Derek and I have wanted to ride this for awhile but the timing hasn’t worked. The highway to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon where the ride is located is closed mid October to around Mid May and maybe later depending on snow. For the last two weeks we have been boondocking up in the Kaibab National Forest on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon side. Even still, it’s a bit of a drive on gravel road to get to the trailhead we started from.
The trail in it’s entirety is 19 miles which requires a long day of riding to go out and back for 38 miles. So, we just rode out and back from the middle lookout (Locust). The views start right from the trailhead! Along the section we rode, there are a handful of amazing Grand Canyon views.
The trail isn’t that hard technically, it’s just beautiful! Remember, you’re at altitude (our ride topped out that 7900′) so if you aren’t used to that, it might be harder for you. There aren’t any really long climbs, just some shorter ups. Mostly it passes through a forest of beautiful ponderosa pine and drops into a number of steep-sided canyons filled with groves of aspens and small meadows. I was shocked by how thick the forest is here.
I really liked this ride for it’s beauty and solitude. We didn’t see anyone else on the trail, although, we do have the fortune of not having to do our rides and hikes on the weekend.
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