View north as Bruce cruises the Chuckwalla Trail towards the connector that leads to the Paradise Rim and Halfway Wash trails. Original review June 9, 2002 by Bruce. These photos are from May 2017.
Paradise Rim
Turtle Wall, Chuckwalla, Halfway Wash Trails
Turtle Wall, Chuckwalla, Halfway Wash Trails
The Paradise Rim trail is a short singletrack loop right on the border of St. George. Located in the Red Cliffs Desert Preserve, it connects to the paved Snow Canyon Loop and to the singletrack Beck Hill and Gila trails.
The Paradise Rim loop consists of the Paradise Rim trail on the south and the Turtle Wall trail
on the north. It's around three miles long, plus whatever riding it took
to reach the loop.
Locals get to the trail through Halfway Wash. For visitors, unless you're
riding your bike
to the loop, I recommend you park at the big lot on SR-19 and take the
Chuckwalla trail to
the loop.
On the Halfway Wash trail, we're midway between Chuckwalla and the Paradise Rim trail fork, heading south.
Heading uphill on Paradise Rim. At this point, the trail is a cruiser. It will get a bit techy further uphill.
This is a good ride for a "quickie," or a nice starting ride for beginners. Hard-core bikers
may want to hit the side trails towards the rim of Snow Canyon, or maybe
do a couple of loops.
The extended trails can be reached via Beck Hill, or by turning right
at the summit of the
loop. I'm describing the loop that local residents ride. They come into
the Desert Reserve
from the south, connecting via the paved Snow Canyon or Halfway Wash trails.
The Turtle Wall trail is intermediate in technical requirement. As a climbing route, once you're
up on the sandstone it's a fairly easy aerobic climb.
The Paradise Rim side of the loop has some advanced tech stuff uphill and down. Some of the ledge series are extremely hard to climb. Just walk the spots that make you nervous.
The upper half of the Paradise Rim trail is mostly ledgy slabs of slickrock. There will be some tech challenges.
Arriving at Paradise Rim. The view is to the west, first Santa Clara, then Ivins..
Both of the connecting trails are very easy. Halfway Wash is broad and smooth. Chuckwalla has
a bit of loose rock and occasional sand, but is also easy. The short connector
between Cuckwalla
and the loop drops through a wash that has some tough sand. I rode it
without difficulty, but
slower riders and skinny tires will bog down. Fortunately, it's only about
50 feet until you're
riding again.
If you're shopping for a parking spot, I'd suggest you start at Chuckwalla, descend to the
bottom, cross the wash, then climb Turtle Wall to Paradise Rim. An alternative
loop is to ride
up Becks Hill trail, turn left onto Paradise Rim, then descent Turtle
Wall. Becks Hill has
some sand sections, and is an upper-intermediate route.
Looking south to the Green Valley area of St. George.
Descending on Navajo sandstone slickrock on the Turtle Wall trail.
The loop is 3.3 miles in length, with about 380 vertical feet of climbing. A strong rider can
complete the loop in less than a half-hour, assuming no stops to admire
the view. The trail
is open year-round. In the summer, you'd want to ride early in the morning
to avoid the heat.
I'd recommend riding counter-clockwise: Go up on the Turtle Wall trail, then roll down the
less-buff Paradise Rim trail. (Note: my video shows the harder clockwise
ride.) At the time
of my first ride, there were some side-trails off Paradise Rim. Most of
these are now blocked
off to corral riders and hikers into a single path. Heading downhill on
the counterclockwise
ride, it's obvious where to aim the bike.
The tiny speck on the left is Bruce, with over a mile of cliff-hugging singletrack yet to go on Turtle Wall.
Many riders will ride Turtle Wall both up and back. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
The ride along the Turtle Wall is the highlight of this loop. Take time to admire the rock
formations and appreciate the views. This is Navajo Sandstone, same stuff
as the Slickrock
Trail. It erodes differently here because the environment in which the
sand was deposited (during
the Jurassic Period) was slightly different here.
When you arrive at the top, you'll be looking west on the edge of the cliff. Below you is Santa
Clara and Ivins. Enjoy the bench, take in the views, and chat with the
many hikers you'll encounter
on the Rim.
If you choose to continue exploring, you can head towards the edge of Snow Canyon on the Gila trail or Scout Cave trail. The connecting trail goes north from the rim.
Almost back to the loop fork.
The final drop from the sandstone down to desert singletrack.
Please note! The Paradise Canyon Homeowners Association does not want you to park on their
private streets, under threat of towing. This is the subdivision at the
south end of the loop.
Please find a parking spot at the Chuckwalla trailhead (on Bluff St about
1/3 mile past the
light), at Royal Oaks Park, or at one of the Snow Canyon Parkway public
parking areas. You
can ride your bike to the streetside trailhead in the subdivision by turning
off the Snow Canyon
paved trail at Halfway Wash.
Riding Notes, from Paradise Canyon
Trailhead:
0.0 At curve in road, singletrack heads to fence
Cross fence, keep R as trail merges from L
0.5 Fork, keep R (straight) to "Turtle Wall"
GPS N 37° 08.687' W 113° 36.789'
0.65 Fork, keep L (R = Chuckwalla & Beck Hill)
0.75 Straight, up onto rock then L (R = Beck Hill)
0.9 Connector to wide-track, keep straight
0.0 At curve in road, singletrack heads to fence
Cross fence, keep R as trail merges from L
0.5 Fork, keep R (straight) to "Turtle Wall"
GPS N 37° 08.687' W 113° 36.789'
0.65 Fork, keep L (R = Chuckwalla & Beck Hill)
0.75 Straight, up onto rock then L (R = Beck Hill)
0.9 Connector to wide-track, keep straight
1.2 Widetrack comes in on L, keep straight
1.6 Reach ridgetop, admire view, turn L (R = Gila Trail)
GPS N 37° 09.219' W 113° 37.385'
1.8 Fork (straight = view, L downhill = trail)
1.9 Keep R, follow ridge down
2.8 Back at first fork, go R
3.3 Back at trailhead
Getting there, Chuckwalla Trailhead: Go north on Bluff Street until you're
leaving down and starting uphill. Go straight through the traffic light at
Snow
Canyon Parkway. Watch on your left for a log fence and the
"Chuckwalla Trailhead" sign. Turn into the parking area. The
trailhead is a stepover at the north end. There's another entry in the
west trailer parking area.
Facilities: Bathrooms at the Chuckwalla trailhead.
Other fun stuff: Well-used rock-climbing walls (you'll notice the chalk) along the Chuckwalla Trail.
Map of the Paradise Canyon (Turtle Wall) riding area
Riding resources for this trail:
Single-page riding guide
GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
GPX
High-res topo (200 KB): View
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to St. George area resources
Single-page riding guide
GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
GPX
High-res topo (200 KB): View
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to St. George area resources
