The Wedge - Little Grand Canyon Overlook - Ultimate Guide to Mountain Biking in Utah

The Rush leans against an educational sign at the Little Grand Canyon Overlook. Photos and ride description by Bruce based on a ride October 19, 2010.

The Wedge
Little Grand Canyon Overlook

This ride is often called The Wedge Overlook, although it rides ON top of The Wedge and doesn't overlook it. So it should really be called Little Grand Canyon Rim. Or San Rafael River Overlook. It does offer fabulous views. And as for the bike riding, well, it offers fabulous views. We're talking "improved graded dirt road" here.

If you want to spend a really really long time on dirt road, you can start from Highway 10. It's do-able at 44 miles. This big corral is on the south side of the dirt road, with parking nearby. If you see this, it's the right way. Drive on.

Normally, I don't bother with "mountain bike rides" that you could cover in your Honda Civic at 45 mph. But this ride is well known, and it's listed in the recreation section of the local web site. And, butt-ugly as the road is, the views at the end are fabulous.

It's a great ride for families and beginners. But you'll probably need to use the family sag-wagon to drop the weaker riders off closer to the goal. Or drive them there, then hop on the bikes to coast the 7-mile downhill return trip.

The Wedge road, the day after a heavy rain. Wide enough for two pickups pulling trailers to pass without slowing down. The speed limit is 45 mph. Don't pedal faster than that.

As you arrive at the viewpoint, you're looking into the part of the San Rafael River gorge called The Little Grand Canyon. We're looking east.

The official ride starts where The Wedge road forks south off Oil Dome Road, 12.2 miles from Highway 10 north of Castle Dale. There's a trail kiosk and a bathroom there. (No water.) If you go to both the east and west viewpoints after hitting the first overlook, the ride will be 19.5 miles. Don't let the distance scare you. It's a pretty easy cruise. Shorter options are available by skipping the more remote viewpoint or starting the ride further down The Wedge road.

The trip is gradually uphill during the 7 miles from the trailhead to the overlook. You'll gain 1700 vertical feet.

Navigation is easy. The roads are marked with signs. And if the signs are gone, just keep heading straight south. You'll pass a "Welcome to the Wedge" kiosk at mile 4.5. The smaller road on your left returns from an alternate viewpoint east of Good Water Canyon, about 3 miles away.

Looking south at a side canyon (Cane Wash) entering the San Rafael.

View to the west. The shelf in the left foreground is formed by ledges of Kayenta sandstone below the cliffs of Navajo.

The road is surrounded by gradually increasing numbers of juniper and pinion pine. You may see occasional glimpses of the mountains to the west, and of the pillars of Entrada in the cliffs to the north.

When you arrive at the rim, there's a bathroom (no water) and parking for cars.

The main road turns along the rim and goes 0.6 miles to a higher viewpoint. There's a small ribbon of rock extending out over the canyon from the road. That's the viewpoint. From here, you can get a better look at the canyons to the east.

At the Little Grand Canyon Overlook. You can see how it got the name.

Doubletrack heading west to secondary viewpoints.

At the Little Grand Canyon viewpoint, there's a smaller doubletrack heading north. It hugs the cliff edge for about 1/2 mile, then turns away. Explore if you want.

At the overlook fork (where you passed the bathroom) there's a smaller doubletrack heading west. It's 2.2 miles long, hitting several viewpoints before it turns around.

My mileage assumes you went to both viewpoints, but no further. The smaller (westbound) doubletrack has a lot of loose slab-shaped rock, and probably isn't appropriate for beginners. If you go only to the main viewpoint and back, your ride will be around 14.8 miles. If you need a still-shorter ride, start from the second kiosk 4 miles down the road for a 7 mile round trip.

View into the canyon from the smaller (westbound) doubletrack, as the San Rafael River creates goosenecks.

At the western end, the San Rafael swell is subsiding. The Wingate is sinking into the ground. On the horizon, there's a red band of Entrada, then the mountains of the Wasatch Plateau.

You're riding on a limestone layer within the Carmel Formation, formed when the ocean covered the sands of the Navajo Sandstone. (You don't see this layer to the east in Moab.) The Navajo Sandstone forms the first set of cliffs. There's a band of Kayenta ledged sandstone that forms occasional shelves.

The lower cliff line is Wingate sandstone, rising up above a skirt of red Chinle formation mudstone and shale. Very nice. It may look like the Grand Canyon, but the rock is sandstone (not reddened limestone as you see in the Grand Canyon) and is from a geologic time 200 million years later.

View into the mouth of Good Water Canyon.

Riding notes, from kiosk on Oil Dome Road:
0.0   Head south N39 10.517 W110 47.453
2.2   Keep straight (on L is road from Buckhorn Wash)
        N39 09.080 W110 46.200
4.3   Kiosk, keep R (L returns from alternate view)
        N39 07.377 W110 45.431
6.7   At canyon edge, go L
        N39 05.582 W110 45.537

7.3   At Little Grand Canyon Overlook
        N39 05.731 W110 44.937
        Look, and head back
7.9   Back at BR, keep L along edge on small DT
10.1 Final viewpoint, turn around
        N39 05.418 W110 47.191
12.3 Back at fork, L for return trip
19.6 Back at car

The Wedge

Getting there, from the north: Exit US-6 in Price, southbound on highway 10. Go through Huntington. (In Huntington, there's an alternate road that ends up at the trailhead. I haven't tried it.) As you approach Castle Dale 28 miles from Price, watch for a sign that says "San Rafael Access" and a broad dirt road on the left (heading east). There's a huge corral near the start of the road. Once you're on the dirt road, go 12.2 miles and find the trailhead marked by a kiosk and bathroom at an X intersection of dirt roads. The trail is the road on your right.

From the south: On I-70, take the Sinbad or Ranch Exit 131, 25 miles west of Green River. (Note: the freeway exits have been renumbered recently. This exit is also "129".) Head north. The road will veer east along the freeway, then turn north again. After 21 miles on dirt road, cross the San Rafael River and enter Buckhorn Wash. Nine miles later, turn left on Oil Dome road and drive about 2 miles to the trailhead.

Bathrooms: trailhead and overlook
Water: bring your own
Camping: group sites around The Wedge
Bike services: Price

Printable one-page riding guide
GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
GPX Wedge
Topo map for printing (includes Buckhorn): View
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Price and San Rafael area resources