7 Reasons to Mountain Bike Utah

May 30, 2017

Moun­tain bik­ing in Utah is a dream come true for many moun­tain bik­ing enthu­si­asts. Over the last 30 years, Utah has made a name for itself as one of the pre­mière  moun­tain bike des­ti­na­tions in the world.  With end­less sun­shine,  slick­rock trails,  and  amaz­ing geo­log­i­cal won­ders per­fect for two knob­by tires — Utah  needs to be on your buck­et list.  If you’re ready to ride Utah, click HERE. 

Here are 7 reasons you need to mountain bike Utah:

1. The Slickrock

Yes, it is a pop­u­lar moun­tain bike trail in Utah—but I’m talk­ing about the geo­log­i­cal fea­tures of slick­rock that make it  amaz­ing for moun­tain bik­ers.  Sim­ply put, slick­rock is a term used to describe smooth, out­crop­pings of weath­ered sand­stone.  The sur­face of sand­stone is sim­i­lar to con­crete, and it offers tons of grip for two wheels, mak­ing cer­tain trails fea­tures and obsta­cles eas­i­er to conquer. 

2. The Climate

I would­n’t sug­gest moun­tain bik­ing in Utah in the sum­mer months (June — August), but any­time in the Spring (April ‑May) and Fall (Sep­tem­ber — Octo­ber) offers the per­fect moun­tain bik­ing weath­er. The sun is usu­al­ly shin­ing and tem­per­a­tures can range from 25 degrees Cel­sius — 30 degrees Cel­sius (We’re Cana­di­an eh? That’s between 75F — 86F). When the sun decides to sneak behind a cloud, you may be lucky enough to wit­ness a beau­ti­ful desert rain storm (and rain­bow). If you decide to vis­it in the Spring, you’ll be daz­zled by the beau­ti­ful desert flow­ers. If you’re in the right part of Utah you can cer­tain­ly ride year-round.

3. The Other Adventures

Utah is not only home to huge net­works of moun­tain bike trails in var­i­ous areas (Moab, St. George, Hur­ri­cane, Salt Lake City, etc.), it’s also a gen­er­al adven­tur­er’s play­ground. Want to go canyon­ing , rock climb­ing or hik­ing? Utah has it all. One of our favourite spots to explore is Zion Nation­al Park and Arch­es Nation­al Park, where beau­ti­ful nat­ur­al fea­tures have been carved by wind and rain over the millennium.

4. The Variety

Whether you are moun­tain bik­ing in Moab, St. George, or near Salt Lake City—you’ll be able to find trails for all skill lev­els. From smooth Green trails to Dou­ble Black trails with tech­ni­cal fea­tures, you can eas­i­ly choose your own adven­tures and chal­lenges. Since the ter­rain is so grip­py, Utah is a great places to prac­tice your skills and gain more con­fi­dence as a rid­er. The one downside…if you do bail, you’ll most like­ly be falling on rock, so we sug­gest elbow and knee pads depend­ing on your com­fort level.

5. The Parklands

We’ve already men­tioned two Nation­al Parks that you should explore if trav­el­ing to Utah (Zion Nation­al Park and Arch­es Nation­al Park), but there are so many oth­er nat­ur­al won­ders to explore—it’s a great com­ple­men­tary activ­i­ty for your moun­tain bik­ing adven­ture. Remem­ber to respect the park­lands. Moun­tain bik­ing is usu­al­ly pro­hib­it­ed in nation­al parks, but you are guar­an­teed to find trails just out­side the park bound­aries. Here is a list of parks to check out:

• Canyon­lands Nation­al Park
• Bryce Canyon Nation­al Park
• Capi­tol Reef Park
• Fish­lake Nation­al Forest
• Dix­ie Nation­al Forest
• Grand Stair­case-Escalante Nation­al Monument

6. The Community

If you decide that your next moun­tain bike trip is going to be in Utah, you won’t be alone. Once you arrive, you’ll prob­a­bly meet pas­sion­ate moun­tain bik­ers from around the world, who flock to pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tions like Moab, to  ped­al their hearts out. You’ll also quick­ly expe­ri­ence the strong moun­tain bike cul­ture. Vis­it any bike shop in Moab (Poi­son Spi­der Bikes), St. George or Hur­ri­cane (Over the Edge)  and you’ll find a team of staff eager to rec­om­mend trails,  have you join local group rides and  share their local knowl­edge.  We strong­ly believe that when trav­el­ing, the best  advice always comes from the locals, so don’t be shy to drop by a bike store and intro­duce yourself. 

7. The Epics

Talk to any moun­tain bik­er about Moab, Utah and they’ll prob­a­bly have to wipe the drool off their face.  Moab has become  a mec­ca for moun­tain bik­ers, and rid­ers flock to  the desert par­adise every year. Ask any moun­tain bik­er what’s on their buck­et list, and if they haven’t already rid­den Moab, it will most like­ly be some­where at the top of their list. There are tons of pop­u­lar moun­tain bike trails in Moab, but there are a few that stand­out  from the rest. 

Ready to mountain bike Utah? Click here!