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MTB in Bryce in March?

1926 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  STT GUY, 
T
Hey all -

I have a friend visiting on Mar 12 from the east coast who has never gone mountain biking (he's an avid road biker though) and I want to give him a taste of Utah MTB. I've been to Bryce once before and road the Thunder Mountain + Cassidy-Losee Loop and think it'd be a great place for him to try mtb for the first time given the nice views and fairly friendly terrain.

Since I'm from california and don't know much about trail conditions there in March, do you guys think it'll be too cold / snowy in Bryce on Mar 12 to take my friend? Or do you think we can throw on some extra clothes and go for it. If not, is there anywhere else in Southwest UT you guys would recommend for a nice long trail to take my friend on (fairly easy terrain and nice views are a plus!)

Thanks a lot!
Kevin
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JMH
tittiot said:
Hey all -

I have a friend visiting on Mar 12 from the east coast who has never gone mountain biking (he's an avid road biker though) and I want to give him a taste of Utah MTB. I've been to Bryce once before and road the Thunder Mountain + Cassidy-Losee Loop and think it'd be a great place for him to try mtb for the first time given the nice views and fairly friendly terrain.

Since I'm from california and don't know much about trail conditions there in March, do you guys think it'll be too cold / snowy in Bryce on Mar 12 to take my friend? Or do you think we can throw on some extra clothes and go for it. If not, is there anywhere else in Southwest UT you guys would recommend for a nice long trail to take my friend on (fairly easy terrain and nice views are a plus!)

Thanks a lot!
Kevin
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Usually a lot of snow left at that time of year. A better bet would be 90 minutes south on the JEM trail system. It's beginner friendly, the weather and trails will likely be great.

JMH

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T
Oh boy that's a lot of snow. Thanks for the quick response

I've actually ridden the Jem trail (near gooseberry) with a friend and wasn't the biggest fan of the ride and views. Is there anything else around the Zion / Bryce area that would be a good ride that's not covered in snow? We still want to go to Bryce to see the park for a couple hours as well, so anything between or around the two parks would be awesome

Thanks again!
Kevin
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JMH
tittiot said:
Oh boy that's a lot of snow. Thanks for the quick response

I've actually ridden the Jem trail (near gooseberry) with a friend and wasn't the biggest fan of the ride and views. Is there anything else around the Zion / Bryce area that would be a good ride that's not covered in snow? We still want to go to Bryce to see the park for a couple hours as well, so anything between or around the two parks would be awesome

Thanks again!
Kevin
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Heh. Yeah, personally I think JEM is kinda lame, but it's wildly popular so I feel okay recommending it. Have you ridden Gooseberry or Little Creek? Both of those are way more fun than JEM and have stellar views. Both will be great riding at that time. As soon as you leave Zion through the east entrance and head North, you climb up into terrain that is much more likely to have snow. Can't solidly recommend anything up there.

St. George has terrific riding too.

JMH
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S
Seems the catch with trails in the mountains that have awesome mountain views is.......... well.. they are... er... IN THE MOUNTAINS where the snow is.

March is absolutely out of the question for Bryce.

There are 50+ great trails in St George area. Try the Hurricane Rim trail, great views or Barrel Roll, Sidewinder, Rim System.

Personally I feel the only beginning trail on Goose is the white road and then maybe the practice loop, everything else is really stuff that isn;t "first time on the dirt" type rides. Your friend will only get frustrated.

Go to Utah Mountain Biking (dot) com and check out the trail rides.
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T
Thanks for pointing me to Utahmtb. Such a great website! - it's too bad california doesn't have anything as comprehensive.

Sounds like Bryce is out of the question. Also agree that Gooseberry would be too frustrating, though the views are awesome. St George looks like a great option though =)

If we have a full day to spend in St George, what are some trails you'd recommend from your experience? A few things we're looking for are:

- Loop (we only have one car). An out-and-back will also work
- Easy to intermediate. I know this rules out a lot of good stuff so he's willing to take on something more difficult and walk a few sections. I also want to have fun with my newbie friend :)
- Nice views!

Bearclaw Poppy looks like a good option. Are there any others? Ideally we'd get two fun rides in, or just 1 that will blow him away. Looking to hear from anyone that has experience in the St George area.

Thanks a lot,
Kevin
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shelbster15
2011-02-23_13-44-03_545.jpg

view towards red canyon as of today. Feb 23
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T
What's red canyon? And at what elevation would we see that much snow?

Do you think the Icehouse trail and Bearclaw Poppy trail look like that now?

And thanks for the photo.
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shelbster15
tittiot said:
What's red canyon? And at what elevation would we see that much snow?

Do you think the Icehouse trail and Bearclaw Poppy trail look like that now?

And thanks for the photo.
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You said you've rode Thunder mountain and cassidey trails before right? Well They are in Red canyon.... The Parts of Red in that pic would be where Thunder mountain is.

There is no snow on icehouse right now nor Bearclaw poppy. You should have no problem riding trails in stg and worrying about snow.
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T
Oh thanks for the clarification. Yes i've ridden Thunder Mountain and Cassidy-Lossee loop.

Would love to do those again in Mar if the snow clears.
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S
tittiot said:
Thanks for pointing me to Utahmtb. Such a great website! - it's too bad california doesn't have anything as comprehensive.
,
Kevin
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Bruce who owns the UtahMountainBiking.Com site is crazy passionate about finding and listing trails. If you found the site useful, drop him an email telling him thanks and that his work is appriciated.
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