport to riding. FLying into calgary might be better and fernie, banff/canmore or golden?

3) Moab is great but seems busy (whistler like) great if you like that, but its not quiet free camping (Hurricane is)

[smmokan]

If you haven't been, I'd highly recommend flying into Grand Junction (it won't be direct, but you can connect through Denver easily) to ride there for a couple of days, then head over to Moab for a day or two. Otherwise like Toast said above, you could fly into Vegas and make the 2-hr drive over to St. George/Hurricane. That place will be perfect in late April. I personally like both of those options better than Sedona.

Park City will (hopefully) still have too much snow to ride the good stuff. And don't bother with Denver, unless you have friends in town and you're staying with them for free or something. The other locations are way better if you want to focus on mountain biking.

[plugboots]

Listen to smmokan

[BFD]

how long is your trip?

[HankScorpio]

Listen to smmokan

I know Smmokan knows his shit, that's why I'm pushing the group towards Sedona or S. Utah for April

how long is your trip?

5 days - 2 travel, 3 riding.

[jono]

Otherwise like Toast said above, you could fly into Vegas and make the 2-hr drive over to St. George/Hurricane. That place will be perfect in late April. I personally like both of those options better than Sedona.

This. Only reason I would consider Sedona alongside these options is if you have a contingent of actual "indoors" people to consider. Zion and Arches are better options for non-riders otherwise and the riding is better by Hurricane and Moab. Late June can favor alpine starts in the desert, though.

[BFD]

only reason to go to Sedona would be if you brought your wives.

[milestogo]

Can Monarch Crest in Salida be done in mid-late june or is mud or snow an issue?

[skaredshtles]

Can Monarch Crest in Salida be done in mid-late june or is mud or snow an issue?

Mid-June will almost always be a no-go for the Crest. Late June is a crapshoot depending on when/how they get snow down there.

[skaredshtles]

Oh - and to the OP's question:

I'd recommend in late April to fly to GJ like smmokan suggests and hit up Fruita and Moab. If you've never been I would STRONGLY recommend it.

And a pro-tip: be *very* careful about stocking up on greenery and then taking it to Moab. VERY careful.

[BFD]

looks like from a post on MTB project last year shuttles started July 1. This year you could probably ride it now. Headed out to ride 8 to 10000 ft now not to far away. regarding Monarch Crest

[lifelinksplit]

Just a heads up for Moab is Easter jeep safari gets damned busy(in April check dates). Still easy enough to get away but something to consider. That being said ill prob be down for a buddies bday late April. Also last year that time we still couldn't hit upper section of TWE.

[skaredshtles]

Just a heads up for Moab is Easter jeep safari gets damned busy(in April check dates). Still easy enough to get away but something to consider. That being said ill prob be down for a buddies bday late April. Also last year that time we still couldn't hit upper section of TWE.

Yeah - Burro doesn't *generally* open up until mid- to late-May.

[smmokan]

I know Smmokan knows his shit, that's why I'm pushing the group towards Sedona or S. Utah for April
5 days - 2 travel, 3 riding.

Given this, I would do St. George/Hurricane or Fruita/GJ, wherever you can find the best flights in late April.

[dfinn]

only reason to go to Sedona would be if you brought your wives.

huh? have you been there? I've ridden all around Moab and St George/Virgin area and I thought the selection of trails + the trails themselves in Sedona easily trumped the riding in southern Utah. Especially if you're into steep and technical.

[toast2266]

huh? have you been there? I've ridden all around Moab and St George/Virgin area and I thought the selection of trails + the trails themselves in Sedona easily trumped the riding in southern Utah. Especially if you're into steep and technical.

This. Sedona trails are rad and there's more legitimate tech there than either Moab or St. George. I'd say Sedona also has a slightly wider spectrum of trails - you can get buff flow and steep gnar all in one quick ride. There's not much buff flow in Moab.

I'm less of a fan of Sedona mostly because I hate the town, camping options are terrible, and alien worshipping hippies can fuck off, but the trails are great.

[dfinn]

I'm less of a fan of Sedona mostly because I hate the town, camping options are terrible, and alien worshipping hippies can fuck off, but the trails are great.

I've heard quite a few people bitch about the camping in Sedona but I didn't find any problems with it. I was down there for about 5 nights and found nice, free BLM camp spots not too far from town or from riding. Maybe you can't camp right at the trailheads like you can in some other places but it seemed close enough to me to not be an issue.

[mtngirl79]

get your passport shit figured out and BC. Seriously. look at trailforks. north of the Vancouver metropolis is nothing but trails and trails and trails. I have been having so much fun just driving an hour north...

Depending on what the weather does, Bellingham and the BC lowland trails might be fine in April, but will be prime in June.

Also, if you do end up in Bellingham there is a new biz that will be providing shuttles. He just got a sweet van all decked out with racks, and could probably set up most anything....

[evdog]

huh? have you been there? I've ridden all around Moab and St George/Virgin area and I thought the selection of trails + the trails themselves in Sedona easily trumped the riding in southern Utah. Especially if you're into steep and technical.

I'm sure he is referring to good scenery/hiking/jeep tours/other in Sedona to keep the wives busy while the guys are riding.


Sedona is cool for a few days if you've never been. But personally I find it too crowded with retarded hikers to really enjoy the trails for more than a day at a time. Access is good from Phx though, and you could make a day trip to Prescott. If OP & crew like technical riding they'll love the Granite Dells.

Hurricane and Moab are good bets as well, as mentioned. For any of these you are looking at a couple hours driving after any flight.

With a similar amount of driving you could also hit Santa Cruz, Seattle/Bellingham, LA (seriously, Mt Wilson 5k ft descents), or Palm Springs/Idyllwild (April). I've done Palm Canyon a few times in late April with a good weather window. For late June the PNW should be prime especially coastal areas. In the interior you could hit Leavenworth/Twisp, WA area from Spokane or Oakridge/Bend from Portland. In a low snow year some CO high country may be opening up by then, but that would be hard to plan now. Most any of these places are good for setting up a basecamp and then knock off rides.


Granite Dells stoke: