Our second day in Goblin Valley State Park we checked out the mountain bike trails. There are 5 loops, all pretty easy but scenic. Derek put together a ride involving all of them, even doubling up and rode 12 miles. This isn’t a destination for mountain biking, more like something to do if you are already here.
The trail network starts above the campground in the park so your 2 day pass gets you in, or it looks like you could park just outside at the John Fremont Trailhead and ride in for free. As I mentioned, all the trails are beginner friendly so kids could even have fun here. There are spectacular views especially from the Desert View and Dark Side of the Moon loops. The sharktooth southern edge of the San Rafael Swell was astounding.
San Rafael Swell
Somewhere between 40-60 million years ago, a giant dome of sandstone, limestone, and shale was pushed up. The harsh elements beat against this dome and eroded it into a wild, broken array of multi-colored sandstone. Wind and water carved this jumble of rock into incredible formations as buttes, canyons, pinnacles and mesas emerged, making the Swell one of the most ruggedly beautiful pockets of terrain I’ve seen. This can be best viewed from the Dark Side of the Moon Loop.
Other features of the ride include views of the Henry Mountains which were still a little snow capped from last week’s snowstorm. Fun fact: The Henry Mountains were the last mountain range to be added to the map of the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Wild Horse Butte is another attraction along the trails. This majestic butte rises over 800 feet above its surrounding terrain and the Desert View Trail goes right along it.
We are only in the area for a few more days but and have a couple more hikes we want to do. The weather has been perfect in the 70’s and 80’s during the day. Sure is hard to imagine we got snowed on a week ago when we were in Capitol Reef!
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