Don't look down.Gooseberry Mesa North and South Rim
Gooseberry Mesa is a tabletop mesa just west of Zion National Park with a world-class trail system combining slickrock stunts and singletrack. The South Rim slickrock areas are advanced-level technical. In God's Skateboard Park, you'll find stunts ranging from the merely difficult to the truly insane. The North Rim Trail is intermediate technical -- for the beginner, Slickrock 101 features easier slickrock and singletrack.  There's little altitude change overall -- no long brutal hill-climbs
Trail Notes, clockwise loop. Begin South Rim
0.0   ST south Cattle Grate Trail
N 37° 08.498' W 113° 10.304'
1.4   Trail touches mesa road, turns away
N 37° 08.492' W 113° 10.884'
1.7   Trail near road God's Skateboard Park
N 37° 08.444' W 113° 11.022'
3.2   Merge R onto small DT
N 37° 07.991' W 113° 11.270'
3.4   L off DT onto ST Rattlesnake Rim
N 37° 08.078' W 113° 11.336'
4.2   Keep L (R to Hidden Canyon)
N 37° 07.792' W 113° 11.712'
6.5   Straight for Point (R on DT = N Rim)
N 37° 08.440' W 113° 13.0
7.0 The Point (view, turn back)
N 37° 08.533' W 113° 13.312'
7.5   Back at fork, go L on DT= North Rim
8.0   R on ST = Yellow Trail
N 37° 08.354' W 113° 12.686'
8.5   R on DT for 100 feet,
then L on ST ( That Damn Trail )
N 37° 08.303' W 113° 12.478'
10.0 Fork L (R goes to road)
N 37° 08.337' W 113° 11.6
10.6 Keep R (L =Bowls & Ledges, Windmill)
N 37° 08.555' W 113° 11.248'
10.9 Fork L @ N 37° 08.508' W 113° 11.077'
Slickrock 101 (R = 0.1 to road)
11.5 Keep L (R = Windmill Loop)
N 37° 08.669' W 113° 10.626'
30 ft later, L=hard, R=easier
11.7 Trails rejoin, soft turn (to SE)
N 37° 08.774' W 113° 10.518'
12.2 At road, turn L
N 37° 08.473' W 113° 10.594'
12.5 Back at parking
Gooseberry Mesa MapGetting there -- North: As you approach Zion National Park in Rockville, turn south (right) on Bridge Road. Continue straight until the road turns right (west) and turns to gravel. Keep left at the fork at 1.5 miles. At 6.2 miles, watch for a road going through the fence on your right at the top of the mesa. 3.6 miles after this turnoff, fork left at the outhouse. Now ignore any smaller branching roads. 1.1 miles later, you'll cross a cattle guard. Park there. The trail begins along the fence on the left side N 37° 08.500 W 113° 10.300'
Getting there -- South: In Hurricane heading east on Highway 9, turn right at the Highway 59 sign. One block later, turn left and drive out of town. About 15 minutes later, pass a gas station on the left-hand side, then some fields. Watch for a "Scenic Byway" sign 14.8 miles from the turnoff in Hurricane, and turn hard left onto a dirt road. Two miles later, just as you reach juniper trees, the Gooseberry Mesa road turns off on your left. Drive to the trailhead as above.
Copyright 2002 Mad Scientist Software Inc. Use this trail guide at your own risk.