Description

The Guacamole Trail network is the third of Hurricane, Utah's big four mesa top rides (after Gooseberry Mesa and Little Creek Mountain).

This is a delightful network that has two things going for it relative to the others.

First, it has the best scenery, including consistently up close and in-your-face views of stunning Zion National Park.

Second, it offers the best opportunity for groups of mixed abilities to have a great time riding together, with most of the ride in solid intermediate territory, but offering no shortage of advanced stunts for the more technically-oriented rider. There really is no more perfect venue for the budding rock crawler than these trails.

The rocks are generally nicely-rounded, approach visibility to the stunts and rollers is quite good, and the toughest lines generally have ride-arounds that provide those who want to skip the toughest spots the ability to maintain their flow and be ready for the next obstacle.

There are singletrack sections between the various rock playgrounds, but it's the rock itself that makes this ride such a draw.

There are lots of short ups and downs, but no real extended climbs.

There are usually good breaks between the short climbs, so energy management is pretty easy here.

The result is that the rider gets a huge fun payoff for the effort invested. This is definitely a "bring your camera" ride, as you'll want to get some pics of riding with the Zion cliffs in the background, as well as well-timed shots of your buddies doing silly things on the rocks.

A strong rider can easily complete the route in under two hours, but most will want to take significantly longer—both for photos, as well as to session some of the more fun sections, which will be different for everyone due to taste and ability.

Rest assured, though, there is truly something fun for everyone (with the exception of novices or timid riders).

The road to the parking area at the top of the mesa is steep and occasionally rutted, so be careful if not driving a high clearance vehicle, and by no means attempt the climb when it's wet.

The trail is listed as ridable in all but the very middle of winter (other than when wet), but may even be ridable in midwinter (January) if there's a dry stretch between precipitation.

Check with Over the Edge Bikes in Hurricane to get current conditions.

-Written by John Fisch