Gould's Rim Trail

This trail is included on the
Hurricane Loop Video.

Gould's Rim Trail is a new singletrack above Hurricane. The trail consists of a equal portions of climbing on doubletrack, fairly buff singletrack skirting the edge of Gould's Canyon, and undulating narrow singletrack climbing to US-59. Point-to-point from the Hurricane Rim trailhead to the JEM trailhead, it's 8.9 miles, starting at 3600 feet and climbing to 4350. The singletrack on the upper 1/3 requires good bike-handling skills, earning the trail an upper-intermediate rating overall.

Bryce and Lucas cruise along the edge of Gould's Wash, with the Pine Valley Mountains in the background. Photos June 16, 2003.

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Riding options include point-to-point either direction, a 12.7-mile loop using the highway as either the uphill or downhill segment, and a nice 21.5-mile loop using the JEM and Hurricane Rim trails. The big loop should be reserved for advanced riders, or very strong, conditioned, and determined intermediates.

Bryce, who works at Red Rock Bicycle in St. George, posts a switchback turn descending into a limb of the gorge.

Starting from the Hurricane Rim trailhead, you'll backtrack a bit down the highway, then climb 2 miles uphill on doubletrack. Watch for the singletrack to branch off on the right as you reach the power line on top of the mesa. You'll now roll along the edge of Gould's Canyon, occasionally dropping down into tributaries of the giant wash. Enjoy the scenic vistas jutting above the sagebrush.

Lucas rolls towards the corral trailhead. It's 8 am on a summer's day -- you'll want to start early in the morning to avoid cooking.
At the mid-way trailhead, you'll catch doubletrack again over to the historic Civilian Conservation Corps corral. Find the singletrack on the rear right. The trail now becomes more narrow, with twists and dips. Good bike-handling and aggressive attitudes are required to ride this section clean. You'll run along the south side of a small mesa, climbing gradually uphill. When you reach the highway, you can bomb back to the trailhead on the highway, backtrack on the trail, or press on to the JEM trail for the BIG LOOP.

Bryce hits a tricky dip-down-up-turn maneuver along the edge of the small mesa near Willow Spring. We're about a mile from U-59, still going a bit uphill.
 
See the Mountain Bike Buddies web site for guide services, transportation, lodging, and connections to other activities. 

Riding notes, one-way from top:
0.0   From JEM parking, backtrack to U-59
0.3   Cross U-59 to ST
        N 37 08.096' W 113 14.564' Alt=4350'
0.9   Keep R
2.7   At corral, DT southwest
        (Not main dirt road in front of corral)
        N 37 08.310' W 113 15.649'		 3.3   Keep L on DT
3.5   At trailhead, R on ST
        N 37 08.142' W 113 16.280'
6.6   L on gravel road
        N 37 09.606' W 113 16.330' Alt=4000'
8.7   R on U-59 uphill
8.9   At lower trailhead
Getting there: In Hurricane, turn south on US-59 (towards the Grand Canyon). Follow the road uphill 0.9 miles, then turn left into the trailhead parking near the cell phone towers. GPS N 37 10.740' W 113 16.601', Alt=3650'. The dirt road 0.2 miles back down U-59 is the trail's start.
Upper JEM trailhead: In Hurricane, turn south on US-59 (towards the Grand Canyon). Drive exactly 5 miles uphill. Turn left on cindered doubletrack right as you approach the base of Gooseberry Mesa. Drive another 0.3 miles to the parking area. For Gould's Rim, backtrack over U-59 and cross the fence. N 37 08.329' W 113 14.527'
Riding notes, Gould's Rim to Hurricane Rim Loop:
0.0 R (downhill) on US-59
0.2 L uphill on DT
1.8 Top of DT climb
2.3 R off DT onto ST
      N 37 09.606' W 113 16.330' Alt=4000'
5.4 Trailhead, L on DT
      N 37 08.142' W 113 16.280'
6.2 At corral, find ST rear on R
      N 37 08.310' W 113 15.649'
8.0 ST comes in from R
8.6 US-59. For Big Loop, cross to DT
      N 37 08.096' W 113 14.564' Alt=4350'
      For small loop, head downhill on road		 8.9   JEM Trailhead, straight
        N 37 08.329' W 113 14.527'
9.3   Turn L onto ST (JEM)
11.0 Cross gravel road
14.0 Fork L to Hurricane Rim
        N 37 11.261' W 113 13.862' Alt=3650'
15.8 Virgin Dam trailhead
        N 37 11.781' W 113 14.109' 
16.0 Keep L (R=Virgin Dam trail)
18.7 R across Chinatown Wash
19.6 Dam trail rejoins on R
20.2 Panorama Point
        N 37 11.169' W 113 16.179' Alt=3850'
21.5 Back at parking
Other Resources for the Gould's Rim Trail:
Links to other pages:
     Single-page printable riding guide to Gould's Rim
     JEM Trail
     Hurricane Rim Trail 
GPS track files (right-click and "Save target as..."):     Map datum WGS 84
   Garmin (.mps)   National Geographic (.tpo)   Topofusion (.gpx)   GoogleEarth (.kmz)
Alternate maps:
   Small-format Topo map    Large-format Topo map    Satelite view w elevation profile

For lodging in the St. George area, as well as travel guides and information on other activities, may we suggest:
Things to do, lodging links:  http://www.utah.com/stgeorge/   http://www.go-utah.com/St-George 
Snow Canyon:  http://www.utah.com/stateparks/snow_canyon.htm 
Red Cliffs Recreation Area - Camping:  http://www.ut.blm.gov/stgeorge_fo/sgfored_cliffs.html 
Quail Creek State Park:  http://www.utah.com/stateparks/quail_creek.htm 
 St. George BLM info:  http://www.ut.blm.gov/stgeorge_fo/ 
Zion National Park:  http://www.nps.gov/zion/    http://www.zion.national-park.com/   http://www.zioncanyon.com/ 
Utah National Forest Camping and Picnic sites:  http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/maps/brochures/camp_picnick_utah.pdf

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