| Hurricane Rim Trail |
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The Hurricane Rim trail climbs to the cliffs over the Virgin River near Hurricane. This is a nice
7.5-mile singletrack. Most riders do this as an out-and-back, sometimes
adding part of the JEM Trail. To ride this trail as a one-way with
shuttle, you must either cut the ride at 5.7 miles at the Virgin
Dam trailhead or continue 1.5 miles to the lower JEM trailhead or 5 miles to the upper JEM
trailhead. Advanced riders can consider a loop option (see below).
Bryce, who works at St. George's Red Rock Bicycle Co, heads west on the Hurricane Rim, with Gooseberry Mesa in the background. Photos June 16, 2003. |
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| Riding surface is undulating narrow singletrack, often rough with large rock slabs, upper-intermediate to advanced technical.
Although there's only about 300 feet of altitude difference, up-and-down riding will raise the
climbing total to around 1000 vertical feet.
Looking north, a wash heads towards the Virgin River Gorge. We're 1/2 mile from the JEM Trail. |
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Riding options include out-and-back, point-to-point with a shuttle (of varying length, selecting
among three upper trailheads), a 17-mile loop to the upper JEM trail using 4 miles of US-59 to
close the loop, and a tough 21.5-mile loop that includes Gould's Rim trail, most of JEM, and the
Hurricane Rim.
Lucas climbs along the edge of the Virgin River in the early-morning sunshine. |
| After the initial climb to Panorama Point, the trail follows the Virgin River gorge eastward.
Leaving the gorge temporarily, it joins the JEM trail. If you choose to follow the lower JEM trail,
there's more riding along the edge of the chasm.
Most of the trail is in brittle sage, with an occasional cactus. Looking east, we see the sandstone monoliths of Zion Canyon in the distance.
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Riding notes, Hurricane Rim: 0.0 Northeast on ST along fence 0.7 Panorama Point N 37 11.169' W 113 16.179' Alt=3850' 1.9 Keep R (L = Virgin Dam trail) 2.8 Cross wash, then L 3.5 Gooseberry Lookout 5.5 Dam trail rejoins on L 5.7 Virgin Dam trailhead, fork L on ST 7.5 JEM trail, fork L N 37 11.261' W 113 13.862' Alt=3650' 9.0 JEM lower trailhead Riding the edge of the Virgin River Gorge. |
| Getting there, main trailhead: 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 trail begins along the fence,
heading northeast. US-9 Trailhead: At the junction of US-9 with UT-17, turn east towards Zion. 4.8 miles after the turnoff, turn right (south) on a gravel road signed "Sheep Bridge Rd." 0.5 miles later, you'll cross over the Virgin River. Just uphill is a cattleguard, then a doubletrack on your right 0.1 miles after the bridge. Take the doubletrack 0.2 miles to a turn-around overlooking the Virgin River. The singletrack is at the end of the turn-around. Head up the JEM trail until you reach the Hurricane Rim trail on your right.
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| 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 Hurricane Rim Trail: Links to other pages: Single-page riding guide to Hurricane Rim JEM Trail Gould's Rim Trail GPS track files (right-click and "Save target as..."): Garmin (.mps) National Geographic (.tpo) Topofusion (.gpx) GoogleEarth (.kmz) Alternate maps: Small-format Topo map Large-format Topo map Satelite view w elevation profile |
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