The Rainbow Rim trail
Not Exactly in Utah

The Rainbow Rim trail lies on the northern edge of the Grand Canyon at an average altitude of 7700 feet. 18 miles in length, it links five viewpoints on the edge of the canyon. The riding is easier-intermediate in biking-skills requirement. Most climbs are mellow and followed by plenty of flat riding. You can ride a piece of it, or all of it.

I'm nominating this trail for "honorary Utah status" because Utah riders actually live closest to this trail. Cut off in the "Arizona Strip," it's a long way from Arizona's population centers. And because I didn't find a source of comprehensive information about this trail, we'll stick it here among southern Utah's rides. You're welcome.

There's no fee to drive into this area and ride the trail. The only "civilization" along the trail are the fenced trailhead parking areas, map signs at each trailhead, and occasional carsonite trail markers. Nearest services are on Highway 67, around 22 dirt-road miles away.

Primitive camping is allowed near the trailheads. There's no water and no bathrooms. It's pack-in/pack-out. All the campers I saw were at Locust at the midpoint of the trail. Many riders do one direction out-and-back from Locust the first day, then the second direction out-and-back on the next.

A full-trail one-day out-and-back is 36 miles with 3100 vertical feet of climbing. The 36 miles isn't as tough as it sounds. The trail is pretty easy, so you can motor right along.

I started from St. George after sunrise, did 39 miles of trail including the new extension (while stopping to take pictures and interview other riders about their ride plan and logistics), and was back home before sundown. On-trail time was 5 hours.

If you can do a 20-miler in the Wasatch, you can do this full trail out-and-back in one day. My suggestion is, start at Locust. Do one half, then return to your car for lunch and to restock on drinks. Then hit the second half.

The riders I met included both racing hammerheads and overweight newbies who were just learning how to mountain bike. The Rainbow Rim can satisfy a wide variety of riders.

If you have a SODS (your Significant Other Driving Shuttle) and plan a point-to-point with shuttle, I'd suggest starting in the north at Parissawampitts. Your pickup will be at Timp on the south end. This puts two hard-to-ride loose steep spots on the downhill.

Note for shuttlers: There's a cutoff road that ties the five entry roads together, located about half-way between the viewpoint trailheads and FR 206. This looks like it would save about 6 miles of dirt road, but I didn't drive it to see whether it's smooth or ugly.
Note for loop-lovers:  Don't even consider using this dirt road to form a loop. This option won't save you any work or any time. And you didn't come all this way to ride a dirt road.

From north to south, the distances are approximately 6-3-6-3. Locust is almost exactly midpoint in the ride. Here's the exact mileages:
Parissawampitts (214) to Fence (293):   5.8
Fence (293) to Locust (294):   3.2
Locust (294) to North Timp (271A):   6.3
North Timp (271A) to Timp (271):   2.9

Although you'll do a little cliffside riding, most of the time you'll be on smooth forested singletrack. You'll deviate away from the canyon to descend through a drainage, then return to the next viewpoint. Avoid riding down any trails marked with the arrow-and-dot viewpoint marker -- these are short hiking trails and end abruptly at the cliff edge. There will be some spots where the trail is covered with angular chunks of the Kiabab Limestone that forms the top edge of the Grand Canyon.

The forest is mostly long-leaf pine, with occasional small clusters of aspen. There are pinion and scrub oak near the canyon edge. The flora is not lush by northern Utah standards. On the flats there's a relatively open understory with occasional fields of grass or lupine. A few flowers may be found on cooler slopes where the trails passes through a ravine.

Navigation is simple. The only trail forks are at the viewpoints, where a path leads up to the fenced parking area for that trailhead. There may be a few viewpoint spurs, but they're usually well-marked enough to avoid confusion.

Note that Arizona does not use Daylight Savings Time. My GPS unit displayed the local time, one hour earlier than Utah time. If you're planning to bike late, don't get fooled by an "early sundown."

The top temperatures during my ride were mid-80s, but the shade of the trees and dry air (and the non-brutal pedaling) kept me feeling cool on a day when St. George hit 108. I even caught a little bit of rain in the afternoon. Thunderstorms are an almost-daily event on the North Rim in late summer, so come prepared.

The nearest services are back on Highway 67. There's gas and food at the store just north of where FR 22 starts. If you like developed camping, the De Motte campground is also right at the junction between 67 and 22.

Allow a little extra travel time for the gravel and dirt roads. Although FR 22 is wide and built up with gravel, I found it to be washboard and slower going than I'd expected. If you have bikes on a roof-rack, allow an hour for the dirt roads.

Bottom Line!
Even though this ride is NOT IN UTAH...

Put this ride on your bucket list.
There's awesome riding with terrific views. And the long miles just fly by, so it's not too much work to do all in one day!

Getting there:   Take the Hurricane exit from I-15 and proceed east on Highway 9 to Hurricane, then take Highway 59 eastbound. 59 will become Arizona 389. In Fredonia, turn south (right) onto US 89A. After climbing to the top of the mountain, turn right at Jacob Lake onto Arizona 67. Drive 26 miles south. Just after passing Kiabab Lodge and the De Motte Campground, turn right onto FR 22. Stay on 22 for 10.5 miles, then turn left on FR 206. Drive southbound to your intended trailhead road on 206. The first option comes in 3.5 miles, FR 214 westbound 8 miles to Parissawampitts. Note that the roads to Fence and Locust have a combined beginning off 206, as do North Timp and Timp.

Terrain Map / Driving Map for printing:
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GPS Track file:
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