Saint George - One morning to ride

So on my long drive back to Canada, we're spending the night in Saint George, Utah. I've been told by the Dept of War and Finance that I am allowed to get up early and hit a trail before we continue on our journey. There is a ton of riding out there, but it's actually a little difficult to pick one trail out of the entire list. Anyone have any recommendations? I'll have 2-3 hours, probably riding my Surface, comfortable with advanced trails. Anything that is "must ride"?

Shuttle or riding up?

If a shuttle is an option (or you like to climb) I'd say the Ribbon, to the road for bit, then Prenup to Holy Cross.

It has been a few years since I've ridden there, but that is what I would do.

I may be missing something but Frutia and Grand Junction in Colorado are a very long way away from St George in Utah so I'm not sure why Craig has posted those maps.

(But the Ribbon is an excellent trail. I'd say you're looking at a 3hr loop absolute minimum if you can't shuttle)

While I'd love to hit Fruita, it's a little out of the way from taking the I-15 to the Alberta border.

Oops, must have been tired when I replied.
I misread St. George for Grand Junction. Sorry.

For St. George the must do ride in the area is Gooseberry Mesa. There is a drive to the trail head as it is a little East of Hurricane, Utah. As I recall about 1/2hr drive.

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/maps/Stucki-AreaBigger-HRes.jpg

gooseberry mesa is first choice, but you might need more than 2 to 3 hours including drive to trail
if you truly mean you might only have 2 hours from door to door of some Interstate Motel
then do the Zen loop followed by Bearclaw Poppy, if you can get shuttled to an upper trail head then you will have time for more loops and get picked up back in town at the lowest elevation trailhead (Bearclaw Poppy)

I enjoyed Gooseberry Messa but I really thought Little Creek Mesa was far more fun. Couldn't tell you the route. Stop in at Over the Edge and get maps and directions, awesome people.

I enjoyed Gooseberry Messa but I really thought Little Creek Mesa was far more fun. Couldn't tell you the route. Stop in at Over the Edge and get maps and directions, awesome people.

Last time we were down there Little Creek Mesa was still a locals somewhat secret area with no info publicly available; that was probably 5 years ago now.

both are good rides but navitgation on Gooseberry is more straightforward so less time dicking around figuring out where to go. Plus there are more bailout points in case time gets tight.

I'm leaning towards JEM/Goulds loop, as it's relatively quick, close to the hotel, and is hyped up a bit on other sites.

I rode JEM once and was distinctly underwhelmed…ok for an early morning xc thrash but no other redeeming features. Not ridden Gould's though….

I'll agree, the JEM part is okay, the Hurricane Rim part is more interesting, mostly for the views.

Still think I'd go ride Gooseberry.

If you want a ride that is on the outskirts of St. George, Broken Mesa is an option and your GF/wife could shuttle you to the trail head.

Found my wife's blog from our last trip down there in 2011:
http://inabits.blogspot.ca/2012/01/roadtrip-queen-finding-sweet-stuff-in.html

Alright I'm going to try a shortened lap of Gooseberry Mesa. It'll mean a 5am start to the day but it's not like we're going to be in the area again for a while. How far out of Hurricane is the trailhead? I've seen between 30-60 minutes from various sites.

How far out of Hurricane is the trailhead? I've seen between 30-60 minutes from various sites.

Google maps says 36min, 20.5 miles.

(Google maps used to have a "share short link" option but that seems to have been removed for some reason.)