ST. GEORGE — It is no secret that Southern Utah is home to some of the best mountain biking trails in the country, and rising above the rest – quite literally – is Gooseberry Mesa or “the goose” as it is sometimes called.
With miles of technical singletrack and slickrock riding as well as sweeping views of Southern Utah’s colorful landscape, this network of trails draws mountain bikers from all over the world to experience its gems. The trail network sits at an elevation of 5,200 feet. The trail is marked with white paint dots on the slickrock and signs at the junctions.
Join “No Filter” host Grady Sinclair and guest co-host Colleen Rue, with help from Bicycles Unlimited, as they play connect the dots on the network’s Windmill Trail and offer safety tips to help would-be visitors plan their ride.
Watch Grady and Colleen tackle “the goose” in this week’s episode of “No Filter” in the media player above.
Located just off the Smithsonian Butte Backcountry Byway, Gooseberry Mesa is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Its trail network was originally created by local Southern Utah riders the Harris brothers and is maintained in conjunction with the Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association and the BLM.
According to mtbproject.com, in 2006 it was granted National Recreation Trail status.
The overall trail network is rated as black diamond difficulty with some stretches rated at double black diamond for expert riders. However, the windmill trail, which is more traditional singletrack than slickrock, is geared more toward the intermediate rider.
“There is a windmill up here, like just a windmill. Not one of those, like, fancy California windmills, a windmill,” Rue said.
Outfitted by Bicycles Unlimited, Sinclair and Rue headed out to tackle the trail – in questionable attire on Sinclair’s part – and possibly tilt at windmill’s.
Did they fair better than Don Quixote? Well, at least they had bikes.
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