Gooseberry Mesa/Red Canyon UT: Beta needed

[LIP]

Heading down Gooseberry/Red Canyon way in a couple weeks and I'm just looking for beta on the area in general. I'm just looking for can't miss trails, best maps/guide books/campsites/strip clubs/polygamist colonies, you know, all the good stuff. And I'm spent..........................

[Arty50]

My best advice is to go into Zion Bikes in Springdale and ask them for beta. They're one of the best shops I've ever dealt with.

Don't forget to take care of them too (there's a liquor store across the street) when they help you out.

Here's a TR from last fall:
http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64362

[Canada1]

Compare and contrast gooseberry vs whole enchilada, mag 7, thunder mountain. Looking to get my ten year old out and have never ridden at gooseberry.

Thanks in advance!

[jono]

GBM is broadly flat with tons of small ups and downs of varying but often borderline ridiculous slope. Those others are all downsloping.

ETA: +1 for Zion Cycles; good guys there. Over The Edge in Hurricane isn't bad, either, though, just harder to deal with early in the day.

[Phall]

I would say GB is similar to Mag 7, but more rolly, not nearly as descent oriented. A definite XC style ride. Well worth riding the blue side (N Rim?). Right up there is Wire mesa, which is a shorter, slightly less techy Gooseberry.
Jem Shuttle is well worth it, fast and flowy.
Bearclaw poppy in St. George is like a down hill pump track, pretty fun.
My favorite ride is probably Zen, and the barrel roll/sidewinder/barrel roll loop.
Haven't nailed down food in that area yet, mostly just been eating at camp, but Zion Brewery in Springdale is great, and the burgers and ice cream at Ft. Zion are awesome.

[smmokan]

Haven't nailed down food in that area yet, mostly just been eating at camp, but Zion Brewery in Springdale is great, and the burgers and ice cream at Ft. Zion are awesome.

My "short list" of food options in the area:

Lonny Boys BBQ
River Rock
Mekong Thai (good, not great)
Benja Thai (StG)
Honolulu Grill (StG)
Twisted Noodle (StG)

[Canada1]

She was fine on Mag 7 before gold bar, and then had to walk way too much. Sounds like start with north rim and see how she hangs?

Thanks everyone

[Boissal]

Compare and contrast gooseberry vs whole enchilada, mag 7, thunder mountain. Looking to get my ten year old out and have never ridden at gooseberry.

Thanks in advance!

I've only ridden Thunder Mtn but I'd say it's worth a trip if you have the time. Even without a shuttle you get to warm up on a mellow bike path & dirt road then cruise some high quality single track, especially now that the horse traffic has decreased a bit. The views are otherwordly and there is enough variety on that trail to make everyone happy, it's not a straight downhill and there's some really fun bench riding for the first half before hitting the more techy and steep downhill section. I bet your 10 y/o would shred 95% of it.
The only downside is the starting elevation, it's considerably higher than the St George/Hurricane stuff.

[EWG]

Compare and contrast gooseberry vs whole enchilada, mag 7, thunder mountain. Looking to get my ten year old out and have never ridden at gooseberry.

Thanks in advance!

I rode gooseberry with my son when he was maybe 11 or 12. You can find trails there that will work. There will be some walking on short sections, I'd guess. It's been a bit of time for me so I don't remember it perfectly. I'd say there are parts of Moab more kid friendly, but it's better for them than the serious Moab trails.

We had a blast. Good luck.

[Canada1]

She rode thunder mountain two weeks ago. For me, it is a Utah classic just for the beautiful views. I got her over her head on the gold bar section of mag 7, and don’t want to do that again.

[Boissal]

She rode thunder mountain two weeks ago. For me, it is a Utah classic just for the beautiful views. I got her over her head on the gold bar section of mag 7, and don’t want to do that again.

Nice, crushing the bike already! I rode Gold Bar years ago, definitely a step-up from ThuMo.

[BFD]

you do not have the large groups and shuttle riders that populate Moab. I am riding thunder mountain tomorrow if anyone is around.

[jono]

She was fine on Mag 7 before gold bar, and then had to walk way too much. Sounds like start with north rim and see how she hangs?

Thanks everyone

I've taken a big group of casual riders out on GBM and most of them still talk to me--some even claim to want to return.

The Jeep road (White Trail) is your friend. Take that up to the Practice Loop and she'll get to ramp up easy on the slickrock. The middle loop of the North Rim starts out about the intersection where the PL comes back to the road and (assuming you skip the lower segment of the PL) the North Rim can be a natural step up.

Probably want to avoid the South Rim loops, particularly the western-most of those would be long for a kid. Yellow Trail is short but hard. Those are my must-dos, but not with a beginner.

But the trail out to the Point is kinda reasonable with a couple stark exceptions, if she takes to the slickrock. If she doesn't just keep in mind you can always bail to the road and cruise out from most places. That's actually not that bad for beginners although the North Rim (and particularly the Practice Loop) are different (little bit easier) going back.

Little Creek is fun and a little easier apart from navigation (no dots). Guacamole goes the other way.

If in Springdale, Oscar's will feed you two great meals in one, and the Pizza and Noodle Company should be called ahead so you can skip the line. But River Rock is awesome for any meal.

[kevin267]

GBM is broadly flat with tons of small ups and downs of varying but often borderline ridiculous slope. Those others are all downsloping.

ETA: +1 for Zion Cycles; good guys there. Over The Edge in Hurricane isn't bad, either, though, just harder to deal with early in the day.

Over the edge in hurricane was awesome in helping out with beta when I went. Also if camping on gooseberry Mesa (which is pretty good, basic camping) OTE has showers.

[joetron]

Hot take: Thunder Mountain is one of the most overrated rides evar

[rideit]

The old ‘IMBA Epic’ Over The Edge ride in Fruita gives it a run for the money.

[BFD]

Thought it was good a few spectacular short sections. Going to ride cassidy tomorrow. Know anything about this grand view trail?

[jono]

Hot take: Thunder Mountain is one of the most overrated rides evar

That's a very hot take. I've somehow only been on it once and can't assess the riding from that type III mudfest, but I'll go back just for the views. Probably what all the over-raters say?

[smmokan]

The old ‘IMBA Epic’ Over The Edge ride in Fruita gives it a run for the money.

As does Hurricane Rim.

[evdog]

I make time to ride Thunder every couple years. The riding itself isn't amazing except for the ridgeline traverse. It's the views that make it a must do for me. Add Cassidy/Losee or Grandview to make it a loop and you've got a much bigger ride.

Know anything about this grand view trail?

I've ridden a bunch of Grandview. It goes 80 miles or so from bottom of Thunder, around the south end of the plateau and then around the south end of Bryce Cyn. Old horse equestrian trail "upgraded" to multi-use. Some parts have incredible riding and views. Lots of tough backcountry riding on the rest of it. I'm told the south end is currently impassible due to massive erosion from last year's storms. It's a hard trail to access for rides - either long shuttles or long loops.

TR's:
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/bik...ugunt-plateau/
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...ighlight=dixie
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...ighlight=dixie

[panchosdad]

Lossee/Cassidy/Thunder mtn. is a great desert ride imo. Fun riding, scenic as all get out.