The Prospector Trail is a delightful desert romp near red cliffs of Navajo Sandstone. The trail begins near Leeds, about 15 miles north of St. George, and continues to Washington. The trail is in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. The Prospector Trail itself is 6 miles long, but you'll need to add on a few miles to get back to civilization, one of four ways. The trail is an easier-intermediate technical. There's about 300 feet of altitude change, but the up-and-down raises the total climbing to around 600 vertical feet. View from a low hill we just climbed, looking back to the north. Photos June 25, 2002 by Bruce.

Option 2, loopy out-and-back:  My favorite! Begin at the north end of Prospector. When you hit the Church Rocks loop, ride around it. Head back on Prospector to your car. This makes for a great 16-mile ride!  Those mountains -- solid rock!

Option 3, Washington routes A-C:  When you hit the wash at the southern corner of the Church Rocks Loop, you have three options to get into Washington for a point-to-point ride. A.  Go down the wash and through the tunnel under the freeway. Really. Jog downhill a bit, then climb up the mesa to your left. Follow the gravel road east and find a paved bike trail dropping off the mesa into Coral Canyon. Go east until you find Telegraph Road then turn right.  B. Hike a tiny distance up the wash, and find the Grapevine Trail heading up over the hill. Expect to hike-a-bike. Keep left past two trails. At the border of the Reserve, catch the doubletrack down to Buena Vista Blvd.  C. Start out as in (B), but at the second fork, go right up the Grapevine Trail, then left on the Dino Tracks Trail. When you reach the water tank, drop down the dirt road to Buena Vista.

As signs are prone to disappear, the complex trail intersection at mile 2.5, N 37° 11.258' W 113° 25.429', requires some explanation. As of 2007, as you pull up to the base of the ridge you'll see the Cottonwood Canyon Trail, a very buff trail heading level up the canyon (this trail is closed to bikes about 1 mile uphill). Go left up a broad trail to the top of the ridge. Take a hard right (uphill) at the top of the hill. Prospector has joined the Cottonwood Ridge Trail. About 100 feet later, fork left (toward St.George) to continue on Prospector at N 37° 11.202' W 113° 25.457'.

Getting there:  Take the Leeds exit from I-15. If you're going southbound, drive through Leeds to reach the northbound I-15 Leeds exit. Go south from the southbound I-15 exit 1.8 miles. Turn left on a narrow paved road and go under the freeway. At mile 2.4 (about 0.5 from the turn), there's a trailhead on the left side of the road, with a tiny pullout. GPS N 37° 12.574' W 113° 24.078'. Lift your bike over the step-over to the trail.