Santa Clara River Reserve

Not a bad trail, all considering I did it on a gravel bike during the True Grit Epic Gravel Race. Yeah just a bit off course. But a fun ride for sure!

Really enjoyed this trail. Beginner friendly but with some short sections that require some advanced skill to ride. In other words, beginners will be able to ride 85-90% of this trail. Advanced riders won't get bored.

The ride has some beautiful views and great diversity in features.

If you're feeling ambitious you can link a loop of Suicidal Tendencies vía Sidewinder into the mix.

First on the directions: there's new development going in near the highway so the roads have a changed slightly. Instead of following Gates as it turns 90 degrees right just go straight. This will lead to the gravel road that climbs the hills. Follow the signs for Cove Wash. This will be the right turn you make and will lead you past the water tower and to the parking area. Second, I'm obviously not an intermediate rider as I thought there were some tough technical sections. But overall, it was a fun ride that provided some excellent vantage points.

great ride, single track, tech, great views of St. George, Santa Clara. Fun to ride adding loop with Barrel Roll trail and downhill on way back to parking

A very fun trail with some very technical sections. Fun fast downhill sections and tight uphill variations, this trail has it all!

I've been out to the St George area several times but have always stuck with the "mesa" trails to the East. Church Rocks was the only St George trail I had previously ridden. I was determined to try something new this trip. Next time, we'll add on Precipice and Sidewinder.
Even though the wind was howling and we were on Day 4 of riding, I loved this ride. The builders in SW Utah work magic if you ask me. I couldn't imagine living close enough to want to get a quick ride in and be able to pop in on a loop like Barrel Roll offers.
We were advised to ride the loop clockwise which we did and I was impressed with all it had to offer. It was more or less your classic XC loop with climbs, fast sweeping DH sections and turns as the trail took advantage of the ridge lines to extend your ride. The views were actually pretty amazing as well considering the desert surroundings and how close you are to town.

This is an excellent addition to the Santa Clara Preserve. Precipice and Sidewinder are suitable for intermediates and make a great way to extend mileage to a Barrel Roll ride which starts from the same trailhead. Suicidal Tendencies should be reserved for more advanced and adventurous riders. The climb is gradual throughout and goes by faster than you'd expect, but there are plenty of technical moves and some serious exposure. From the very top of Suicidal Tendencies, there are fantastic 360 degree views of the surrounding valleys, mesas and mountain ranges.

Pretty straightforward cross-country intensive 6 miler with no major climbs or descents and just enough techy bits to keep it interesting. This is good for a quickie, or a nice add on to the Precipice/Sidewinder/Suicidal Tendencies complex next door.

Very technical trail that can get you on over your head pretty quickly, especially at night! Great use of the natural terrain, the trail weaves over and around some really cool rock formations. There are some sneaky tight turns that can surprise you and some better markings on the large rocks sections would help.

Mostly single track. Fun ride. Just a few rocky technical climbing sections for advanced riders. Nice scenery. Nice pairing with bear claw poppy in one day.

In the Santa Clara area, turn left from Sunset in Santa Clara onto Gates Lane, and then follow the rough dirt road up and over the hill to a corral for parking. The trail is moderate, with only one more difficult technical section, and great views of the surrounding hills. Ride clockwise, and then ride it again and go out on Precipice and add Sidewinder as an out and back, very worthwhile.

Great Trail and its easy to get to!

Great trail but wouldnt advise less experienced riders to do it!

When you ride this trail counter clockwise its a fairly easy climb and the downhill is fast flowy technical fun and the stunts are mostly optional getting as big as you want. The trail only lacks good marking, when you come flying down the trail in some spots you have slow down to find the trail. A few painted marks would do wonders.

Do either of you know???? Is this trail ridable year-round. Like in March does it have snow or is it too far south? Hate to have to drive that far to find out.

Mostly technical desert singletrack with lots of stunt areas just off the trail. Great descent from the look out to the valley floor. There are a few technical areas that will challange beginners. I would recommend only intermediate to advanced riders.