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.

There are some very close cliff exposures, so you might want to reconsider before taking your stupid dog, reckless teenager, or clumsy neighbor on the Windmill Trail. It can be managed by early-intermediates, but riders need good bike-handling skills and the common sense not to push beyond their ability level while on the edge of a cliff.

The Windmill Loop is a short quick sampler of the mesa's types of terrain. There's sage cruising on double-track, technical slickrock, undulating technical singletrack, and a cliffside cruise. It can be connected to the Bowls and Ledges loop for a longer ride.

The Windmill Loop starts at the Windmill Trailhead (GPS N 37° 09.090' W 113° 09.973', altitude 5140 ft). From the windmill, you ride west on doubletrack. Stay on the main dirt road, which is usually the straight-ahead option -- there will be several side-roads. At 0.9 miles, the track forks. Keep right as you turn toward the north.

When you arrive at the edge of the cliffs at mile 1.1 from the trailhead, turn hard to your right and find the paint spots on the sandstone near the edge. You should now be heading east.

Now simply follow the trail east along the north edge of the mesa. It's a quick ride. Most of the riding is fairly flat, but there are a few short downhill spots.

After just over a mile on the singletrack, you'll reach a trail fork marked by a carsonite post. The trail that continues straight east goes to a viewpoint, then to the Yurt area. It will connect to The Gander on Gooseberry's northeast rim.

Turn to the right and head south 0.4 miles to the Windmill. The entire loop is just 2.4 miles. It can be done (assuming you don't get lost) in around 1/2 hour, so it makes a good "just got here" late-afternoon ride for those who are staying on the mesa.

At the western end of the Windmill Trail, it hits the junction of the North Rim Trail and the Bowls and Ledges Trail. Looping around Bowls and Ledges yields a nice lariat-shaped ride of 4.7 miles.

Navigation of the Bowls and Ledges loop can seem more like a maze. The Slickrock 101 alternate trails merge and branch off. There are connectors to the road and to North Rim. And the few carsonite trail-posts aren't particularly helpful in pinpointing your location and destination.

Let me simplify the navigation for you. Once you reach the carsonite sign that says "North Rim," decide which direction you want to ride the loop -- clockwise or counterclockwise. Take that fork. Which way did you turn? You'll now fork the OPPOSITE direction at EVERY trail fork until you return to the sign.

OK, say you turned left (as I do in the Bowls and Ledges trail video). Now, fork to the right at every trail fork. Right at Slickrock 101. Right at the White Trail connector. Right at the North Rim. And the next fork you'll come to is where you entered the loop. Go left to exit.

If you want to test the other trails in the area, I've provided GPS waypoints for you. By matching the waypoint to the trail fork and consulting the map, you can know where you are.

From the spot where Windmill hits North Rim (N37 08.812 W113 11.008), it's 0.6 miles clockwise to Slickrock 101 (N37 08.662 W113 10.633). You'll note another fork to your left, which is the split between the easy and tech routes heading east.

Go to your right on the broad slickrock and climb gently west.

The next trail fork comes after another 0.6 miles. At this fork (N37 08.508 W113 11.078), you'll again fork to the right. (The left fork goes 100 yards to the mesa road -- the White Trail. So if you wind up on the mesa road, you blew past the trail fork without seeing it.)

In 0.3 miles, you'll encounter the next fork. (This fork at N37 08.553 W113 11.251 can be subtle, and is a common cause of lost bikers.) The left fork is the westbound North Rim trail. You want the eastbound North Rim, so you'll fork to the right.

It's another 0.6 miles now to go east and return to the original fork where you entered the loop. Keep straight (left) to return via the Windmill Trail. Or, go right to repeat the loop or reach one of the trails that forked off the loop.

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'.
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'.