Biking at Brian Head Utah
The best wilderness and backcountry biking in Utah
Ask any Utah native where the best mountain biking is and their answer would probably be biased. I would be suspicious if it wasn’t. But if they answered Color Country, I would have to agree. Color Country in Utah could easily be commissioned as the head of tread, and at 11,000 feet, Brian Head Resort in the Dixie National Forest, is exactly where mountain biking was meant to be - in the mountains.
Brian Head in southwestern Utah is wilderness and back country biking at its best. Unlike Moab in Canyon Lands, where the summer mercury soars over 100 degrees F, Brian Head enjoys a three-degree drop in temperature for every 1,000-foot rise in altitude. These cooler alpine temperatures offer biking enthusiasts the option to enjoy a scenic natural wonder without the desert heat.
Director of marketing Brad Wilson sums up the typical Brian Head philosophy. “To me, mountain biking is really about getting out in the forest and seeing terrain that you’d have to spend days covering by foot. There are no grooming trails in the National Forest - this is pristine wilderness at its finest.”
It’s a belief that’s hard to beat, and one I realized while on the Bunker Creek Trail. The area offers a variety of dramatic single and double track trails, with a diversity of scenery. It is considered one of Brian Head’s best trails and after experiencing its terrain, I understand why.
To achieve the maximum benefit and enjoyment of these trails you must be properly fitted for a bike. The Resort Mountain Bike Park located adjacent to the Giant Steps Lodge, is a complete cycling shop specializing in rentals, repairs and sales.
During my fitting, Brad instructs me to stand flat-footed over the bike, while he measures the clearance. “Most bikes have a top tube that runs straight across the bike. This bike has a down sloping top tube so it gives you more stand over room. In a typical bike, you are looking for three inches of clearance as you pull up from your front tire. So ideally, if you straddle the bike on the trails, there is more room and you’re not going to hurt yourself,” says Brad.
The center acquires brand new bikes each year and features the new Cannondales as their regular rental. The head shocks provide excellent front suspension that is built right into the head tube gear. The Cannondale retails for approximately $900 U.S. and Brian Head rents them for a reasonable $25 a day.
The most important aspect of biking requires you to use your “head.” More critical than your bike, is your helmet. Brian Head employees are strong advocates for helmets, as statistics are overwhelmingly in favor of head gear. “The nice thing about mountain biking is that serious accidents are rare in this sport. That is if you wear a helmet, and don’t go beyond your ability level,” says Brad.
All employees of Brian Head are avid bike enthusiasts. Unlike skiing, there is no certification program for mountain biking guides or instructors. The criteria for a Brian Head biker are competence, confidence, and first aid skills. In addition, they must know how to fix and tune a bike, as well as possess strong riding skills.
Communications coordinator Stephen Lane doubles as my trail guide, and escorts me along six miles of the oh-so-scenic Left Fork of Bunker Creek. We begin on the forest service road where we have been shuttled to the peak a few hundred feet above the trail head. “You’re going to want to take this first part nice and slow,” warns Stephen. Excellent advice, I think, while wondering if the not-so-cozy blanket of gravel would ignore my efforts and without warning, wrap itself around me.
At that moment, I recall Brad saying, ‘‘The Dark Hollow Trail is more dramatic but with a lot steeper descents. It’s more advanced, and not near as nice as Bunker in my opinion. The steep descents require a good working relationship with the brakes and involve extremely good body position on the bike.” If there was ever a time when I wanted a relationship to work, it is now.
My legs feel like the hot rubber around my wheels. I swallow hard and stop safely on the plateau before pedaling on. “Hey Stephen,” I yell, “I thought Bunker wasn’t steep like Dark Hollow.” He tell me it isn’t, except for this part. I smile with relief.
After a brief climb we are rewarded with a spectacular view. From the plateau’s forested edge, I gaze in awe at the deep green forest and dramatic contrast of red rock against an azure blue sky. It is through this kaleidoscope of reds and blues and endless hues that I comprehend the true meaning of this land they call Color Country.
Color is not the only beauty of the Brian Head trails. Because this area is a backcountry experience, the bike trails that lie away from the lifts are purely a product of nature, wild and untamed, and therefore more advanced.
The Bunker Creek Trail is owned by the Federal Government, and is taken care of by the U.S. Forest Service. Recreation is first and foremost for the area, but Brian Head maintains a commitment to the environment. A Utah vacation guide urges cyclists to preserve and protect the region by engaging in “minimum impact mountain biking.” In order to respect Mother Nature, it says, follow these guidelines: “Avoid skidding and spinning your tires. Stay on trails and roads because riding off-trail is destructive and leaves an obvious path that tempts others to follow. Please don’t shortcut on switchbacks, and avoid off-trail play riding.” Proper trail etiquette will ensure the preservation of this pedaling paradise for the many treads ahead.
Stephen and I turn off Bunker Creek Trail well before its 17-mile end. We ride the service road back to our predetermined site for shuttle pick up. En route back to Brian Head Lodge I ask Stephen what the best aspect of his job is. “I’d have to say all of this, (gesturing for me to look out the van’s window.) It has to be the best place I’ve ever worked,” he says. Biased or not, I’d have to agree. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a better looking office ... anywhere.
For more information on Brian Head please contact:
Brian Head Resort 223 Hunter Ridge Road, P.O. Box 190008 Brian Head, Utah, 84719 (801) 677-2035 Fax (801) 677-3883; www.brianhead.com/
Brian Head All Seasons Chamber of Commerce P.O. Box 190325 Brian Head, Utah 84719-0325 (801) 677-2810; www.brianheadchamber.com
Author : Tracey Rayson
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