Evil Water Trails
The Evil Water trail system lies in lower Parowan Canyon. At the time of this review, there are two connected lariat loop trails, Electric Avenue and Megawatt. The trails are fairly short and easy to ride. With only 2.5 miles of singletrack trail, the system will be of most interest to beginner and early-intermediate riders who are looking for a quick ride. I did the trails 3 times in different directions and had a great time.

The trails lie just a mile up Parowan Canyon. At an elevation of 6300 feet, the trail surface will usually be dry and ready to ride by May, and the riding season will extend through early November.The trails are well-built machine bench-cut. There's a wide riding base. Turns are banked, although they're a bit tight for a fast downhill. I found them to be useful "redirect berms" for fast climbing. There's one short steeper climb on the Megawatt loop what won't be a problem for most riders, but beginners may walk 100 feet or so.

The trails are in a juniper and pinion forest, on a base of orange and white clays and broken limestones. Most of the rock and clay was washed down from higher elevations in the fairly recent geologic past. You'll have a nice view of a mountain of volcanic rock as you enter the Megawatt loop, and there will be occasional bits of conglomerate.

The Evil Water trailhead is in lower Parowan Canyon, 1.7 miles from Parowan's Main Street on Highway 143. The entry to the trailhead is a small gravel road on the right as you drive up the canyon, marked by a "trailhead" road sign. The unpaved trailhead is large and fenced with plenty of parking, but has no bathroom, water, or bike service stand. You'll share the trailhead with a disc golf course.

The entry to the mountain bike trail is at the far (southwest) corner. There's a break in the fence in the middle of the south side, which is for entry to the disc golf course. Consider bringing your competitive flying discs, and give the golf course a try between your rides.The trailhead and trail system are maintained by the BLM.

Finding your way to the Electric Avenue loop can be confusing, because disc golfers are wandering through creating their own trails -- and locals often simply take the doubletrack or hop on a side-trail to arrive more quickly. But however you get there, your target is the bridge that crosses Parowan Creek, which you'll be able to glimpse as you pedal out from the parking area.Officially, here's the route: 150 feet on ST, cross a DT, hook hard left around a tree and drop down to a lower DT, then keep straight to cross a flat area with a disc golf goal to arrive at the bridge. As you leave the bridge, turning right will take you counterclockwise on Electric Avenue.

It's only 0.1 miles from the parking lot to the Electric Avenue loop. Once you arrive at the loop fork -- on the far side of the bridge over Parowan Creek (see above) -- hook to the right for a counterclockwise ride.

The trail is bi-directional, but it's easier to navigate if you go counterclockwise. The lower part of the loop goes onto and off of dirt road, and flirts with disc golf trails that may look like the right way to go. (If you're going clockwise, a good "rule of thumb" is: unless there's a trail sign, don't fork away on anything, no matter how "bike-trail-ish" it may appear.)So I suggest doing the loop counterclockwise first so you've seen where the lower side of the loop goes. Then for a changeup, do your second lap clockwise.

After heading north for a bit through riparian forest along Parowan Creek, the trail turns uphill and winds through pinion and juniper. At mile 0.4 from the trailhead, you'll arrive at a large dirt road. Across the road and to your right is the entry to the stem of the Megawatt loop.To stay on Electric Avenue, veer to the left along the edge of the roadway.

From this point, the Electric Avenue loop winds gently uphill for another 0.2 miles. As it turns to run parallel to the main canyon, it will follow what appears to be an ancient road-cut. The riding here will be fairly flat.

At mile 1.1 from the trailhead, Electric Avenue will turn left downhill, cross a dirt road to singletrack, then drop gently downhill through riparian forest. After about 1/4 mile, it will join a narrow dirt road. Watch for the singletrack that will take you toward the bridge. The trail signs are adequate, but they're not overly abundant considering the disc golf side-trails.

The Megawatt trail is a lariat loop, originating at the far northwest corner of the Electric Avenue loop. It will circle a tiny hill that's located just behind the "P Hill" on the edge of Parowan. You'll need to ride a portion of the Electric Avenue loop to reach the "stem" of the Megawatt lariat loop.At mile 0.4 from the trailhead, while riding Electric Avenue counterclockwise, you'll arrive at a gravel/dirt road, with a trail sign on your left. Electric Avenue continues to your left. Megawatt lies just out of sight, uphill and across the roadway. Trust the arrow on the sign and cross the road.

Megawatt first runs to the west up a side-canyon. The trail flirts with an ATV route, but the bicycle path is well-marked with carsonite trail signs. The stem of the Megawatt loop is 0.1 miles long. Pass the return trail, which joins sharply on your right, to begin a clockwise loop.

The trail will turn north for a steeper climb across a saddle, then it will meander into a sage and oak meadow to descend a bit in elevation before returning to the small hill.

Megawatt will follow a fairly flat path on the north and eastern sides of the hill, then descend down to the loop fork. For a second lap, keep straight. To return to Electric Avenue, make a hard 180 to the left onto the stem of the loop.At the doubletrack, veer to the right as you cross, and you'll enter the southbound upper side of the Electric Avenue loop.

This is a fun little ride, and it's ready for your tires two months before Brian Head's trails. But Evil Water is largely unknown. And the system won't be expanded unless riders are using it.Evil Water is a great and quick dirt-fix when you're heading south for the weekend and the evening is approaching fast. Give it a shot.

Getting there:
From I-15, take either of the Parowan exits and head into the center of town. Follow the road signs for Parowan Canyon and Brian Head, and turn off Main Street on Highway 143. At mile 1.7 from Main Street, spot a trailhead sign on your right and turn onto a narrow dirt road. Go to the far end of the spacious parking area. The Electric Avenue trail starts at the southwest corner of the log fence, at the trail kiosk. (Note that the trail entry in the middle of the fence is for the disc golf course.)

Bathroom: none
Water: none
Camping at the trailhead: no
Resources:
   GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
      Evil Water trails, multi-track file