JEM Trail

View towards Gooseberry Mesa from the JEM Trail on July 7, 2001. Original photos and review by Bruce Argyle in 2001. Latest page update April 2019.

JEM Trail
The JEM Trail is found just west of the town of Virgin near Zion National Park. It remains one of the most-popular rides in the Hurricane area. Named for trailblazers John, Ellen, and Mike, this trail offers high-speed desert cruising and a cliff-side ride along the Virgin River. Except for one dangerous switchback (which you can walk), it's an easy technical ride.

From the Highway 59 JEM trailhead at the top to the lower Sheep Bridge road (Virgin) trailhead just off Highway 59, JEM is 7 miles long. There's 800 vertical feet of elevation loss over that distance. Riders can start from either end, but when done uphill, four miles of the JEM trail is one-way downhill-only and you'll need to leave JEM for Carne Asada and Dead Ringer.

There's some pretty scenery as we ride the cliffs above the Virgin River near the Sheep Bridge road trailhead.

Heading downhill, just a short distance from the upper (Highway 59) trailhead. This upper portion -- until you've dropped off the upper hill and reached Goosebumps -- is one-way downhill.

Important note!
In 2015 the upper 2.1-mile portion of JEM became one-way downhill only. This is the section from the Highway 59 trailhead down to the Goosebumps / Dead Ringer connector intersection. When climbing to the Highway 59 trailhead, you must use either Dead Ringer or the JEM Doubletrack .

And in 2022 the lower 1.8 miles also became a one-way DH. From the lower (Virgin) JEM trailhead to the Hurricane Rim trail fork, you must use Carne Asada when climbing uphill.

Trailheads and access

Looking northeast in the upper JEM Highway 59 trailhead.

Highway 9 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. Cross the cattle guard at the gate, then immediately turn right on singletrack. This section of JEM is one-way only. Looking northeast in the upper JEM Highway 59 trailhead.

Trail fork from JEM to Carne Asada (one-way climbing route), just 100 feet from the trailhead at the end of the doubletrack.

Sheep Bridge Road Lower JEM trailhead
In La Verkin, turn east onto Highway 9 toward Zion National Park. Drive 4 miles uphill. Just after you reach the first homes approaching Virgin, find the cindered Sheep Bridge Road on your right. Descend toward the bridge across the Virgin River and find a parking spot along the road. Start pedaling. Just past the bridge, but before the cattle guard, there's a dirt road to the right. This will take you to the bottom of JEM and Carne Asada. (The parking directly at the bottom of JEM is reserved for the nature conservancy.) Trail fork from JEM to Carne Asada (one-way climbing route), just 100 feet from the trailhead at the end of the doubletrack.

JEM Trail

With the addition of new trails in the area, most riders now incorporate Dead Ringer , Goosebumps or Cryptobionic into a ride on the JEM trail. See our area page for a quick description and links to various trails.

See our topo map below for an overview of the area trails. Navigation is fairly easy, but a cell phone with a trail App always helpful when deciding where to ride next as you stand at a trail fork. The trail is well-marked with carsonite posts.

The middle portion of JEM is a high-speed flight through the desert.

The lower part of JEM is very scenic. Here Bruce rides toward the SR-59 trailhead, following the edge of the wash as it approaches the Virgin River.

Most riders do JEM in one of three ways:
(1) Out-and-back figure-eight. From the lower parking on Sheep Bridge road near SR-59, Carne Asada uphill to the Hurricane Rim trail fork. JEM uphill on the two-way section to the Dead Ringer fork at mile 5.3. Up the hill on Dead Ringer to the upper (Highway 9) trailhead, then down JEM back to the Virgin trailhead.
(2) Top to bottom with shuttle from the lower trailhead off SR-59 the upper JEM trailhead on SR-9.
(3) As part of the Goulds and Hurricane Rim loop ride, doing the 5 miles of JEM that lies between SR-9 and the Hurricane Rim trail fork in a counter-clockwise ride.

Then there's the old classic JEM Loop, which is 12.9 miles in length with 800 feet of altitude gain. The first half of the classic JEM loop is uphill doubletrack ; the last 6.2 miles is downhill singletrack. While fewer riders are using this route now, it's an alternative for groups who want to ride side-by-side on the way uphill.

View up the wash, about 2.5 miles into the classic loop ride in 2001. The wash here has a hard bottom, and is fairly easy to ride.

Descending JEM from top to bottom (2019 video)...

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Ride log for the downhill on JEM:
0.0 Cross cattleguard, then right on ST along the fence
0.5 Cross doubletrack
0.8 Keep R at More Cowbell connector, drop off mesa
1.4 Cross Goosebumps/Dead Ringer connector
2.1 Cross Dead Ringer, then Sheep Bridge Road
(trail becomes two-way!)
3.2 Keep R at Chinatown Wash fork
4.2 Cross Cryptobionic
5.0 Keep straight (R = climbing route, L = Hurricane Rim)
5.3 Trailhead/Camping area, connector to road on R, keep L
5.9 Connector from Carne Asada on R, keep L
6.7 Carne Asada on R, keep L
6.8 Gorge trailhead, take DT out
7.0 Sheep Bridge Road TH

Near the top of the ride, the trail passes by a fruiting yucca.

Bruce heads away from Gooseberry Mesa.

The "badlands" and the alternating bands of red and white of Gooseberry Mesa are mudstone of the Moenkopi Formation, laid down during the early Triassic (about 240 million years ago). As the ocean receded, gravel and shoreline deposits formed the hard Shinarump conglomerate, which begins the cap of the mesa.

Bottom Line!
One of the best trails in the area, very popular. The trail is a fun ride, and definitely worth doing. The views into the chasm of the Virgin River are awesome (note that you'll miss this section of JEM if you're riding the Hurricane Loop option). The high-speed singletrack descent is a blast. A good choice for mixed-ability groups! The JEM trail is a must-ride for your bucket list.

In this 2001 photo -- loving the bar ends -- Bruce is ready to drop down JEM from the doubletrack of the old classic loop ride.

An old video (analog era) of the guys riding the Hurricane Loop...

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Riding notes, Gould/JEM/ Hurricane Rim Loop:
Start from parking area on US-59 above Hurricane
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, head NE
      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
8.3 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
8.6   JEM Trailhead, cross cattleguard
        N 37 08.329 W 113 14.527
        Immediate R onto ST
9.0   Cross DT, descend toward cliffs
9.3   Keep R (L=More Cowbell)
        N37 08.863 W113 14.661
        Drop off ledge on switchback

10.0 Straight (R=Goosebumps, L=Dead Ringer)
        N37 09.119 W113 15.103
10.8 Keep R (L = China Wash)
        N37 10.541 W113 15.154
11.0 Cross Dead Ringer
        Cross Sheep Bridge gravel road
11.1 Cross Cryptobionic
        N37 10.798 W113 14.354
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
        (Cryptobionic start on L)
16.0 Keep L (R=Virgin Dam trail)
18.7 R across Chinatown Wash
        Straight = Chinatown Wash trail
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

Getting there: From I-15 north, take the La Verkin exit on UT-17. From the south, take the Hurricane exit on US-9 and go through Hurricane towards Zion National Park. 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." Descend toward the bridge across the Virgin River and find a parking spot along the road. Start pedaling. Just past the bridge, but before the cattle guard, there's a dirt road to the right. This will take you to the bottom of JEM and Carne Asada. (The parking near the bottom of JEM is reserved for the nature conservancy.)

Sheep Bridge Road trailhead: Found half-way along gravel Sheep Bridge Road, which connects US-9 to US-59. Drive toward the upper JEM trailhead on Highway 59 as above. But at mile 3.3 (while still on the flat area), turn left on gravel Sheep Bridge road. Drive 2.9 miles on Sheep Bridge road to a fenced parking area with a bathroom. Cryptobionic and northern Dead Ringer can be found here. Option 1, roadside parking off US-59: If you turned onto Sheep Bridge Road from Highway 59, immediately park on the right, just inside the fence. Pedal 0.4 miles northeast to where the JEM singletrack crosses.

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.

NOTE! There is no longer a "lower JEM trailhead." it has been closed by the nature conservancy.