[Rack Man]

Ok....so I need to be in SLC next Tuesday and I thought rather than flying there, I would just take off on Friday with the truck and bike and hit some trails while I am headed up there...being pretty much a noob (two years now) this would be my first out of town riding experience.

I know I would like to hit Sedona the first day.....I am hoping you guys can suggest a couple trails along my route that I should defiantely hit?.....I would consider myself a novice/intermediate rider...I ride a lot at Somo and Hawes....so I am looking for some cool trails that are not overly super technical...

I appreciate any input you guys may have!
Dan

 

[rockman]

If you're going up 89 to Panguitch then consider hitting Thunder Mountain. It's not technical and the scenery will blow your mind. You can do the loop in 2 to 3 hours.
Thunder Mountain Trail Guide

If you're willing to go a bit more out of your way, the loop around Navajo Lake is beginner/intermediate friendly. You could make it more sporty by climbing up to the Virgin River Rim as well. I believe hw12 is stil closed by a rockslide so you would have to go through Cedar Breaks to get to I15.

 

[tattoooo]

If you're going through Moab go ride the Bar M trail system, in particular the Dead Man's loop.
And then go ride Porcupine!

 

[kAZ]

Have you ridden Mt. Elden in Flagstaff? It's going to be pretty hot in Sedona.

Gooseberry Mesa near Hurricane, UT (St. George area) is good riding, but that'll also be hot this time of year.

Bunker Creek up above Brian Head ski resort is an awesome intermediate ride. But you kind of need a shuttle. You could ride up the road and down the trail/s, but shuttling it is the way to go because then you can hit both the right and left forks of the creek (IIRC, the left fork, which riding down is the turn veering right, is the way to go if you only are going to ride one; info at Utah Mountain Biking). There's a bike shop in Brian Head that runs shuttles (Georgs), but you would probably have pretty good luck just trying to hitch a ride. You should call to see if Bunker Creek is open though. Mid-June is a little early in their season, IIRC.

As mentioned above, Navajo Lake might be right up your alley. No shuttle required. You also might want to make some calls on that one. When I rode it a couple of years ago in July, there was still quite a lot of snow blocking parts of the trail.

Or just do your riding around Salt Lake. Lots of mellow forest trails along the Wasatch.

 

[Javelina]

If you're going up 89 to Panguitch then consider hitting Thunder Mountain. It's not technical and the scenery will blow your mind. You can do the loop in 2 to 3 hours.
Thunder Mountain Trail Guide

:thumbsup:

 

[Rack Man]

If you're going up 89 to Panguitch then consider hitting Thunder Mountain. It's not technical and the scenery will blow your mind. You can do the loop in 2 to 3 hours..

Ok this place appears to be a no brainer for sure!.....The pics look so awesome....I'll be hitting this for sure!

Have you ridden Mt. Elden in Flagstaff? It's going to be pretty hot in Sedona.

There appears to be quite a few trails in this system....what trail route would you recommend for a nice 2-3 hour ride without too much hardcore tech too it?


Thanks!

 

[cklog]

From Salt Lake the Wasatch Crest trail is a great ride very senic and fun,we shuttled it,saw a moose last year when I rode it. You can add more miles to it by riding down Millcreek canyon pipeline trail. The pipeline trail runs parallel to the road, it is listed as an easy trail but there are some techy sections, well worth the ride, it is fast and mostly downhill. You will have to ride some pavement to get to the pipeline. Here is a link to Utah Mountain Biking.com Wasatch Crest Trail

 

[Mr. D]

I second navajo lake if you have the time.

 

[Jayem]

Would skip Sedona due to the weather, high temps are hovering in the high 90s, but the abundance of red rock and lack of shade makes it feel a good 10 degrees hotter. If you can get out real early morning it's ok, but I'd suggest Flagstaff, the White Mountains, and Prescott for cooler temps, with the edge going to the White Mountains and Flagstaff (where you'll start out in the 70s or get to the 70s without much pedaling). Riding Sunset Trail and the Arizona Trail in Flagstaff are must-dos IMO, also the AZT North near the rim of the Grand Canyon (also cooler temps) and the Rainbow Rim trail on the North side of the Grand Canyon, these are all wonderful trail segments in alpine locations that are relatively cool.

 

[kAZ]

There appears to be quite a few trails in this system....what trail route would you recommend for a nice 2-3 hour ride without too much hardcore tech too it? Thanks!

I'm no Elden expert. You can find a lot of info searching here or in the visitors sticky above. The map I've used is from Dale's site singletrack.us, but right now google thinks his site is contaminated.

Anyway, the route I like on Elden is up Shultz Creek, loop any of Little Gnarly, Sunset, or Jedi (the more tech of those), then find a way over to the top of Super Moto (best is to add what I think people call Overlook but on Dale's map used to be called Ricochet) and come down Super Moto (upper part of this has some tough sections) and Lower Moto. That has taken me about 4.5 hrs with ample rest stops. I'm not fast, but not terribly slow.

If you're trying to keep the ride around 2-3 hours, up Shultz, up Sunset, and down Little Gnarly/Shultz should be about right. If you have more time after that go up Lower Moto or something in that area and then come down. Imo, the low tech nectar is coming down Shultz Creek and Lower Moto (and the lower part of Super Moto).