Southwest Utah: Dual Sport Riding from St. George

STill loving your stuff RedRockRider.


Have you ever rode down the Paria river bed from Cannonville ????
Me and a buddy did in 2002.
Wasn't sure it was legal---but had a talk with the BLM office and she said it is a legal road
open to any traffic -----but was under consideration for a change--so we lucked out and road it.
If a huge rain storm came from the North while you were in there---you'd probably drown---we
watched the weather very closely.

Maybe you know all this.
Anyway----I've only read of one other guy doing this---way before us on a BMW GS1000.
Maybe millions have--but I've just heard of the one guy.
It was one of my favorite rides of my life.

Any info you have of this I'd appreciate---I'd like to do it again someday--we entered from Sheep Creek.







I was absolutely flabbergasted---to run head on into this longhorn steer in the river bed.
He just stared us down--and I didn't know what he was going to do.
We finally eased by him.



We popped up out of the river bed to this old Western movie set--which someone said was the set
for the ending to "The Outlaw Josey Wales".
We had ridden from Moab to the North rim of the Grand Canyon and back on this ride.

My riding partner (left)--sadly died a few years ago.

By the way---I hope to ride in your area of Utah this year---and am hanging on every word
of your riding. All your details I'm soaking up.

BigDog

The movie set is the Paria Movie Set I mentioned a few posts ago. I think the buildings are gone again. I have not ridden the Paria River all the way from Cannonville but I did drive up from the Paria Movie set toward Cannonville for quite a few miles once in my Pathfinder. I also hiked from the Paria Movie set down the river toward Cottonwood Canyon Road and it appeared there was a road at one time down the canyon. All of this is in the Escalante - Grand Staircase National Monument so I do not know if it is allowed anymore.

Hey BigDogAdventures, MasterMarine, and inmates --

My understanding is the riverbed route from the old Paria townsite north to Sheep Creek (intersection with Skutumpah Rd near Cannonville) is now closed to all motorized traffic. Quite a bit of controversy. Closed in 2009. If you are bored, google it. Kane County, Utah vs. National Monument -- lots of complicated jurisdiction issues. An ATV friend I bumped into says the ban is currently enforced (confiscation), but it may be under review. Perhaps some side trails near the river open, but not the route with all the river crossings. Stay tuned.

I've never been through the Paria River area -- certainly amazing. Nearby Cottonwood Canyon Road and Skutumpah Road are both definitely open and worthwhile! Plan to do some exploring over this way when the days get longer. Have to go check it out myself!

Get out and ride. Very warm in Southern Utah -- sunny with temp in mid 60s.

First ride of 2012 a few days ago. St. George has been sunny and warm. High temps in the low 60s.

There is some nice dirt riding west of Green Valley, just a few miles from my house. Area is also popular with mountain bikers and rock climbers.

On to the pics. Green Valley Spa.




On the TW200 after gaining a bit of elevation, near the mountain bike trailhead. Pine Valley Mountain in background with no snow. So far, not a good year for snow sports. Spring runoff will be light.




Popular mountain bike trail. This climbs the ridge, then drops down to Bloomington (Navajo Drive).




Nearby, the substation.






One rocky track a bit further south from the substation turns west and climbs to the ridge near a powerline. This is the view looking west from the top. Cliff drops down to Bloomington area below. Mountain bike trails and vast area accessed via Navajo Drive is visable below. Been riding out there a lot, especially with Dad. No way down to Bloomington from here. Need to cut back to Santa Clara for that.




Testing out the SPOT. Working great so far. But, seems to be off on location by a few hundred yards. Haven't tested enough yet. Any insights? In a real emergency, a few hundred yards would probably not be an issue at all, still makes me wonder . . .




On ridge in late afternoon light.




Powerline and the TW.




Looking west as the powerline drops over the cliff and down to Bloomington / Navajo Road. The gap in the mountains behind the wires is the Virgin River Gorge. Utah is the right (north) side, and Arizona is the left (south) more distant side. Lot of great territory up there above the gorge.




Green Valley is probably the closest dirt to the west side of St. George. The area has a surprising number of roads / trails / tracks for a relatively small space. Great views of the Entrada lava fields and mouth of Snow Canyon. Possible to connect to Santa Clara on dirt. Almost all is BLM land. Common for people to camp and have fires, etc. Very close to town, but still possible to be isolated.

Best wishes to ADVers for 2012. Ride often, ride safe!

RRR

...as always, great stuff!

Yep the weather in the west has been amazing the past couple of weeks, and I keep thinking of So. UT. Golf in morning, ride in afternoons.

I'm talking out of my arse here, but could that spot problem be as simple as battery strength? New batteries, lithium v. non lith? Just sayin'...

Be lookin' foward to some more great pics.

Thanks.

Ran a few more tests. SPOT now accurate within 10 ft. Not sure why the first few weren't accurate -- probably some degree of operator error (looking at Google Maps) -- All good now. My wife keeps wondering why she's getting the text messages that "I'm ok" from the front yard, back yard, etc. WTF??? She's great -- wanted me to have it. Peace of mind.

Thanks, Sam. Yeah -- don't I owe you a lunch? All the best for 2012!

Actually, it's only pie. Thanks for remembering.

But, i've got another excuse to get up to So. UT. So thanks.

BTW, since it's only 90 min south... www.midamericaauctions.com/auctions...012-las-vegas-antique-motorcycle-auction-188/

Start with the map. Good for orientation.




It's about 10 miles on surface streets to the River Rd. exit on the new airport freeway -- not shown on map. The exit onto dirt is right where it says "Port of Entry." Our plan was to ride to Quail Hill and Seegmiller Mountain, but hail and wind convinced us to judiciously retreat to lower elevation. We ended up circling Little Black Mountain (Pertroglyphs) and returning to St. George via Washington.

Good ride and always great to be out with Dad. About 60 miles.

Here is the River Road exit.




The off-ramp is right on the border with AZ. The start of the AZ strip. See Post #2 (page 1) for ride to Virgin River Gorge Overlook - AZ side. Area on the map called "Grey Points."




BLM 1069 (Mount Trumbull Loop on the map) is the main road to Wolf Hole and eventually Mount Trumbull Schoolhouse, etc. Hard pack gravel in very good condition. Pavement ends just beyond photo. See Post #92 (page 7) for Mount Trumbull Schoolhouse and Toroweap.




Relatively new signage. Only a few bullet marks.




Some interesting history.




Dad with "The Hayrocks." Informal camping nearby.




Beautiful. But some weather is blowing in. We got a burst of hail and high winds shortly after this pic. :eek1




At the top of the first pass, where we turned around. (End of highlight on map.)




Potentially a good hiking trail. Save this for a return trip. As you are climbing the road, you can see the old route (Mokaac Trail) on the opposite side of the hill (Quail Canyon).




Smaller BLM road from our turn-around at the top of the hill. This road winds west and south past Wolf Hole Mtn. Some residual snow. Colder up here.




Here's a pic from a few months ago of "Three TW200s" on top of Quail Hill. See Post #126 (page 9).




Sun was back out by the time we descended, almost back to the River Road exit. This is the turn-off to the Petroglyphs at Little Black Mountain. See Post #22 (page 2). Just saw Pop in Philadelphia over New Years. Pop conveys greetings to all inmates.




My bike with the BLM marker. Very close the petroglyphs.




Petroglyph pic from a prior ride. Didn't stop today. Just havin' fun cruising along.




This is where BLM 1124 ends, right at the AZ / Utah border again. Runs into BLM 1035. We turn north and head 10 miles back to St. George.




One look south on BLM 1035. This goes deep into the AZ strip. Save this for another day.




The road back to St. George, via Washington (adjoining town).




Dad enjoying the ride.




We pass a turn-off with familar names. Also a good road for a future ride. This eventually goes to Hurricane, UT. Lots of ATV riding in this area! Near Sand Hollow State Park (Sand Mountain).




Last pic out on the road. Older irrigation pipe with Pine Valley Mountain in background. Lots of cloud cover, but probably not much snow. We'll see tomorrow.




And wife has great dinner ready, shortly after we get home. Very colorful plate, worth a pic. She's a winner!




Thanks for following along. Ride safe!

Short Sunday afternoon ride. Went back to Fort Pearce Road (Washington, UT). Only had enough time to get to Warner Valley. Will have to follow this through to Hurricane next time.

Stopped for the same pic as yesterday. Exact spot. No snow on Pine Valley Mountain. Dry, dry winter so far.




The start of the Warner Valley / Fort Pearce Road. Same spot as yesterday. This time no clouds in the sky. Sunny southern Utah.




Some of my local "friends" got to this sign. Standard practice for these parts. Popular shooting area, and close to town. Perhaps was my buddy, Eddie (Toroweap Ride). He lives on this side of town, and always carries.




In the heart of Warner Valley. Very scenic in late afternoon light. Red cliffs have sand dunes on top. Part of Sand Hollow State Park. Great ATV area.




Most of the road looks like this. Some places with loose sand.




Lots of recent wind. Sand "dunes" across 100+ yards of road. A truck was stuck at the other end with a few guys organizing a tow strap. Good place to turn around since light was going to fade quickly.




Tracks across the sand.




My camera found this.




Looked over my shoulder near the edge of town and noticed the full moon. Interesting shot with flock of white birds.




Thanks for checkin' in. -- Also, that dinner my wife made last night was good. Tonight was leftovers!

Awesome... I participated in this eagle scout project. Nate Lamb was my next door neighbor.

MSH --- to you and Nate Lamb. Good eagle project. The "Hayrocks" sign often has a visitor stopped by it. Seems to be appreciated by everyone.

My son is a Webelos (and I'm the Cubmaster). We're into the Pinewood Derby at the moment. His cars!

Nice cars! Use graphite on all axles to make them faster. Disreguard if you already do.

Thanks, DirtyJohnny -- Yeah! We used graphite. Those cars are from the past three years. Each one was a winner. Fastest time for Den and/or Pack. Currently we are building the car for this year. Similar design. Son says it's going to be black, perhaps with silver stripes. Race is in about a week. We'll see how it does.

Beautifully done!

I was Webelo, but that's as far as I got.

BTW, for increased speed, attach a teeney-tiny ADV sticker.

Out doing a few errands this afternoon on my bike. A pic near the entrance to Snow Canyon.




Here's a pic from a hike several weeks ago from within Snow Canyon. Much more dramatic light. Lots of great short hikes (1-3 miles) in Snow Canyon State Park. The petrified sand dunes (slickrock) is our favorite!




Thanks for checkin' in. Ride safe, ride often!

Stunning photography and report. :eek1

I've been dreaming of an Arizona/Utah/Colorado/Montana trek, and this sure has inspired me. Amazing.

Thanks, Rockjunkie . . . southwest Utah is great riding! Good luck with your upcoming trip to Vegas.

Thanks RedRockRider for the view of places around St. George - great area. After doing my first ride report I am impressed by the time and effort people put in to these things.

Keep it up - Thanks

Rick