at Green Valley
| Barrel Trail at Green Valley |
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(First, to avoid confusion: This is NOT the "Barrel Roll" trail of the Santa Clara Desert Preserve. This is the Barrel Trail. No "Roll.") This trail lies just south of the Green Valley Race Loop, and connects to the downhill limb of that trail in two places. The Barrel Trail starts across from the north end of the Bearclaw Poppy Trail. Named for the many huge barrel cacti along the trail, the Barrel Trail lies on the slope of a cuesta just southwest of St.George. There are multiple riding options including longer loops with significant climbing and quick excursions. The southern end, in fact, might seem confusing if you don't have a solid travel plan. And attention, freeriders! The Barrel Trail also accesses some extreme-tech stunts as an option for the skilled and/or daring. View up the trail as we're climbing from the Bearclaw end of the trail. Photos by Bruce on January 9, 2008. Fellow trail explorer, Jackie the Jack Russell terrier. |
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| Below I describe a five-mile loop ride starting from the
Green Valley trailhead. It climbs to the top of the mountain, then flirts
with the edge of the cliffs overlooking the Stucki Springs area. This
route is for advanced riders. Intermediate riders can manage with short
sections of hike-a-bike. The ride starts at 2600 feet elevation, rising to
3300 (more, if you climb to the awesome viewpoint overlooking Stucki
Springs). Total climbing will be about 1100 feet. There are plenty of
small ledges and rocks to bang over.
Suitable for a roll-down, wheelie drop, or a huck. Just stay loose and go, but get your hands off the brakes. The trail splits here. You have the option of riding smooth dirt, or playing on some sphincter-tightening stuff. |
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An alternative method (and one I recommend) for the big loop is to start at the Bearclaw Poppy trailhead, then descend to intersect the Green Valley loop just before it heads across the big slickrock area and begins to climb. On the long descent, after passing the rocky playground, keep left to rejoin the outgoing trail about 100 yards from the water tank at Bearclaw Poppy's step-over. I've gone clockwise on the big loop, but the trail seems better taken counterclockwise (north to south after climbing to the top). There's a steep tech section about 1/3 mile south of the top that's extremely tricky to descend and impossible to ride up. After climbing, the trail traverses near the edge of the tilted mesa (cuesta) facing Green Valley. The playgrounds are formed of nugget sandstone. |
| For those who just want a tiny ride, or want to get to the
rock playground more quickly, start at the Bearclaw Poppy trailhead. It's
just one mile to the top of the playground, and most of the climbing is on
the gravel road from the parking area to the water tank.
The trail also offers a short-cut version, through a connector to the Green Valley race trail about 1/4 mile below the spot where the hillclimb splits from the loop. This takes you to the trail in the rock wash below the lower Stucki Springs viewpoint (see map). Here's a nice drop. What's not obvious in the photo is the distance between the cliff edge and the landing ramp. You've gotta hit it with enough speed to clear three feet. My guess is, 5 feet from lip of cliff to top of ramp. |
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There are two stunt areas. The bigger one is on the south end, 1/2 mile from the water tank. There are gap jumps, drops, and scary descents. There are multiple lines offering varying crazy tricks, so explore a little. If you're up to it, stay and play. The second set of stunts is on the fainter connector trail that links the trail near the first playground to the beginning of the slickrock area on the GV racecourse. (From there, you can hold right to reach an ATV-track that takes you back up.) I do NOT recommend trying to fight your way up through the rock here. Here's another barrel cactus, as we approach a tire-trapping dip. For perspective, the cactus is about 4 feet high. |
| Because it remains snow-free all year, St. George is a great
biking destination, even in January. But in the winter you have to be
satisfied with shorter rides. In the photo at right, it's only 3 pm, but
already the shadows are getting long and the air is getting chilly. The
Barrel Trail offers enough riding and climbing to satisfy, with
stay-and-play options to keep you on the mountain until the evening chases
you off.
This ramp offers a different take -- instead of launching off a rock to a transition ramp, you hit the ramp with speed and launch up onto the rock. Failure to clear the gap is not recommended.
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| Quickie Loop, or access to playground: 0.0 Start at Bearclaw trailhead N37 05.340 W113 38.457 Head up doubletrack 0.4 Just before water tank, R on ST N37 05.181 W113 38.824 0.5 Fork L on narrower track N37 05.227 W113 38.810 0.6 Keep L (connector from ATV joins) N37 05.351 W113 38.821 0.7 Straight past playground exit (on L) N37 05.400 W113 38.785 |
0.8 Fork R for quick loop N37 05.454 W113 38.699 (L=climb up big loop clockwise or go to top of playground) 0.9 R uphill on DT N37 05.441 W113 38.614 At crest, stay on DT and through wash 1.1 Keep L (R=connector) N37 05.315 W113 38.711 1.2 Pass 1st fork 1.3 L down road 1.7 At parking |
| Big Loop via GV raceway,
figure 8: 0.0 Start at GV trailhead Pick trail heading west into tiny wash N37 05.340 W113 38.457 Veer north on first DT west of the wash 0.5 After cresting hill, fork L to cross wash N37 05.665 W113 38.348 0.6 Coming out of wash, veer R on ST N37 05.608 W113 38.381 Keep R again N37 05.607 W113 38.443 Climb up onto slickrock area, head across 0.7 Steep climb! 1.5 Keep R (L = shortcut to Barrell) N37 05.574 W113 39.300 1.7 Fork L (R = Green Valley Loop) N37 05.519 W113 39.447 1.9 L uphill on DT N37 05.442 W113 39.696 2.0 Fork L on ST N37 05.422 W113 39.727 (option: straight to viewpoint 1) 2.3 Extreme tech plunge |
2.4 Fork L (R=viewpoint 2) N37 05.345 W113 39.447 2.6 Keep R (L=return to GV trail) N37 05.490 W113 39.368 3.6 Keep L for loop trail N37 05.405 W113 38.862 (options on R=playground) 3.8 Fork R (L=tech DH route) N37 05.491 W113 38.734 3.9 Keep L (R=bottom of playground) N37 05.454 W113 38.699 4.0 Fork L on ATV track N37 05.441 W113 38.614 (R=climb to Bearclaw TH) 4.1 ATV track joins on R 4.3 Rejoin uphill route N37 05.608 W113 38.381 Immediately! fork R Follow R side of wash to fence 4.9 Through fence, cross wash Veer L to parking 5.0 At car |
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Getting there, Green Valley Trailhead: Take the Bluff Street I-15 exit in St. George and turn west. Immediately turn south (left) at the first light. Go over the hill and at the T intersection at the bottom of the hill turn right. |
| Head northwest
about two miles on Dixie Drive. Turn left at Canyon View Road, heading
uphill toward the Green Valley Spa. (If you reach
a "Green Valley Market" with gas pumps, you just passed it. Turn
around and backtrack to the second road on your right.) Drive past the spa
onto dirt at the end of the road. Turn right at the top of the mesa, then
immediately left to drive down into the deep valley. Park in the open area
in the valley bottom (N37 05.542 W113 37.967) and pick your route west
uphill. (Note: the staging area is private property with a plan for
development into homes. This area may change, making these directions
invalid.) Bearclaw Trailhead: Follow the directions above. But as you drop into the valley, aim for the big gravel road heading straight up the cuesta (just to the right of the sandstone canyon). When you reach the gate, turn R into the parking area (N37 05.340 W113 38.457). Start your ride by continuing up the doubletrack. |
| Riding resources for this trail: Single-page riding guide GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."): Garmin GPX Map datum WGS 84 High-res topo (500 KB): |
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