A typical, highly-banked turn. Trail review by Bruce on April 13, 2024.
A typical, highly-banked turn. Trail review by Bruce on April 13, 2024.
Revenant Trail System

The Revenant trails are located on BLM land two miles west of the summit of Utah Hill. This is around 25 miles from downtown St George. In early 2024, the western side of the system is open for riding, while work continues on the eastern side. At an average elevation of 4500 feet, the expected riding season will be March through December.

The single climbing route for the trails west of parking is Rally. You'll find it at the uphill end of the parking zone. The three downhill trails are (1) Bullwinkle, suitable for beginning riders, (2) Ninja, which functions as both an intermediate and expert trail depending on which line you pick for your tires, and (3) Rock House, a double-expert line. Connections between the middle of the downhill trails let you mix your ride.

A spot where the beginning and intermediate DH routes       touch, allowing you to swap trails.
A spot where the beginning and intermediate DH routes touch, allowing you to swap trails.
The rough cut for a beginner-level trail on the       eastern side of the riding area.
The rough cut for a beginner-level trail on the eastern side of the riding area.

New trails are currently under construction to the east of the parking area. These should open for riding later in 2024.

Trailhead

Looking northwest over the parking area.
Looking northwest over the parking area on opening day.

Drive west from St George on Old 91. Keep left at the Gunlock turnoff and climb Utah Hill. Two miles after crossing the summit, look for mile marker 7 on your left. The dirt road turnoff is on your right, just past the mile marker. Drive 0.4 miles and turn left into the primitive parking area. Low-clearance sedans should park at the highway and pedal to the trailhead. The uphill trail is at the north (uphill) end of the parking area. It will cross to the right side of the entry doubletrack.

There's a plan to install a toilet and improve the road and parking, but this must wait for funding.

Rally (climbing trail)

Heading up Rally. At the top we can hit one of three       downhill routes.
Heading up Rally. At the top we can hit one of three downhill routes.

The Rally trail is the route uphill for the trails on the west side. It's 0.7 miles in length, gaining 250 vertical feet in elevation. The climbing trail is narrow hand-made singletrack with a steady but gentle rate of climb. You'll follow the edge of the wash as you head up the valley.

At the top, Rally connects to Bullwinkle -- with all the west-side DH routes starting on the same trail.

Bullwinkle (easy downhill trail)

A couple of bumps leading to a banked turn. Beginners       can roll, speedsters can jump.
A couple of bumps leading to a banked turn. Beginners can roll, speedsters can jump.

To descend the easier downhill trail Bullwinkle, simply keep to the left at all trail forks as you head down. Like all the downhill options, Bullwinkle is highly engineered with a wide riding surface. Roller bumps keep things interesting between the highly-banked turns.

At 400 feet down Bullwinkle there's a trail fork for both the intermediate and double-expert routes. Keep to the left.

The next fork is an optional crossover. You can veer right to exit Bullwinkle and descend Ninja. Riders from Ninja may be entering Bullwinkle at this point.

Keep to the left to stay on the easy line.
Keep to the left to stay on the easy line.
Finishing one turn and aiming for the next.
Finishing one turn and aiming for the next.

From top back to trailhead, Bullwinkle is 0.9 miles long. The trail joins a common return trail just downhill from the trailhead, and you'll climb 0.1 miles of doubletrack to get back to the uphill singletrack. The full beginner loop will be 1.7 miles with 400 vertical feet of climbing.

Ninja (intermediate/expert downhill trail)

At the fork where Ninja and Rock House separate.
At the fork where Ninja and Rock House separate.

The Ninja trail forks away from Bullwinkle after 400 feet. This is also a downhill-only highly-engineered flow trail. Its course falls between Bullwinkle and Rock House. Around 100 feet after forking away form Bullwinkle, keep left to stay on Bullwinkle as Rock House takes the higher line to your right.

To descend Ninja, it will be a total of 0.9 miles from Rally back to the trailhead, with 350 vertical feet of descending. The turns on Ninja are tighter with steeper berms.

Ninja functions as both an intermediate and an expert-level trail. Most of the bumps have a line for intermediate-riders and a second expert-level option adjacent.

The line to the right involves some significant air       and can't be rolled at speed, so intermediates will want to keep left for       the easier table jump.
The line to the right involves some significant air and can't be rolled at speed, so intermediates will want to keep left for the easier table jump.
Whipping through an S-turn.
Whipping through an S-turn.

Ninja will touch on both Bullwinkle and Rock House during the descent, so you can swap trails in the middle.

Like the other west-side trails, Ninja extends down below the parking area to end on the common return trail. A full up-and-down loop will be 1.7 miles.

Rock House (double-black downhill trail)

In contrast to the table jumps of Ninja, Rock House features some "straight up and down" dirt jumps.
In contrast to the table jumps of Ninja, Rock House features some "straight up and down" dirt jumps.

Rockhouse is a double-black (high expert) trail. You should be comfortable with dirt jumps, as not all features have ride-arounds. On many areas, there's either a scouting path alongside the stunts, or an alternate stunt that's less tricky.

Rock House forks away from Ninja around 100 feet after the combined trail leaves Bullwinkle. Veer to the right for Rock House.

There will be spots where the trail splits into A/B options and mellow ride-arounds. This is a good spot to let the speedster behind you get by. I counted 5 separate lines at the downhill end of Rock House as it turns east to cross the wash.

Approaching a rock drop of around 4 feet.
Approaching a rock drop of around 4 feet.
Looking back uphill from lower Rock House.
Looking back uphill from lower Rock House.

At the bottom, Rock House has a last gasp of technical stunts -- including a gnarly gap jump over the wash -- before it turns east and collects traffic from Ninja and Bullwinkle. The combined trail ends on the doubletrack below the parking area.

Loop of Rally and Ninja

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Getting there:  Drive west from St George on Old 91 (the continuation of Sunset through Santa Clara and Ivins). Keep left at the Gunlock turnoff and climb Utah Hill on Old 91. Two miles after crossing the summit, look for mile marker 7 on your left. The dirt road turnoff is on your right, just past the mile marker. Drive 0.4 miles and turn left into the primitive parking area. Low-clearance sedans should park at the highway and pedal to the trailhead. The uphill trail is at the north (uphill) end of the parking area. It will cross to the right side of the entry doubletrack.