The Hurricane Rim trail climbs to the cliffs over the Virgin River near Hurricane.
It follows the deep canyon of the Virgin River east of Hurricane before
ending on the
JEM trail. The trail is 7.5 miles long with moderate
climbing in either direction. Because there are sections with very rough
surface, it's recommended for strong skilled riders.
Bruce climbs along the Virgin River
gorge on the Hurricane Rim trail. Original review and photos in June 2003.
This picture March 2017. Most recent page update April 2019.
Many riders do this trail as an out-and-back starting from
the Hurricane Hill trailhead, often adding
the northern 1.5 miles of the
JEM Trail. This makes an 18-mile
out-and-back with around 1000 vertical feet total climbing.
Picture
from June 16, 2003. Bryce, who works at St. George's Red
Rock Bicycle Co, heads west on the Hurricane Rim, with Gooseberry Mesa in
the background. The guys gave me a guided tour for my introduction to
the Hurricane Loop.
Advanced riders do the Hurricane Loop, a 21.5 mile trip that includes Gould's,
JEM, and Hurricane Rim. (My favorite starting
trailhead for the loop is Hurricane Hill -- the radio tower parking -- on
SR-9, but there are lots of fans of the upper JEM or lower JEM
trailheads.)
Northbound on Hurricane Rim shortly after leaving the
JEM trail. Pretty plus so far. But wait.
Some riders do Hurricane Rim one-way. To ride this trail with
a shuttle, the popular routes begin at the upper JEM
(SR-9) trailhead and the lower JEM (SR-59 Sheep Bridge Road) trailhead.
These options take Hurricane Rim east to west after completing a portion
of JEM. You can also access the trail at the Virgin River Dam parking
area, which you can reach via a side-road from Sheep Bridge Road.
The
trail has some very rough sections. Rock slabs stick up 8 inches. Rock
after rock. This isn't a good trail for hardtail bikes or for newbs.
The riding surface is twisting and dipping narrow singletrack. Overall,
I'd rank it upper intermediate to early-expert technical.
Although there's only about 300 feet of altitude difference, up-and-down riding will raise the
climbing total to around 1000 vertical feet.
Reaching the Virgin River on the counterclockwise
loop ride.
The trail is a bit more "cindery" with chunky rock than many
nearby trails which tend to be dirt and clay. There's also about a mile of
trail strewn with rough rock slabs. This is a great place to pinch-flat or
break bike parts.
Cruising along the edge of the canyon westbound. The
Virgin River is at flood stage below me.
The trail... East to West
My favorite riding direction is east to west. That is, start at the JEM
Sheep Bridge Road trail off SR-59, then turn west to Hurricane Rim after a
mile and a half. On a shuttled ride, this saves you 300 vertical of
climbing. (On the counterclockwise loop, you'll continue to Gould's
from the lower trailhead.)
Heading westbound. Ahead, you can see
a bit of the Pine Valley Mountains. To my right is the gorge. To the
north, colorful slopes of Moenkopi clay lead up to Shinarump caprock on
the mesas.
Out-and-back riders will usually prefer to start from the Hurricane
Hill (SR-9) trailhead at the radio towers. This puts most of the climbing
early in the ride as you grind your way to the cliffs above the Virgin
River gorge.
Drone view as Bruce ridges along the gorge.
We're about half-way along the trail, westbound.
An old analog video of
the guys riding the Hurricane Loop...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
West to East
For the west to east ride from the Hurricane Hill trailhead, you'll climb
300 vertical feet in a bit under a mile. After the initial climb to Panorama Point, the trail follows the Virgin River gorge eastward.
As it veers south away form the gorge, it ends on the JEM trail
after seven miles.
Riding along the edge of the Virgin River on JEM,
headed for the Hurricane Rim trail fork one mile away. This is a bonus for
riders who do the trail as an out-and-back.
From this trail fork, you can turn right southbound to climb
JEM to Dead Ringer and
SR-9 (where you can take Gould's or the pavement back to the trailhead).
Or you fork left to follow the lower JEM trail to the Sheep Bridge Road
trailhead. This is a very scenic option, as there's more riding along the edge of the chasm.
Lots of rocky slabs to contend with. This is the
most-technical trail in the JEM area.
Riding notes, Hurricane Rim eastbound:
0.0 Northeast on ST along fence
0.7 Panorama Point
N 37 11.169' W 113 16.179' Alt=3850'
1.9 Keep R (L = Virgin Dam trail)
2.8 Cross wash, then L (R = China Wash)
3.5 Gooseberry Lookout
5.5 Dam trail rejoins on L (toilet)
5.7 Virgin Dam trailhead (toilet)
Keep L on ST
7.5 JEM trail, fork L
N 37 11.261' W 113 13.862' Alt=3650'
9.0 JEM lower trailhead
Riding Hurricane Rim from
Sheep Bridge to Hurricane Hill...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Riding notes, Gould/JEM/ Hurricane Rim Loop:
Start from parking area on US-59 above Hurricane
0.0 R (downhill) on US-59
0.2 L uphill on DT
1.8 Top of DT climb
2.3 R off DT onto ST
N 37 09.606 W 113 16.330 Alt=4000'
5.4 Trailhead, L on DT, head NE
N 37 08.142 W 113 16.280
6.2 At corral, find ST rear on R
N 37 08.310 W 113 15.649
8.0 ST comes in from R
8.3 US-59. For Big Loop, cross to DT
N 37 08.096 W 113 14.564 Alt=4350'
For small loop, head downhill on road
8.6 JEM Trailhead, cross
cattleguard
N 37 08.329 W 113 14.527
Immediate R onto ST
9.0 Cross DT, descend toward cliffs
9.3 Keep R (L=More Cowbell)
N37 08.863 W113 14.661
Drop off ledge on switchback
10.0 Straight (R =Goosebumps, L=Dead Ringer)
N37 09.119 W113 15.103
10.8 Keep R (L = China Wash)
N37 10.541 W113 15.154
11.0 Cross Dead Ringer
Cross Sheep Bridge gravel road
11.1 Cross Cryptobionic
N37 10.798 W113 14.354
14.0 Fork L to Hurricane Rim
N 37 11.261 W 113 13.862
Alt=3650'
15.8 Virgin Dam trailhead
N 37 11.781 W 113 14.109
(Cryptobionic start on L)
16.0 Keep L (R=Virgin Dam trail)
18.7 R across Chinatown Wash
Straight = Chinatown Wash trail
19.6 Dam trail rejoins on R
20.2 Panorama Point
N 37 11.169 W 113 16.179 Alt=3850'
21.5 Back at parking
Getting there, Hurricane Hill trailhead: In Hurricane, turn south on US-59 (towards the Grand Canyon). Follow the road
uphill 0.9 miles, then turn left into the trailhead parking near the cell phone towers. GPS N 37
10.740' W 113 16.601', Alt=3650'. The trail begins along the fence,
heading northeast.
From US-9 (no mountain biking trailhead): At the junction of US-9 with UT-17,
turn east towards Zion. 4.8 miles after the turnoff, turn right (south) on a gravel road
signed "Sheep Bridge Rd." Descend toward the
bridge across the Virgin River and find a parking spot along the road.
Start pedaling. Just past the bridge, but before the cattle guard, there's a dirt
road to the right. This will take you to the bottom of JEM and Carne
Asada. (The parking directly at the bottom of JEM is reserved for the
nature conservancy.) Pedal up Carne
Asada and find the Hurricane Rim trail where Carne
Asada joins JEM.
