Snowflake (a Rocky Mountain Blizzard snow bike) loves to play on rock and dirt near the north end of Wire Mesa. Photos by Bruce on November 18, 2016.
Wire Mesa
Wire Mesa lies just to the east of Grafton Mesa and a couple of miles northeast of Gooseberry Mesa . The Wire Mesa trail is an intermediate-level singletrack loop. The loop is 7.3 miles in length, but quicker rides can be done by using the mesa dirt road to bypass one side of the mesa singletrack loop. There's relatively little climbing, so the ride is easy aerobically.
The riding season for Wire Mesa is year round, but winter access depends on recent weather.
If the road is dry, the singletrack will be good to ride. The Smithsonian
Butte Scenic Byway
becomes a sea of mud after heavy rains or with late-winter thaws. Do NOT
go into this area
when the road is muddy.
The Wire Mesa jeep road, looking north.
Eastbound in terrain of Pinion pine, juniper, sage, and cactus.
Wire Mesa has a jeep road that spans 1.4 miles from the Smithsonian Butte Scenic Byway (the
dirt road between US 9 and US 59) to the northern cliff edge. You can
intercept the trail by
pedaling to the end of the road, then walking 20 feet over the sandstone
at the cliff edge
to find the trail as it circles the end of the road. Or you can find the
road for a quick return
from the loop's midpoint.
The portion of the trail between the parking circle and the end of the mesa road is 4.1 miles
long. That makes a "half-loop" using the mesa road 5.5 miles total. A
bit of up-and-down riding
makes 200 vertical feet of climbing for this half loop. This half of the
loop contains most
of the slickrock and tech riding.
The western side of the loop is 3.1 miles long, with most of the elevation change near the southwest corner. This side of the loop is mostly dirt singletrack. If you do this "half loop" it will be a mile shorter, but will have about the same amount of overall climbing.
View northeast.
Smithsonian Butte, backlit by almost-winter sunshine.
If you're taking the singletrack counterclockwise, here's
how you can recognize the spot where the road will be just above you, to
your left.
1. your odometer says 4.1 miles from parking.
2. the trail makes a slow left semi-circle turn,
with a cliff to your right and a big rock shelf to your left.
3. if you find yourself southbound a canyon ahead to your right,
you went past it.
1. your odometer says 4.1 miles from parking.
2. the trail makes a slow left semi-circle turn,
with a cliff to your right and a big rock shelf to your left.
3. if you find yourself southbound a canyon ahead to your right,
you went past it.
Wire Mesa offers a combination of riding surfaces. Most of the trail is dirt ribbon. There
are some short stretches of slickrock, usually just 30 to 40 feet, but
most of the rock is
stuff you bang across. Overall, the trail is intermediate in tech requirement.
It's significantly
easier than Gooseberry, and will become a favorite of early-intermediates
and mixed-ability
groups.
Cruising along the cliffs heading northeast, with Wire Valley Knoll on the right. In a half mile, we'll be riding along the skirts of the Knoll.
On the northeast corner of the mesa, we're looking into Zion National Park.
In 2016, some of the trail surface is loose. Knowing the trail was new, I rode my fat tire
bike (4.8-inch tires) and floated luxuriously where others had bobbled
through slop. The fatty
handled the rock challenges nicely. (My Rocky Mountain Blizzard has a
front suspension fork,
so it's a little more plush and controllable when the conglomerate gets
nasty.) My only dabs
were to stop and take pictures.
Climbs and descents are gentle and rarely sustained. There are a few wash crossing down-and-ups,
but most of these are easy for an intermediate rider.
On slickrock areas, the trail is marked with white paint spots on the conglomerate. The trail is always simple to follow.
Looking to the west as the trail follows the irregular outline of the mesa. That's the Pine Valley Mountains in the distance, still free of snow.
Looking northeast with the road from Rockville to Grafton below us and Zion in the distance.
Nice riding and nice views along the eastern side of Wire Mesa. Great trail for a fat bike.
Not easy to spot in this photo, but here's an A/B alternate. The easy route is left of the bike (see the white paint spot next to the tree's shadow), and the hard line is on the rock at the cliff edge (note the red spots, which are ribbons tied to rocks).
Some alternate lines have been constructed.
These will be short and are usually obvious. Each A/B trail split has
an intermediate path, with the alternate line usually requiring expert skills.
Wire Mesa lies on Shinarump conglomerate caprock. This is part of the Chinle Formation from
the Triassic Period. The skirts of the mesa are Moenkopi clays.
The quartzite pebbles on the dirt surfaces were river rocks that washed down from high mountains in western Utah. Mixed with sand, they became part of the Shinarump conglomerate. These pebbles are hundreds of millions of years older than the conglomerate they erode out of.
On the west side of the mesa.
Looking east, heading counterclockwise on the west side of Wire Mesa.
The mesa is mostly juniper with an understory of gooseberry and brittle sage. There are occasional
groves of pinion pine. To make things interesting, sharp spears of yucca
and stands of prickly
pear may attack if you aren't holding your line on the trail.
Bottom Line!
Great riding, fun for all ability levels. Fantastic views. Very much worth doing. An excellent alternative to Gooseberry Mesa for "still learning how to be awesome" riders.
View into South Wash, which divides Grafton Mesa from Wire Mesa.
Riding notes, counterclockwise loop:
0.0 From circle, 0.1 mile down mesa road
ST across mesa road to NE
N37 07.990 W113 04.251
4.1 Skirt mesa DT road (bailout)
N37 08.917 W113 04.509
0.0 From circle, 0.1 mile down mesa road
ST across mesa road to NE
N37 07.990 W113 04.251
4.1 Skirt mesa DT road (bailout)
N37 08.917 W113 04.509
6.7 Fork L (hard R = Undisclosed)
N37 07.867 W113 04.516
7.3 Back at parking
N37 07.867 W113 04.516
7.3 Back at parking
Map of Wire Mesa
Getting there, from Rockville: In La Verkin, turn
toward Zion National Park on Highway 9. When you get to Rockville, drive
until you're seeing the end of town then turn south (right) on Bridge
Road. Cross the Virgin River on the old bridge. Follow the road as it
veers right (west). At the fork in the road 1.5 miles later, turn left and
drive south uphill on the dirt Smithsonian Butte
Scenic Byway (may or may not have a sign). Zero your odometer. When the
road seems to level out a little 1.5 miles uphill, pass the Big Fatty Mesa
road on your right, then the Horse Valley road on the left. At 1.9 miles,
watch for the Wire Mesa dirt road on your right. Keep left at the first
fork (campsite on the right) and find the circle 0.1 miles from the Byway.
Park here. Across from the northeast corner of the circle, on the east side of the
mesa road, find singletrack heading northeast for the counterclockwise
ride.
Camping:
Primitive sites, Gooseberry and Grafton Mesa
(camping is allowed 1/2 mile away from the
Smithsonian Butte road)
Water: None
Bathroom: Gooseberry Mesa
DIRT ROADS! The Smithsonian Butte Scenic Byway will become a sea of mud after heavy rain and on warm days during a wet winter. Always check the weather (both recent and forecast) before driving into this area.
Getting there, from Hurricane: As you pass through 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, 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 (14.8 miles
from the turnoff in Hurricane). Two miles later, just as you reach the
mountain, the Gooseberry Mesa road turns off on your left. Keep straight
on the Byway. The road changes direction from north to east and begins
descending. At 2.9 miles from the Gooseberry turnoff, watch for a small dirt
road on the left. That's the Wire Mesa doubletrack. (If you
come to a larger dirt road forking away to the right -- the Horse Valley
Wash road -- you've gone 0.2 miles past Wire Mesa.) Go 0.1 miles to the parking circle as above.
Riding resources for this trail:
Single-page riding guide for printing
GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
Wire Mesa loop
Wire Mesa area multi-track GPX file
Grafton Mesa area file
Map for printing: Grafton/Wire Mesa area topo
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to St. George area resources
Single-page riding guide for printing
GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
Wire Mesa loop
Wire Mesa area multi-track GPX file
Grafton Mesa area file
Map for printing: Grafton/Wire Mesa area topo
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to St. George area resources
