Lately our trails have been getting quite a bit of publicity, which has been focused mainly on the mesas.  This is a brief history of the JEM trail specifically and the Hurricane/Virgin area more broadly. 

In the early 90s, when mountain biking was still young, there were few riders and even fewer trails on the East side of Washington County.  The riding was mainly fire roads, though there were a few renegades who were dreaming and building trails on Gooseberry, Dalton Wash (where Guacamole currently is), Rockville Bench, and on the land that ultimately became the site of the JEM.  It seemed crazy at the time to be building trails; crazier now that it was thought they would never gain much traction.  JEM is a combination of initials of the original designer and a couple of the people who were convinced to work hard building it. Though only three initials were used, there were quite a few participants.  It was originally designed and built as a downhill singletrack with a climb up fire roads for access.  It was planned that eventually more singletrack would be built for the climb, making a complete singletrack loop.  The climb part was not completed, but a bit of it was built by one of the renegade trail dreamers, and it is still in use today.  There are still many who dream of completion of the uphill singletrack, perhaps someday those dreams will come to fruition.  Toward the end of the 90s, the trail was finally adopted as a legally sanctioned trail.  At that time, parts of it were moved, rebuilt, and rehabbed for various reasons.  So many people have contributed to this trail over the years, making it one of the best cross-country trails in the county.

In more modern history, due to collaborative efforts of DMBTA, BLM, local bike shops, and numerous volunteers, JEM has become the ‘anchor’ for an extensive trail system that includes Hurricane Rim, Goulds, Gould Rim, Cryptobionic, Dead Ringer, Goosebumps, and More Cowbell.  The system is now referred to as the Hurricane Cliffs recreation system. 

It’s been an amazing couple of years for Mountain Biking in Southwestern Utah.  There are so many people that helped make it happen it’s hard to know where to begin, but I’ll start with all of you.  Everyone out there that joined, contributed, or volunteered deserves a great big pat on the back.  THANK YOU.  DMBTA exists to support dedicated people like you that want to get involved and make our great trails even better.  I must also thank our DMBTA Board.  It is amazing how many hours and how much hard work these dedicated people donate to make this happen.  I should also thank Saint George City and Washington County for making Snake Hollow Bike Park a reality, the BLM, NFS, Red Bull, the local bike shops, and the owners and employees of Desert Canyons. 

Most of the work that the DMBTA Board does is behind the scenes and it’s kind of boring. Things like, insurance maintaining our 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, organization, bookkeeping, and coordinating with local governments and landowners, are not fun but essential to get things done. I’ve listed some of the fun stuff below.

• New Trails completed over the past two years
  • Wire Mesa, Kentucky Lucky, and Desert Canyons in Washington County
  • Lava Flow, Lichen It, Iron Giant, and Green Hollow in Cedar City
  • Raven & Roadrunner trails, and the Town trail in Kanab

• Edge of Nightfall Red Bull movie and fund raiser

• New T-shirt and hat design

• Assisted Saint George City with Snake Hollow Bike Park

• Initiated “Pass with Class” trail etiquette program

• Participated in Active Transport committee to promotion urban bike paths

• West Mountain downhill trail planning

• Hosted Bike Magazine and member appreciation cookout

• Donated money for Virgin City BMX track lighting

• Provided trail etiquette training for NICA teams

• Hundreds of hours maintaining trails from Navajo Lake to the Rainbow Rim.

• Three Peaks has a lot of new signage thanks to the Local printing company “Three Peaks Graphics”, and new bridges thanks to the BLM

DOWNHILL FLOW TRAIL COMING TO SAINT GEORGE AREA.
With a little help from DMBTA, the BLM St. George Field Office was recently awarded a trail construction grant through the Utah Recreational Trails Program. They will get $60,000 from the State grant and will match it with another $60,000 with money collected from commercial guide permits, and fees from competitive events. These events pay for our new trails. We (DMBTA) also agreed to contribute a significant amount of volunteer time.

The trail will be a machine built one-way downhill flow trail on West Mountain Peak, and will be 8-10 miles long. West Mountain Peak is just south of the Shivwits Reservation on the west side of Highway 91 (Utah Hill). The trail will begin about 1.5 miles below the communications towers at the summit.
I’ve had a few questions about why this site was selected, and the answer is simple. This is the only suitable place on BLM land in Washington County that has the elevation and downhill distance for a trail like this.
If you haven’t joined us yet, do it now. Be part of everything that is happening for mountain biking here. We need your help.