Experience the Southwest in the company of like-minded adventurers and welcoming guides while enjoying a heavy dose of well-deserved vacation! Spend a week in a scenic mountain biker’s paradise with a focus on moving your riding to the next level. The Salsa and Slickrock tour dates are, you guessed it, guided by and for women (cis, trans, and non-binary).
Experience the breathtaking beauty of southwestern Utah, one of the world’s best mountain bike destinations, on this 5‑day mountain bike getaway with some of North America’s best instructors. This Ride features a combination of on-trail skill-building and miles of fun riding on world-famous singletrack.
From the surreal desert surrounding stretching from the Spring Mountains framing Las Vegas to the West to the Southwest Colorado Plateau, this itinerary includes some of the most spectacular and unique geography on the planet. It also happens to be home to some of the best mountain biking anywhere — a perfect training ground for this 5‑day trip!
Is This Ride For You?
Maybe you have recently started mountain biking and have the bug or have been riding for a while but keep it on the tamer side of singletrack. You have already been riding a mountain bike for years but have never worked with instructors to dial in your technique and set you up for predictable, repeatable technical features on a trail. You are a rider looking to learn and grow. You want to spend your time in the company of likeminded explores. You want to take photos, identify wildlife or have a curiosity about the plethora of flowers, shrubs, trees and cacti. You want a great bike waiting ready for you or someone to build and tune the one you arrived with. You want to know if something goes wrong with your bike, your guides are ready to fix it on trail and are happy to use it as a learning experience. You love to eat great food, sleep in a comfortable bed. You appreciate being on vacation and having the details sorted out. You deserve a week of worry-free mountain biking in a beautiful and diverse paradise.
Itinerary
DAY 1. Welcome to St. George!
We will do airport and hotel picks ups, bike fits, review the safety plan, and review bike handling and fundamentals. Your guides are certified instructors, and we encourage you to take advantage of their expertise.
This is also a great day to check out one of our favorite local bike shops, Red Rock Bicycle Co if you are looking for a nice jersey to take home or something for the bike for the week ahead.
At the end of the day, we’ll enjoy a night getting settled into our accommodations and getting to know each other over bites and beverages.
DAY 2. Hurricane Here We Come
Wake up to a beautiful sunrise overlooking the town of St. George, dusted with a backdrop of the Pine Valley Mountains and the vibrant red rock of Snow Canyon State Park.
Today, we will get in a good ride to get you ready for the week ahead. The trail today is a red rock playground — slickrock abounds as we pick and choose our lines today.
We’ll have lunch at the van, then head to our accommodations in Hurricane (pronounced “Hurrikin” by the locals). We want to foster a sense of camaraderie, so we’ll be avoiding the chain hotels and staying in a private accommodation where we can chat and visit with each other at the end of each day.
After getting settled in and cleaned up, we will meet for dinner and discuss what the plan for the next day looks like.
DAY 3. Gooseberry and Wire Mesa
Today we are headed to Wire Mesa in the morning and then Gooseberry Mesa after lunch. This will likely be the most challenging ride we wrangle in the area, but the rewards are matched to the effort.
Wire Mesa will be a good morning warm-up with a mix of fast and flowy, a few technical sections, and unforgettable views. Lunch will be at the van.
Gooseberry is a total classic trail. You cannot come to the St. George area and miss this epic network of trails.
From the trailhead, we will start with tame double track before getting to the rim of the mesa where we will leave the tame behind and ride the tech and feel some of the exposure the region is known for. We will work in small groups to support the added challenge and cheer on our co-riders as we navigate Gooseberry.
The views from the ride will stop you in your tracks so we recommend keeping your camera close at hand.
Day 4. Guacamole!
Pack up, eat breakfast, and get ready for another beautiful day of riding. We are heading out for some Guacamole and Margaritas (maybe with a twist of lime and salt on the rim). Not talking about eats and drinks, we’ll be getting our shred on today!
The riding here is similar to Gooseberry but offers a unique feel. You will find a mix of it all—flow, packed dirt, tech, and slabs. The mesas provide incredible viewpoints.
Lunch will be in the town of Hurricane. This evening will be filled with group stretching and yoga. If you would like, your guides could also provide some instructional lessons as well!
Day 5. Shuttles and Sayonaras
Wake up to one last morning of riding in beautiful Southwest Utah. Enjoy breakfast before we head out for the day!
Today, we will be riding the famous JEM trails — southern Utah’s flowiest trails. Considered by BIKE Magazine to be a trail with some of the best flow in the U.S. JEM is just that… a gem! While soaking in the stunning views of the surrounding mesas and breathing the sweet air filled with the fragrance of the mesquite and junipers, we will use the flowy nature of Jem to focus on cornering techniques.
We’ll have lunch at the van we’ll head to St. George for one more shuttle lap before dropping you off. We recommend staying one extra night to soak in the vibes of the town of St. George, but we’re also happy to drop you off at the airport at the end of the day.
This replaces the default
Day | Hours of riding | Distance ridden | Elevation gained | Elevation lost | Highest elevation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3500 |
2 | 4 | 15 | 1500 | 1500 | 3300 |
3 | 5 | 10 | 500 | 800 | 4300 |
4 | 6 | 18 | 500 | 500 | 4600 |
5 | 4 | 14 | 650 | 1300 | 4300 |
Totals | 19 HRS |