Kentucky Lucky Chicken (KLC) Trail
Webb Hill in St. George
The Kentucky Lucky Chicken trail circles the rough-looking mountain southeast of St.
George called Webb Hill. You've seen the hill. It's the little mountain
with the radio towers on top, just east of I-15 and south of the Virgin
River. The trail requires expert riding skills, but an upper-intermediate
can manage -- with a lot of dabs and walkovers.
Typical trail view as we near the top, heading
northwest -- rock patches
alternating with dirt. Yeah, that's a fat bike. Initial review and
photos by Bruce on March 25, 2016. Latest
update December 3, 2018.
The Kentucky Lucky Chicken (KLC) trail forms a loop of 3.8 miles.
A good rider should allow about an hour to ride the trail. The rock will
slow you down. KLC can be done
either direction, and seems like a very different ride when the challenges
are turned around. Overall, most riders go clockwise, while I see the
majority of weekday locals riding counterclockwise.
The soil and rock on Webb Hill seems resistant to moisture, so I think
this trail can be considered a year-round ride.
There will be some large rock challenges. Be prepared
for significant handlebar action to get up and over. Here we're on the
north side of the loop riding the 29er.
On the southeast corner, there are two spots with dangerous cliff
exposure. These turns are butter-smooth although tight. When going
counterclockwise (descending), you'll need to slow and get control.
Hairpin turn over the cliffs. My Rocky Mountain
Blizzard fat bike took the challenges, but it requires a very aggressive
riding style to get the heavy bike over the bigger rocks when climbing.
There's 350 feet of elevation change between the ride's high and low
points. However, the rock challenges make this loop a bit of work. Your
overall climbing is only 400 vertical feet, but it will seem like much
more.
Before the trail was marked with white dots, I
sometimes had a problem staying on course through the rock gardens.
Trailgoeswhere? Now it's easy.
In the counterclockwise direction, the trail starts out as
dirt ribbon passing through low sage. Hardly impressive. But it won't take you long to start hitting technical rock.
In this direction, the loop is a long up-and-down traverse, then a climb to the top
and fairly rapid return to parking.
Clockwise, the loop starts with a lot of tricky riding on the climb
uphill. Intermediates will immediately become discouraged. I find the
clockwise direction very challenging for the first mile, but the reward is
easier romping on the following miles.
Looking toward the Pine Valley
Mountains from the upper parking, as if we were riding counterclockwise.
For the clockwise ride, the trail is across the dirt road behind us.
The Webb Hill KLC trail reminds me a bit of Little
Purgatory and the Scout Trails.
There are lots of rocks to bang over. But it's not constant. After a techy
section, there will usually be a very short bit of cruising.
On the southeast corner, the rock challenges come closer together, and
at times seem constant.
Here the trail runs down the flattish rock,
then bangs some rougher stuff near the photo middle. Since this photo,
white spots have been painted on the rock to mark the riding line.
Be prepared for some handlebar work. There are ramps and
ledges both directions. And early morning shadows will disguise the
ugliness of some ledges. What you think will be an easy rollover may slam
your front wheel violently. Expect to get knocked out of the pedals a few
times.
This ramp is about 60 degrees incline
and 5 feet in height. We're heading back east.
Clockwise ride around
Webb Hill...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
You'll note older trails that cross over. These are DH
routes. If you want to try the downhill routes, you're on your own.
I don't know if they're legal (I assume no). I rode a couple of them,
entirely by accident. And I'm sticking to that story. If the trail gurus close
DH trails off, please respect
that!
Just another sample of a rock outcrop you'll need to bang
over.
The trail is now well-marked with carsonite signposts and
white spots that guide you over the rock areas.
A rare stretch of smooth cruising.
The rock-to-dirt ratio for this singletrack is pretty high.
You'll do some real work riding this trail. The plus side is, this is a
trail that you can ride when it's wet. Even the parts that look like dirt
have a lot of larger grain in them rather than clay.
Sometimes hard to get in position for a sudden turn on a rock
outcrop, because you're so busy looking at your front tire as you hit
sharp rock ledges. It takes a bit of experience to ride this trail
cleanly. I'm not even close to doing that.
Another area of banging rock-to-rock.
At the west end of the loop, there are views of cliffs and
badlands (and the freeway at Bloomington).
At the south corner, you reach the highest point of the ride, as the
trail crosses over the dirt road just below the radio towers.
View south along the cliff edge on the west end. To
the right of the photo is I-15 and Bloomington.
The southeast corner has a different character. Here, the
trail meanders through a long series of long traverses. The traverse
sections are filled with rock challenges. The trail doubles
back when it reaches the cliffs on the south side, and the approach of
these turns to the cliff is VERY close. Not a spot to be riding too fast,
or riding in twilight.
Climbing along the cliff edge past a cholla cactus.
Yesterday my fat bike rode snow in Cedar City; today I'm rocking the
rocks. November 20, 2016.
Bottom Line:
Fun trail for expert riders, very much worth riding, but a trickier ride
than you'd think. Good bad-weather ride close to town. Great for a quick
ride as you arrive in town, or the morning you depart. Nice
views over the St. George area.
Skirting the southern edge of the
mesa just below the radio towers, looking east.
1.4 DH crosses, keep level
N37 03.980 W113 34.621
1.5 DH crosses N37 03.941 W113 34.719
Crosses several times, stay
level
2.2 Cross tower road
N37 03.864 W113 34.427
2.3 Cross DT N37 03.848 W113 34.404
2.4 Stay R along cliff as DH goes L
2.8 First of 3 sharp turns along cliff edge!
3.8 Back at parking
Note: The Larkspur paved trail (coming
uphill from the south Virgin River paved trail) ends on Hillrise Circle,
directly opposite the dirt road. As you enter the circle, turn right,
cross Fort Pierce Drive, and pedal uphill. See the St.
George paved trails page for paved path GPX files.
Bathrooms: no
Camping: no
Water: no
Getting there:
From I-15 southbound, take the Bluff Street exit. Turn left onto
Riverside. Go 1.5 miles east. At River Road, turn right (south). Go about
a mile south and turn right onto Ft. Pierce Drive North. Go about 0.3
miles and turn left onto Bloomington Hills Drive. Watch for the south end
of Ft. Pierce Drive and turn right. The second left is Hillrise Ave,
heading steeply uphill. You can park on the left where the pavement ends
and pedal uphill, or drive another 0.4 miles uphill and park in the
rock-lined spot on your right. The singletrack starts at the upper
(northwest) corner for a counterclockwise ride. To go clockwise, cross the
dirt road to the southbound trail..
