By Scott Buehler, Southern Utah localBearclaw Poppy, where most riders start
Green Valley, southwest side Beginner to intermediate October through April Directions
Bearclaw Poppy is the trail that made St. George a riding town, and it is still the first one locals send a visitor to. It runs the desert on the southwest side near Green Valley and Tonaquint: fast, flowing, and playful, with a steady climb on the way out and a descent that rides like a roller coaster. It has features with names that riders trade stories about, but a competent beginner can ride all of it, because every bigger move has an easier line around it.
Most people ride it as an out and back of about four miles, or loop it through the wider Green Valley trail network that has grown up around it. It sits ten minutes from downtown, which makes it the classic after work lap and the reason a rider can live here and ride twice a week without planning a drive.
The details
The Zen Trail, when you want to be tested
Above the Bearclaw area, southwest side Advanced and technical October through April Directions
The Zen Trail is the answer to Bearclaw Poppy for riders who want to be tested rather than entertained. It is technical desert riding: ledges, rock moves, exposure in places, and a rhythm that punishes coasting. It is not a beginner trail and it does not pretend to be.
What makes it notable is where it sits. Serious technical singletrack usually means a long drive to a mountain. Here it is ten to fifteen minutes from downtown St. George, which is a large part of why riders who move to Utah for the trails end up in this valley instead of a mountain town. If a move looks intimidating, walk it on foot before you ride it; the climbs are steep enough that pushing is honest work.
The details
Barrel Roll and the Santa Clara River Reserve
Between St. George and Santa Clara Intermediate October through May Directions
West of town, on the mesa and river country between St. George, Santa Clara, and Ivins, sits the densest cluster of singletrack in the county. Barrel Roll is the one riders name first: a long, ledgy loop across the rim with the valley falling away on one side. It is the classic intermediate ride out here and the natural next step after Bearclaw Poppy.
The same network links into Sidewinder and Precipice, which step the difficulty up, and for riders who want to be genuinely humbled there is a line called Suicidal Tendencies, which is named accurately. The Ivins side of this network is covered on the Ivins mountain biking guide. Loops and closures shift with the season, so ask at a local shop for the ride of the day before you drive out.
The details
Chuckwalla and the Paradise Canyon network
North side, top of Bluff Street Intermediate October through April Directions
The north side of the valley has its own network inside the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, reached from the Chuckwalla trailhead at the top of Bluff Street where the road meets Snow Canyon Parkway. The system links Chuckwalla, Turtle Wall, Paradise Rim, and Halfway Wash across a mix of slickrock and sand, and it is the closest real riding for anyone living on the north end of town.
It is shared with hikers, and it sits inside a reserve created to protect the Mojave desert tortoise, so staying on the trail is a rule rather than an etiquette suggestion. Ride early, yield uphill, and read the board at the trailhead, because the rules vary by segment.
The details
This is protected tortoise habitat. The Red Cliffs Desert Reserve exists to protect the Mojave desert tortoise. Stay on designated trail, do not cut corners or build lines, and if you come across a tortoise, stop, give it space, and leave it exactly where it is.
Gooseberry Mesa and the rides east of town
On the Hurricane side Advanced, slickrock Fall through spring Directions
The rides people fly in for are mostly east of town. Gooseberry Mesa is the famous one, a slickrock mesa top near Hurricane that rides nothing like the dirt in St. George: open rock, big views, and route finding that rewards riders who can read the stone. The JEM and Little Creek networks lie out the same direction.
Treat it as a full day, with the drive, the ride, and the drive home planned as one thing rather than an after work lap. It is also the practical case for living in this valley: in town networks for weeknights, world class mesa riding for weekends, without moving. The full rundown of this side is on the Hurricane mountain biking guide.
The details
Whiptail in Snow Canyon, the paved ride with the views
Snow Canyon State Park Any level Year round Directions
Whiptail is the paved route that runs the length of Snow Canyon State Park, a few minutes northwest of town on the Ivins side. You get the petrified dunes, the basalt flows, and the red sandstone walls without needing technical skills or a suspension fork, which makes it one of the best easy rides in Utah and the route to take visitors on.
Because it is a state park trail, it is the one ride on this list with a gate: a day use entrance fee covers the car. The pavement is shared with walkers, runners, and skaters, so it is a rolling sightseeing ride rather than a training loop, which is exactly its job.
The details
The Virgin River Trail, the town ride
Across town, following the river Any level Year round Directions
The Virgin River Trail is a paved path that crosses St. George along the river on easy grades, and it is the honest answer to where to ride in July. On the west side it reaches Confluence Park, where the Santa Clara River comes in, and spurs extend toward the east end of the valley, so you can cross most of the city without touching a highway.
It is the trail for new riders and for anyone who wants an easy, shaded spin, and it works as a way to get across town without the car. It will not give you the desert singletrack experience, but on a summer afternoon it is the difference between riding and not riding.