Brian Head Singletrack
Mountain Biking in Utah with Escape Adventures
Highlights
- Expert guides take the worry out of your vacation
- Freshly prepared meals featuring organic and locally grown foods throughout the tour
- Travel with the world's first carbon-neutral outfitter
Full Description
Seasoned MTBers will love this tour featuring long descents, sensational singletrack and crisp mountain scenery.
The result of volcanic activity as recent as 500 years ago, Brian Head Mountain stands high above scenic southern Utah. This Rocky Mountain pinnacle is home to Utah's highest ski and mountain bike resort. For many years, locals have enjoyed this cool summer retreat almost exclusively. But, as with all great things, word travels fast. Over 100 miles of descending singletrack and hundreds more of cross country trails are just too incredible to keep under cover. Bicycling magazine discovered this fat-tire fantasy world, naming Brian Head as "Utah's Other Utopia."
This Brian Head mountain bike tour means long, vertical-mile descents, beautiful, crisp mountain scenery, and sensational cross-country singletrack for the seasoned rider. Highlights include the 33-mile Virgin River Rim trail and the intense Blowhard and Dark Hollow downhills. We can't wait to share our favorite singletrack with you!
All camping on this trip is in improved campgrounds with running water and flush toilets. There are no shower facilities, but solar showers will be available. Cell phone service is very spotty. All meals on this trip are prepared by your guides.
Our guides are the best in the business, hands down, and we don't just preach environmental awareness, we live it! We recycle 90 percent of our waste, fuel our support van with recycled vegetable oil, and we are the world's 1st carbon-neutral outfitter. Our guides lovingly prepare meals for the trip with an emphasis on fresh, local and organic foods, ensuring you have the fuel you need to ride, and a delicious meal at the same time- including dessert!
A note on weather: we will be riding and sleeping at elevations over 7,000 ft every night of this trip. Please be prepared for cool nights. You can check the weather online by searching for Panquitch, UT.
Includes:
- Two guides
- All meals starting with lunch on the first day through lunch on the last day
- Support vehicles
- Snacks, first-aid
- Bike maintenance
- Community gear
- Souvenir shirt
- Gratuities to local restaurants, hotels, transportation, and additional activities mentioned on this itinerary are paid by Escape Adventures. If you engage in an activity that is not part of this trip as outlined, then you are responsible for tipping.
Excludes:
- Airfare to and from our departure point
- Lodging before or after the tour
- Personal camping gear
- Rental bike
- Gratuities to Escape Adventures guides
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Brian Head to Panguitch Lake
After meeting in St. George, we’ll travel as a group to Brian Head Peak for a light lunch, introductions, and a pre-trip meeting. Our adventure begins as we descend the exciting Bunker Creek singletrack. Mountain Bike Action Magazine rated this singletrack as one of the top ten best trails in America. It descends 2,885 feet over 12 miles to Panguitch Lake, our stop for the night. If your legs are willing, you may opt for an evening ride around the lake passing the many small cabins and lakeside summer homes. Total Mileage | 12 miles + 9 optional Camp | Panguitch Lake Terrain | 80% Singletrack, 20% Double track, No Van Support
Day 2: Dark Hollow & Blowhard
We have two awesome descents lined up for you today. Mountain Bike Magazine rated our first descent, Dark Hollow, as one of the top ten trails in the country. With a descent of about 4,000 feet over 15 miles, your heart will be racing with excitement as you fly down the singletrack. Just when you think you’ve had all of the excitement you can handle, get ready for another adrenaline-filled ride down Blowhard Mountain. The most technically challenging trail Escape offers (on any tour!), it descends 3,000 feet in only eight miles. Total Mileage | 15-25 miles Camp | Panguitch Lake Terrain | 90% Singletrack, 10% Doubletrack, No Van Support
Day 3: Bunker Creek
Today’s descent down the Left Fork Bunker Creek Singletrack—another Mountain Bike Magazine award-winning singletrack —is a great 12-mile ride that will be enjoyed by all. After a stop for lunch beside Panguitch Lake, we’ll shuttle over to the Red Desert/Tippets Valley trailhead and ride 17 miles to Duck Creek (tonight’s camp) through lava fields, cinder cones, and sinkholes, all in a beautiful forest setting of ponderosa pine, fir, and aspen. Total Mileage | 25 miles Camp | Duck Creek Terrain | 50% Singletrack, 50% Doubletrack, No Van Support
Day 4: Virgin River Rim Trail
Our ride today is through some of the freshest cut singletrack in the west. This section of the Virgin River Rim Trail has everything a mountain biker could ask for—technical climbs, challenging switchbacks, fast descents, incredible scenery (of Zion National Park), mud, dirt and rocks! Our ride along the Pink Cliffs takes us to the Te Ah campground, just west of Navajo Lake. There is optional afternoon ride around Navajo Lake. This aspen-forested singletrack is a fun 12 miles around the scenic shoreline with plenty of photo opportunities. Total Mileage | 20-32 miles Camp | Te-Ah, Navajo Lake Terrain | 100% Singletrack, No Van Support
Day 5: Virgin River Rim Trail
Our last ride takes us to one of our favorite sections on the Virgin River Rim Trail. From the high mountains and into the cottonwood canyon just above Cedar City, Utah, we’ll ride 12 miles of ups and downs. After a stop in Cedar City, we shuttle back to our meeting places. Total Mileage | 12-16 miles
About The Operator:
Escape Adventures
Headquarters:
Las Vegas, Nevada
Specializing in western North America, Escape Adventures is a leader in first-class eco-friendly cycling and multi-sport adventure. In 2006, we became the world's first carbon neutral outfitter, bringing sustainable adventure to all the places we visit, from Alaska to Belize and beyond. By simply joining a tour with us, outdoor enthusiasts are now helping to preserve the beautiful backcountry areas they enjoy.
Whether cycling, hiking, climbing, or rafting, tour our guests claim that improving the environment has never been more fun. For example, by eating delicious organic menus prepared fresh on the trail, guests are supporting local and organic growers. They also do not contribute to pollution when riding in our brand new support vehicles powered by 100% renewable vegetable oil. And, by simply joining a tour and riding their bikes through some of the finest natural treasures of North America, guests are supporting the many efforts made by Escape Adventures to enhance and protect these areas.
With proven conviction for the land and people we serve, Escape Adventures maintains the highest standard of service in the industry. With over 16 years of experience and 50 destinations, we offer a wide variety of tours for a wide variety of active travelers. From road bikers to mountain bikers, from hikers to multi-sport enthusiasts, from first timers to accomplished athletes, Escape Adventures has just the adventure for you.
Escape Adventures is a proud partner of the Leave no Trace program, a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and inspiring responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships. Leave No Trace builds awareness, appreciation and respect for our wildlands.