Southwest Utah: Dual Sport Riding from St. George

[RedRockRider]

Out exploring with Dad. Warm temps (well into the 70s) and longer days (dark about 7:30 pm) mean it's ridin' season! Lots of motorbikes out around town the last week.

This was a Friday afternoon ride, probably about 80 miles, out and back the same way. In Warner Valley on the TW. Not really sure where we were headed, so I was carrying extra gas. Extra gas always a good idea when heading out onto the Strip.




One sandy stretch on the Warner Valley Road, otherwise quite smooth. Fat back tire on the TW really floats well on the sand.




A few big rocks close to the road, just before the Dinosaur Track cut-off. Lots of OHV activity in this area.




Red cliffs with taller Hurricane cliffs in background. Very prominent from east end of Warner Valley.




Dad leapfrogs ahead when I stop to take a pic. We do a lot a leapfrog riding when in picture taking mode.




End of Warner Valley. Turning south heading for the AZ Strip. North quickly goes past the private Sky Ranch airport and enters Hurricane.




Dad with Hurricane Cliffs. Initially the road is graded gravel with modest traffic from Hurricane. But it deteriorates quickly and the "traffic" falls away. Road crosses several washes (reasonable condition). By the time you cross into AZ it is remote.




Honeymoon Trail. Small break in the Hurricane Cliffs. Interesting history. About on the UT/AZ border. This sign is a recent (Jan 2012) Eagle Scout project.




Typical scenery on a better stretch of road. Rock Canyon in background.




Official BLM route number is 1036. This is not a major well-maintained BLM route like the road from St. George to Mount Trumbull Schoolhouse or the road from Colorado City to Toroweap. Also, the Temple Trail. Lots of history.




Very scenic but steeper, rougher road as you enter Black Rock Canyon. This is just south of a powerline, probably about 10 miles into AZ.




Near our turn-around point in Black Rock Canyon since our daylight was half gone. Not good to be out on this area after dark.




Dad enjoying the late afternoon ride. Fantastic light against the cliffs.




Heading back north towards Hurricane.




Final photo opp for the bikes before heading back through Warner Valley.




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

[TheAdmiral]

Boy, you sure had the full gamut of road surfaces on this ride, and it's so beautiful to boot. I can see why you turned around in Black Rock Canyon. Short distances of a rocky road such as that, jar the fillings from my teeth and tire me out quickly. Well, so does the sand, but it's sooo smooth. Truth is, I probably tire in the sand quicker than the rocky roads. The rest of the roads look so nice so your eyes can wander and take in the sights. Tons of history down there no doubt.

Good stuff, thanks for sharing.

[RedRockRider]

Late Sunday afternoon ride around the Veyo Loop on the Versys. Leave St. George heading west. Past Shivwits Indian Reservation, north to Gunlock Reservoir and Gunlock. Rejoin Highway 18 at Veyo. Back south to St. George. About 50 miles. This is the bike loop (twice) for the St. George Ironman. (Moto volunteers wanted: http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...0#post18171350)

Versys at Ivin's Reservoir, just past Kayenta.




Earlier in the day was hiking with family nearby. View down on the Santa Clara River.




Part of a trailhead plaque. Beats history from a text book.




Back on the road. This memorial is constantly refreshed. Ride safe everyone.




Santa Clara River below Gunlock Reservoir. Almost the entire flow of the river is emitted below the dam via this pipe. Very visible from road.




At the Gunlock Reservoir Boat launch. Closed for the season, but a moto can easily go between the barricade rocks to pay a short visit to the ramp.




At the north end of the reservoir, there is a new bridge / culvert across the Santa Clara River. This used to be ford. Pavement heads into Gunlock town. This is a dirt road heading west to the Manganese Spring area. Check out Post #128 on page 9.




Photo of Dad starting the "old" ford. No longer necessary.






Horses feeding in late afternoon light. In the quarry near Gunlock.




Strong winds all day. Nice home in Gunlock area. Pine Valley Mountain in background.




Glamour shot.




After taking the glamour shot I look back at the other side of the road and notice a whole bunch of deer watching me. Everyone is out enjoying the evening.




Back at Highway 18. Veyo. Fast run south (downhill) back to St. George.




Really nice to be out for a late afternoon ride. The Versys is sweet on the twisty pavement.

[Superhawk]

[DCZ]

Thanks RRR - I needed that - spent the last couple days driving around camper shopping!

Rick

[RidingUpAndDown]

Spectacular S. UT; connect w/ the earth and feel ancient spirits! Love that country.
How nice you can ride w/ your dad!

Great picts.

Thanks for the RR.

d

[RedRockRider]

Specifically, TheAdmiral, Superhawk, DCZ, and RidingUpAndDown, and several others via PM.

Updated index of rides in Post #1.

I'm looking for sponsorship from the St. George Chamber of Commerce (or a local moto store).

[RedRockRider]

From Green Valley there is a network of doubletrack that works northward to Santa Clara. This is all very, very close to St. George, about 5 minutes, 2-3 miles from my house. My wife is out of town on business for a few days so I'm stickin' close to home with my son and his friends. Had a bit a free time late Saturday afternoon. Just perfect to go find a bit of dirt between Green Valley and Santa Clara. Check out Post #165 on bottom of page 11 for info on Green Valley.

Here's a pic of the dirt track crossing the key ravine. About halfway between Green Valley and Santa Clara. The track drops down almost next to housing on Sunbrook Golf Course. As always, the down and up is steeper than it looks.




Here's a pic I snapped looking to the right at this spot. The golf course is Sunbrook. My neighborhood is at the base of black hill, just to the left edge of the pic. If you knew exactly where to look you could see my house.




Got over towards Santa Clara quite quickly, but wasn't quite ready to head back home yet. Days getting noticably longer and great temps for riding. Near 80 in St. George today. Turned south on dirt/rock tracks. Pic of the TW with Boomer Hill in background. These trails are not shown on Benchmark maps.




Lots of this area has been closed off by Desert Tortoise Reserve and the newly established Santa Clara River Reserve. But, you can still get from here down to Navajo Drive in Bloomington. You just have to know where to look.




Didn't have enough time to connect through to Bloomington, but here is the TW on a high point looking generally south towards the Bloomington Cave area. Still lots of territory out there.




Some of the tracks follow a simple powerline. Other tracks just evolved over time. Basically no maintenance. Even though this is close to town you seldom see anyone out here. As always, steeper than it looks.




Headed back north towards Santa Clara. Pine Valley Mountain in background. Almost no snow on the southern face. Red cliffs of Snow Canyon State Park. Santa Clara below with farmer's field.




Crossing back in to Santa Clara on relatively new paved bridge. Santa Clara River. Very light flow for springtime. Looks like it's going to be a dry summer.




This is a great little area very close to town, probably less than 20 miles total distance. I'll snake through from Santa Clara down to Bloomington (Navajo Drive) sometime soon. This is all rougher stuff. More like rocky double track than semi-maintained dirt roads. Plus you have to watch the fences and a few cliff bands.

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

[RedRockRider]

This route is all legal. Lots of ground has been incorporated in the Red Desert Reserve (Tortoise habitat) or the Santa Clara River Reserve, but there is still a "path" from Bloomington (Navajo Drive) through the White Hills to Santa Clara.

A year to ago there was a fence you had to "work around" at the top of the pass through the White Hills. Now the fence is removed and there is nearby signage (and fences) showing the boundary of the Desert Reserve. Didn't have to cross any downed fences to complete this ride. Looks like a slight adjustment was made to the boundary and the pass through the White Hills is legal again. At least that's my story.

Here's a map of the area. Benchmark as usual.



- The main dirt road leaves Bloomington at Navajo Drive. Similar starting point for lots of rides. Post #3, #95, #142.
- At first dirt intersection about 1 mile in, bear right, following signs to Bloomington Cave.
- After a few miles following along wash, the main dirt road starts to rise toward Bloomington Cave (with sign). At intersection near small cattle reservoir make distinct right turn onto smaller, less maintained road.
- This road/track is much more uneven. Follows contours fairly abruptly. On map it is shown as thin red line following Cottonwood Wash.
- I continued high up on Cottonwood Wash, fairly ledgy to connect with other roads I know before retracing and going north up through the White Hills. Marked in yellow on map, but no track shown by Benchmark. The path is there, but it is moto and ATV only. No trucks and probably not any jeeps. Too narrow with a few tight turns.
- Once on top of the White Hills the network of tracks generally improves and follows a wash past Boomer Hill before returning to "normal" dirt roads above Santa Clara.
- Dropping in to Santa Clara and crossing the river via bridge to the main street is easy.
- Could also return to Green Valley from Santa Clara on dirt (never touching pavement), last ride, post #263. Went home on pavement today. Time was running short and my son would be home from school soon.

Here is the first dirt intersection. Bear right, following signs to Bloomington Cave. Recent maintenance of this road, although some loose gravel is a few corners.




At the second dirt intersection turn right. Don't follow the Cave signs up the hill. Stay low.




Road immediately narrows and starts to look more like a jeep trail. Follows sharp contours up and down. Small cattle fences nearby. Generally in the direction of the White Hills.




Notice the wind on the surface of the water. Really windy today. TW is very stable on side-stand. Otherwise I think it might have blown over.




I didn't want to make the ride too short. Instead of going straight for the pass through the White Hills, I rode higher in Cottonwood Wash. Here's a view of the White Hills with Pine Valley Mountain as backdrop. Some snow on upper part of Pine Valley Mountain from a few days ago. Perhaps our last bit of snow this season.




Some of the trail/road up here gets kind of ledgy. Not much traffic, pretty out of the way. A truck/jeep could get through here, but it would be a slow, bouncy ride. Good terrain for a TW.




Exploring up a side wash.




Near the top is some smooth double track and few cows.




Big views back down to the White Hills with Pine Valley Mountain in background. This photo is taken from just south of the word "Cottonwood" on the map. Very pretty spot. Easier to get to from the Hollow Wash Road or Joshua Tree Scenic Backway.




Glamour shot of the TW.




My effort to capture the wind. This tumbleweed was bouncing along. Easy to block for a minute with the bike.




Here's the road/track that cuts directly north to the White Hills. Marked in yellow, but not shown by Benchmark.




The look as you approach the cut/pass up through the White Hills.




A few ruts and scrape marks as things get a bit narrow and steeper.




The narrow track is easier than the rocky uneven wash. As always, steeper than it looks. Looking back down.




One or two more final turns and you're up on top of the White Hills.




Some small adjustments have been made to the boundaries. Previously, there was a downed fence in this area. It has been removed and there is new nearby signage (and fencing) showing the Desert Reserve. Very easy to work north towards Boomer Hill on various tracks which eventually consolidate between fence lines (Desert Reserve and Santa Clara River Reserve). Pics of this area in my last ride (Post #263 Green Valley to Santa Clara on dirt).




Saw this roadside attraction just before reaching Santa Clara. Newly created. Some one has a good sense of humor and a creative touch.




View just above Santa Clara. Bike in almost same spot as last ride. Pine Valley Mountain with snow in background. Red cliffs of Snow Canyon. White cliff band in distance is above Winchester Hills.




Bike is in same position. Different angle. Background is red cliffs of Ivins. Asphalt road leaving Santa Clara and climbing hill on the way to Kayenta is visible just beyond farmer's field. Scenic spot.




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

[TheAdmiral]

I didn't know a person needed a permit to crawl on their hands and knee's at night with a headlamp. Looks dangerous to me! Giggle, I know it's for the cave's, but couldn't resist. Ah, those pesky tumbleweeds, I hate 'em. With our recent and on-going spring winds, my fence is loaded with tumbleweeds.

Looked like this ride had a bit more technical riding going up the White Hills. Still, very pretty. Last fall I had to find a downed part of a fence to get to the other side, no gates nearby. Ended up finding a broken wood fence post about the size of a 2x4 and rode over it with the wire still attached to the post. Sprung back upright after I passed. No harm no foul. Hope no one was looking! I love the humor in the "face paint". I hope it's humor. Could be a warning, or perhaps a hula dancer missing her upper body!

As always, thanks for sharing pictures of this wonderful riding area.

[RedRockRider]

Thanks, Admiral. I've never been interested in caving either. My nephews used to play paintball in that area. I think there are a few other inmates who grew up in St. George and frequented the cave in their high school days.

Yeah, the last bit riding was more technical. The TW is great for crawling along some parts of it; for other parts the suspension is lacking. A few of the ledges had me thinking carefully about the stock "skid" plate.

Enjoyed your videos of Georgie on back. Cool dog! I assume you're starting to have Spring weather also. Look forward to seeing more mining ruins or whatever else is in your travels. --- RRR.

[Bob]

Nice new pics, thanks!
I just drove thru on Sunday, I couldn't get a pic of Snow Mtn, because of all the snow.
On a different subject, did you find out where the bakery moved to? I could have used some extra sugar for the drive home.

[UpST8]

Really beautiful place you have out there! I am loosely planning a UT trip this summer

[RedRockRider]

Originally Posted by Bob

Nice new pics, thanks!
I just drove thru on Sunday, I couldn't get a pic of Snow Mtn, because of all the snow.
On a different subject, did you find out where the bakery moved to? I could have used some extra sugar for the drive home.

Hey Bob - hope you had a good trip. We'll try again next time you are through St. George. Perhaps I'll be able to tag along for a ride. No, haven't found the bakery. Waiting for inmate Quota to resurface and give some guidance.

Lots of activity around St. George this Spring. Not quite a return to boom times but things are happening. The local moto stores say they are doing strong business, mostly side-by-sides to recent retirees relocating to area. Good for them.

[RedRockRider]

Originally Posted by UpST8

Really beautiful place you have out there! I am loosely planning a UT trip this summer

I'm biased, but I have to say the Utah, especially south of I-70, has lots of great riding. Pavement, dirt, cross-country, and everything in between. If you're coming from CA, you'll probably come through St. George. Give me a heads up if you're going to be in the area. If it's hot spend time at higher elevations.

Enjoying your DV RR. Utah has some stretches that are similar. Watch your gas. Don't want to come up short.