Gould's Rim Trail

The Gould's Rim trail lies on the mesa above Hurricane. The trail consists of three very different sections: a climb on doubletrack from the Hurricane Hill trailhead, singletrack skirting the edge of Gould's Canyon, and narrow twisting dirt singletrack between "the corral" and US-59 near the upper JEM trailhead. 

2016 note:  You can now reach the Gould's Rim doubletrack directly from Hurricane City via the Gould Connector trail. You'll still need to pedal a long portion of the doubletrack, though, to get up on top of the mesa.

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. Now, on your bike, backtrack along the entry road and cross Highway 59 to the upper end of Gould's trail.

This trailhead serves the Hurricane Rim and Gould's trails. Other trails in the system are reached via these trails. 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. The dirt road 0.2 miles back down U-59 is the trail's start.
Option, Gould's Wash corral: As you head uphill on Highway 59, pass gravel Sheep Bridge road on your left (about half-way between Hurricane Hill and the JEM trailhead). Now watch for a dirt road on your right. It will take you to the corral. If you're heading for the rim, go directly west from the corral for 1/2 mile.

Hurricane City to Gould's Connector Trail
On Highway 9 eastbound in Hurricane, turn right at the Highway 59 sign. Go four blocks south to 400 South and turn left (east). Turn right on the narrow 60 East Street to go south again. Continue on cinders as the pavement ends. My GPS trail track starts at the dead-end, but you can also short-cut across a break in the old canal about 100 yards before the end of the road.

This trailhead with bathroom and bike stand is found half-way along the 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, 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.

From Highway 9 in Virgin, turn south onto Sheep Bridge Road. Drive 1.7 miles. As the gravel road drops into a dip, there are two paths on your right. The ridgeline road is the race staging area. There's a connector to Carne Asada in about 100 feet on your right. The second dirt road, around 50 feet downhill, is the primitive camping and trailhead area. JEM crosses this road at the bottom of the camping zone, and Carne Asada is found to your right on JEM downhill from the road.

Starting from the Hurricane Rim trailhead, backtrack 0.2 miles down the highway. Watch for the cars as you approach the trail!

Turn left onto a steep gravel doubletrack and begin climbing. At 0.2 miles up the doubletrack, you'll pass the Gould's Connector on your right. The doubletrack portion will be 2 miles, during which you'll gain around 600 vertical feet.

Follow the fence on the right side of the corral, then enter the singletrack straight ahead.

A nice trail with interesting views, but there are better choices if you're just getting started with the JEM area trails . It can be a fun, quick ride for kids if you start from the wash trailhead and do a short out-and-back in either direction. Otherwise, the primary use of this trail is the very-tough Hurricane Loop when combined with JEM and the Hurricane Rim .