 | Gooseberry Mesa Windmill Loop Gooseberry Mesa has a lot of awesome riding. The Windmill Loop is a fairly short ride, with a sampler of the mesa's types of terrain. There's sage cruising on double-track, technical slickrock, undulating technical singletrack, and a cliffside cruise. The trail is an intermediate aerobic because there's almost no altitude gain. On the slickrock sections, you'll need quick power for ledges and bowls, but there are no prolonged grunt climbs. Most of the trail is an intermediate technical, with some advanced technical on the "Ledges and Bowls" section. |
| The official trailhead is at
the Windmill (GPS N 37° 09.090' W 113° 09.973', altitude 5140 ft). From the windmill, ride west on doubletrack. At 0.9 miles, the track forks. Keep right. At the cliffs, watch carefully for the singletrack on your right at 1.1 miles (GPS N 37° 08.894' W 113° 10.938'). If you curve around until you rejoin the other fork of the road, you went too far. (There are tire tracks heading this way, because many riders take a short cut, catching the singletrack when it comes close to the road just before it turns back east.) When you reach a trail intersection at 1.35 miles marked by a 3-way arrow on the rock, GPS N 37° 08.811' W 113° 11.010', turn left (south). This is the Connector Trail. At 1.9 miles, GPS N 37° 08.669' W 113° 10.626', the Connector joins Slickrock 101. Just to your left, a signpost marks where Slickrock 101 forks again into advanced technical and easier branches. But you're going RIGHT (west) on Slickrock 101. At 2.5 miles, GPS N 37° 08.506' W 113° 11.077', the trail forks again. Keep right (left is a 0.1 mile bailout route back to the main mesa road). At 2.8 miles, another fork in the trail at GPS N 37° 08.550' W 113° 11.247'. Keep right again. You're now leaving Slickrock 101 for the Bowls and Ledges trail. At 3.4 miles, you're back at the first 3-way trail intersection GPS N 37° 08.811' W 113° 11.010', where you turned onto the Connector Trail. Keep left to retrace your path up the Rim Trail. Just before the trail reaches the doubletrack at the rim around mile 3.65, watch for it to turn left to hug the edge of the cliffs. (If you get lost here, just head as close to the cliffs as possible until you pick up the trail.) At mile 4.2 the trail forks right at N37 09.346 W113 10.112. (A less-traveled trail continues along the rim and will return via the overlook N 37 09.425 W 113 09.996 and main road.) At mile 5.3, you'll see the windmill. Turn right to the parking area, and you're done. |
 | Getting there -- North:
As you approach Zion National
Park in Rockville, turn south (right) on Bridge Road. After crossing the
Virgin River, the
dirt road winds up the mesa. Keep left at the fork at 1.5 miles. Continue
to a total of
6.2 miles, where you turn right at a sign "Gooseberry Mesa." Another 3.6
miles
after the turnoff, take the right fork as you pass the outhouse. One mile
later, you'll see a windmill on the left side of the road. Turn into the
parking area at the windmill GPS N 37° 09.090' W 113° 09.973'. Copyright 2002 Mad Scientist Software Inc |
Getting there -- South:
As you pass through Hurricane
heading east, turn right at the Highway 9 sign. (If you start exit town
without making a right-turn, you went past it.) One block later, turn left and drive out
of town. About 15 minutes later, you'll pass a gas station on the left-hand
side, then
some fields. Watch for a "Scenic Byway" sign, and turn left onto a dirt
road.
Two miles later, just as you reach the mountain, the Gooseberry Mesa road
turns off on
your left. Another 3.6 miles
after the turnoff, take the right fork as you pass the outhouse. One mile
later, you'll see a windmill on the left side of the road. Turn into the
parking area at the windmill GPS N 37° 09.090' W 113° 09.973'. |