| Stucki Springs Trail |
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The Stucki Springs Trail starts southwest of St. George in Green
Valley, with an alternate trailhead in Santa Clara, and a trailhead for
out-and-back or Long Loop in Bloomington. Depending on your route, you can
ride from 14 to 20 miles. We'll describe in detail the classic ride, then
quickly offer a couple of newer loop options. From the top of the mesa at the end of the Downhill Race Course, this is the view back towards Green Valley. The trail can barely be seen heading across the valley below -- that's where you're headed. February 19, 2000. |
| The classic ride starts at Green Valley and includes a stiff climb up over the cuesta from Green Valley. It climbs up the "Downhill Race Course" singletrack for three miles, drops (and we do mean DROPS) off the mesa to rolling desert, turns south at Stucki Springs, then joins the Green Valley Trail again at Clavicle Hill. This loop is 19 miles, strenuous aerobic, intermediate technical with a rare smattering of advanced technical. |
| The trail starts westward with a rough and rock technical climb UP the
Downhill Race Course. When the trail reaches doubletrack after 3 miles, turn uphill (left)
and ride to the viewpoint at the top. GPS N 37° 05.355' W 113° 39.947'. Backtrack down the doubletrack, pass the singletrack, then turn left (just a few feet later) in the saddle on the ridge GPS N 37° 05.618' W 113° 39.573'. Follow the doubletrack down to the valley. It's very steep. Hang your butt off the back, and work your brakes intelligently. Mike Engberson descends a bit of rough rocky clay. |
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The trail rock'n rolls as an ATV doubletrack through hard-packed desert
dirt. At Stucki Springs (really just a stock watering trough GPS N 37° 05.971' W
113° 40.570'), turn left up the small ridge just before the fence.
View west from the trail, overlooking the wash. It's a bit desolate out here.
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The route will be gradually uphill for a couple of miles, then the trail forks. Keep left -- don't go to the other side of the big wash (Cottonwood Wash) at GPS N 37° 05.244' W 113° 42.112'. From here, you'll head southeast along the edge of the wash. The trail turns east. It tends to be a bit "dug up" by motorcycles in this area. At the next fork in the trail, right takes you along the ridge, left down the bottom of the wash. The trails join about a mile later just before Clavicle Hill. Avoid any side trails heading south -- these don't go where you're headed. Randy rolls away from the overlook at the head of the wash, heading (finally!) downhill towards Bloomington, 7 miles away. Photo October 12, 2002.
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You're riding on shale deposits of the Chinle Formation, rich in fine
volcanic ash. This formation dates to the Triassic Period, around 220 million
years ago, just before the age of the dinosaurs. The mesas are formed by harder
layers of mudstone that resist erosion, or by volcanic caps from lava flows. To
the north, the Pine Valley Mountains are formed from an extinct giant volcano.
Picture: Dominic Bria rolls down a spooky steep section of hill.
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| The trail turns north a bit to hook up with the Green Valley trail at
Clavicle Hill. Below the hill, find a trail heading east at the base of the bluff. This is
the best part of the ride. Rock 'n Roll! When you reach Bloomington, follow the streets to
your left, over the hill back into Green Valley. "Mountain Biking Utah" by Gregg
Bromka, 1999 edition, has a good description of this trail. Brian Argyle hits an uphill on the oh-so-nice Bloomington end of the Green Valley (Bearclaw Poppy) Trail. |
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| Other riding options: (1) Stucki Short Loop from Bearclaw: Start at the Bearclaw Poppy trail Green Valley trailhead. Ride about two miles south on Bearclaw, then spot a trail heading northwest toward the skirt of the cliffs, just before you hit the acid drops. (If you go from orange dirt to white dirt, you passed the trail.) Stay along the edge of the valley, ignoring any options that will take you out toward the valley. When you reach a broad dirt road, turn left on it. When you reach the fence, you're at Stucki Springs. Backtrack 100 feet to find the trail heading southwest. At the trail's high point overlooking Cottonwood Wash, turn left and follow the edge of the wash. When you reach the 4-way, turn left again. Climb Clavicle Hill to backtrack on Bearclaw. (2) Stucki Long Loop from Bloomington: (You can also do this route from Green Valley, by grabbing the eastbound end of Bearclaw at Clavicle Hill. It adds about 5 miles.) Start west from Bloomington. About 1/2 mile into the ride, veer left onto the Bloomington Microloop. At the 4-way, turn right. Climb Clavicle Hill and continue north on Bearclaw until you find the Stucki Connector -- just after you've climbed the last Acid Drop and the surface has turned from white clay to red dirt. Stay along the edge of the valley, ignoring any options that will take you out toward the valley. When you reach a broad dirt road, turn left on it. When you reach the fence, you're at Stucki Springs. Backtrack 100 feet to find the trail heading southwest. At the trail's high point overlooking Cottonwood Wash, turn left and follow the edge of the wash. When you reach the 4-way, turn left and repeat the section that connected you to Bearclaw. This time, veer right (east) on the downhill run of Bearclaw back to Bloomington. (3) Cottonwood Wash out and back from Bloomington: This is the local riders' most popular way to ride Stucki, but it doesn't actually reach Stucki Springs. Start in Bloomington. Ride Bearclaw west. At Clavicle Hill, veer southward 1/4 mile, then turn right (west) onto the Stucki Springs trail at the 4-way. (As an alternate route, take the westbound Bloomington Microloop to the 4-way.) When you reach the high-point above the wash, turn around and ride back, same way you came. |
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Getting there: Take the Bluff Street I-15 exit in St.
George and turn west. Immediately turn south (left) on Hilton Drive. Go past the golf
course and turn right when you reach Dixie Drive. Turn left at the sign for Green Valley
Spa. Drive past the spa and park at the end of the road. From the top of the mesa, ride
down across the wash. Keep left until you're through the fence, then turn right as the
Green Valley trail turns left up the hill. Find the singletrack on the left about 100
yards up, just before the doubletrack drops into a rock wash. Alternate trailhead: Find the dirt road directly across from the Jacob Hamblin Home at the west end of Santa Clara. Head south. |
| Riding resources for the Stucki
Springs Trail: Large detail map Stucki Springs loop (1.5 MB): StuckiLoop.gif Track files (to download, right-click and select "Save target as..."): Garmin Mapsource track files: Entire Area, Stucki Springs Long Loop, Stucki Springs Short Loop, Bearclaw, Bloomington Microloop: National Geographic TOPO file of area: Stucki-Bearclaw-Bloomington Graphic exchange format (Topofusion) trail files: Stucki-Loop, Link-to-Stucki, Bearclaw, Bloomington Micro westbound, Bloomington return. Google Earth: Entire Area, Stucki Springs Long Loop, Stucki Springs Short Loop, Bearclaw, Bloomington Microloop: Quick on-trail guide: Single-page, printable riding guide to this trail. |
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For lodging in the St. George
area, as well as travel guides and information on other activities, may we
suggest: |
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