East Zion Park Trails…Anyone Have Beta?

[rideit]

Will be keeping an eye on this. Hope there is some tech-gnar in the works!

https://www.ksl.com/article/50270983...ions-east-side

[One (+) Sentence]

Haven’t ridden the East Zion zone, but Raising Arizona recently posted some video of that area here.

https://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/pahvant.htm


Check out Telegraph and Spinal Tap in the new Pahvant network on your way down to Zion.

[raisingarizona13]

Will be keeping an eye on this. Hope there is some tech-gnar in the works!

https://www.ksl.com/article/50270983...ions-east-side

It's mostly flow trail type stuff but Bison Escape was mostly hand built with a big machine built section towards the bottom, it's got some really fun tech riding in there. I did the design on the section that splits off the hand built traverse for the dh and I was trying to give it an old school dh vibe with some steep, rock work. I got to use the project partners big X to move those rocks and place them as well as reshape the rock quarry at the bottom, it was a massive build and I think it's the best section I've ever done, I'm very proud of it. There's also a flow trail at that junction I also designed and built that has big rollers toward the bottom that you can boost for some really fun, floaty airs. It's going to be an awesome system once it's completed next season. Right now there isn't a ton of stuff but it's all directional and made for doing hot laps. It's really killer if you have an e-bike.

Our project partner is really into flow trail so that's the focus but there's bits of tech here and there to make the system diverse. I'll be back out there in the spring. It's the best project I've been a part of so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Xz...m9xfiuJ4AaABAg

[rideit]

So psyched you are a part of this, RA. Maybe we can rally and ride in ‘22.

[raisingarizona13]

So psyched you are a part of this, RA. Maybe we can rally and ride in ‘22.

Thanks rideit. Come on down while I'm on site and I'll give you the tour. There's an upper trail that will connect to everything but isn't public yet that was built by Apex Trail Construction, it's really fun.

You'll also want to ride the new Dark Hollow, it's a blast.

[toast2266]

That sounds super cool RA. I really think that sort of trail is the logical next step in trail building - legit hand built tech intermixed with machine built flow. So many places seem to either make a trail 100% hand built or 100% machine built, but the few trails I've ridden that had a healthy dose of both were super fun. It's just packing all the fun stuff into one well rounded trail.

[raisingarizona13]

That sounds super cool RA. I really think that sort of trail is the logical next step in trail building - legit hand built tech intermixed with machine built flow. So many places seem to either make a trail 100% hand built or 100% machine built, but the few trails I've ridden that had a healthy dose of both were super fun. It's just packing all the fun stuff into one well rounded trail.

It's definitely my favorite sort of riding and building. It's what we talked about in the building thread last week. It's pricey though, those sorts of trails don't come cheap.

[toast2266]

It's definitely my favorite sort of riding and building. It's what we talked about in the building thread last week. It's pricey though, those sorts of trails don't come cheap.

Yeah, for sure. And some of them just seem logistically challenging in terms of leap frogging an excavator through the landscape. If there isn't relatively easy access to move the machine around, it seems like it'd be really tough to pull off.

[raisingarizona13]

Yeah, for sure. And some of them just seem logistically challenging in terms of leap frogging an excavator through the landscape. If there isn't relatively easy access to move the machine around, it seems like it'd be really tough to pull off.

Oh yeah, you gotta have the appropriate location to do those jobs. It can be pretty annoying sometimes dealing with land managers that think that you can sit in an office and throw lines on a map, saying that we want this sort of trail here and that sort of trail there, as a trail builder I'm like......that's not how this works!

[homemadesalsa]

Hey there @raisingarizona13 - just found out that we have a friend in common. We're in Hurricane and contemplating heading home the long way. Do you think your new east zion trails might be rideable right now? I saw the map in the ksl article; are they the same ones that show up a bit on Trailforks?

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[raisingarizona13]

Hey there @raisingarizona13 - just found out that we have a friend in common. We're in Hurricane and contemplating heading home the long way. Do you think your new east zion trails might be rideable right now? I saw the map in the ksl article; are they the same ones that show up a bit on Trailforks?

Sent from my SM-A600A using Tapatalk

Cool! I saw you on the instagram. I don't think those trails would be in play but I could be wrong. It's right at 6k or so in elevation so the north facing bits would probably have snow on them and that soil gets real sticky when wet. They aren't showing up on my trail forks but there's a link in this thread that has good descriptions and tells ya where to park. Have a fun trip, safe travels!

[homemadesalsa]

Cool! I saw you on the instagram. I don't think those trails would be in play but I could be wrong. It's right at 6k or so in elevation so the north facing bits would probably have snow on them and that soil gets real sticky when wet. They aren't showing up on my trail forks but there's a link in this thread that has good descriptions and tells ya where to park. Have a fun trip, safe travels!

We took a drive up that way this afternoon after riding Guacamole. You're right, still snowy and soft, but such cool country. That road goes all the way up to the Virgin River Rim. We will catch them some other time. Now hoping for a Richfield ride on the way home.

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[mntlion]

I'll be flying into SLC in early May, renting an RV, and mostly riding hurricane. But I think the loop back will be this, thunder and some Richfield rides too.

Thanks

[raisingarizona13]

I'll be flying into SLC in early May, renting an RV, and mostly riding hurricane. But I think the loop back will be this, thunder and some Richfield rides too.

Thanks

We'll be working there in May. I'll send you PM with details.

[powpig]

Just rode here a couple days ago. We went all the way to the end and chatted a bit with one of the trail crew. Lotsa manpower out there putting in hard work, bet they were enjoying the cooler weather.
Really nice work on the Bison Chute!
Short Radio Flyer loop on the other side of the road was fun too.
Be interested to see how it evolves.

We left there and stayed in Caliente and rode there yesterday. Same story there, up and coming trail system, be cool to see how it looks a few years from now.

[raisingarizona13]

Just rode here a couple days ago. We went all the way to the end and chatted a bit with one of the trail crew. Lotsa manpower out there putting in hard work, bet they were enjoying the cooler weather.
Really nice work on the Bison Chute!
Short Radio Flyer loop on the other side of the road was fun too.
Be interested to see how it evolves.


We left there and stayed in Caliente and rode there yesterday. Same story there, up and coming trail system, be cool to see how it looks a few years from now.

Sweet! Thank you. Trail building is really hard work so it's nice to get an attaboy every now and then.

Did you ride Lunar Ride? I don't think the air is as obvious on that one as the other two you mentioned but you can step down the roller above the steep section and air the heck out of the rollers after that. That first roller is the biggest air I built in the system, unless maybe you pedal yer ass off into the Bison Chute step down.

Bison Chute is my baby. It's everything I love in a dh trail and it was designed to have an old school character with the steeper bits.

The new system is going to be a bit more xc orientated but there's two flow trail descents on the other side of the canyon you peered into. That was me down below doing the machine work on the continuation of Canyon Connect. I had to design in 16 switchbacks to make it climbable. There's still a little bit of unknown toward the bottom but I think I can make it work.

A lot of the system is designed for lapping. I don't think a lot of southern Utah riders get that.

Oh, there's another system that will be connected to out phase two part. Derick (Apex Trails) is working on that part. He has real dirt and really fun terrain that has more elevation change. His stuff is really good. Once it all comes together it's gonna be dope.

[raisingarizona13]

We took a drive up that way this afternoon after riding Guacamole. You're right, still snowy and soft, but such cool country. That road goes all the way up to the Virgin River Rim. We will catch them some other time. Now hoping for a Richfield ride on the way home.

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I hear the Richfield trails are really good.

[evdog]

We left there and stayed in Caliente and rode there yesterday. Same story there, up and coming trail system, be cool to see how it looks a few years from now.

Did you get to ride Ella Mountain? I hear that's now been connected all the way back to town. Last fall it only went about half way. Cool trail!

[raisingarizona13]

Did you get to ride Ella Mountain? I hear that's now been connected all the way back to town. Last fall it only went about half way. Cool trail!

I love the B&R area but I find the Caliente terrain a little uninspiring for riding. It's probably good if you like long, epic xc riding but that's not my thing really. I love walking around out there though. It's not hard to stumble upon cool, off the beaten path archy sites that likely few people have ever seen.

[powpig]

Did you get to ride Ella Mountain? I hear that's now been connected all the way back to town. Last fall it only went about half way. Cool trail!

We only had the morning so just rode the loop outta the campground and a couple adjoining loops to stretch it out a bit. Definitely want to check that out next time we're down that way.

[panchosdad]

We only had the morning so just rode the loop outta the campground and a couple adjoining loops to stretch it out a bit. Definitely want to check that out next time we're down that way.

The Barnes Canyon trails were the best that we rode in Caliente, more reminiscent of the mesa rides around Hurricane. Fun desert chunk.

[evdog]

I love the B&R area but I find the Caliente terrain a little uninspiring for riding. It's probably good if you like long, epic xc riding but that's not my thing really. I love walking around out there though. It's not hard to stumble upon cool, off the beaten path archy sites that likely few people have ever seen.

Can't really argue with that assessment. They made good use of the terrain though and the stuff at Barnes has some good chunk and interesting features. Upper Ella goes through some very scenic areas.. I'll post some pics when I get home. The full Ella back to town will be a pretty epic point to point. For a shuttle run it likely won't be much of a descent that will get the bros excited. But a trail that drops thru multiple eco zones is pretty cool IMO.

[wilcox510]

Are the East Zion trails on a map somewhere? I dont see them on Trailforks.

[raisingarizona13]

Can't really argue with that assessment. They made good use of the terrain though and the stuff at Barnes has some good chunk and interesting features. Upper Ella goes through some very scenic areas.. I'll post some pics when I get home. The full Ella back to town will be a pretty epic point to point. For a shuttle run it likely won't be much of a descent that will get the bros excited. But a trail that drops thru multiple eco zones is pretty cool IMO.

Yeah, I bet it would be a sweet out and back and/or overnight ride. the middle Ella portion was soul crushing for me. It's the part after the upper section you have ridden already. There were six miles of up and down up and down as it traverses through washes and around the contours. I was cleaning behind a dozer and the line cut was extremely uninspiring for me. I lost my back pack one day because everything looked exactly the same to me and I couldn't put together exactly where I was . The late summer/fall session I had there was a lot more interesting as the trail runs down a long, scenic ridge line before dropping into that canyon. The canyon was a huge sandbox so I'm really curious to see how that turned out. Overall I wasn't too pumped on the alignment design but it's a challenging area to figure out so not being judgy and it is what it is.

[raisingarizona13]

Are the East Zion trails on a map somewhere? I dont see them on Trailforks.

This is the best thing out there so far.
https://www.utahmountainbiking.com/t...upper-zion.htm

I update my Instagram pretty regularly on the trail work that's happening there. I just gave Radio Flyer a facelift and am now working on continuing the Canyon Connector.
https://www.instagram.com/raisingarizona13/?hl=en