eBIKE DESTINATIONS TOUR | SEASON TWO

ZION MOUNTAIN RANCH, UTAH

YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS PLACE

Have you packed up and traveled to an exciting new place to ride your eMTB only to arrive and find out the trails don’t allow eBikes? Thanks to support from some amazing brands, we’re setting out on a multi-stop tour to share eMTB-friendly destinations and trails to ride. The fourth and final episode of this year’s series took us to a brand-new riding spot that we are certain is set to be a hit for both eMTB and mountain bike riders alike. It was actually a surprise detour as we had another stop in mind but after a phone call from our buddy Tyler McCaul, Red Bull Rampage competitor and all around badass, we decided to reroute our trip to Zion Mountain Ranch. Even better than over the phone intel, Tyler was even willing to meet us for a couple days of riding to show us around.

Located on the eastern edge of Zion National Park in Southwestern Utah, Zion Mountain Ranch (ZMR) offers a ride experience unlike anything you expect in southern Utah. Tyler McCaul has helped work with on-site trail builders to offer insight on the development of this area’s mountain biking, and it’s safe to say he delivered on his promises of how awesome the trails and vibe at Zion Mountain Ranch are. In this episode of our eMTB Destinations Tour we’ll let you know all there is to know about this up-and-coming mountain bike hot spot and what you can expect to find when you pay a visit.

For 2023 we were lucky enough to hook up with some amazing partners to keep the gas tank full, burritos in our bellies and the camera guy paid. Without their support, these types of projects wouldn’t be possible, so we’d like to extend a huge thank you to Pivot Cycles, Endura Clothing, ABUS helmets and bike locks and Maxxis Tires.

Zion Mountain Ranch is an operation owned and managed by the McClaws family, which sits three miles east of Zion National Park’s eastern entrance, just over 50 miles east of St George. The McClaws originally started out with a small souvenir shop, but when visitors kept inquiring about places to stay the night, they saw the opportunity to host guests by building some cabins, and so began the expansion of the business towards what it is today. With a staggering 8,000 acres of land to work with, Zion Mountain Ranch has a vast amount of open space that they intend to preserve, while utilizing certain pockets of the land for their activities including a growing network of mountain bike trails.

Weather is generally good in the region, thanks to its semi-arid climate that sees limited rainfall throughout the year. Something to consider about ZMR trails is the elevation. The Ranch sits at 6,000 feet, and the trails a bit higher, so temperatures, dirt and trees are not what you’d expect from Southern Utah, and especially neighboring Zion’s landscape. In the summer things can get hot with July regularly seeing days in the high 90’s, but outside of July the weather makes for pleasant riding. Winters see typical days in the high 40’s to 50’s, which when combined with the limited rainfall makes for year-round riding potential, although snow does hit the trails in the coldest months of winter, offering a nice recharge for the soil below.

ACCOMMODATIONS

There are a wide variety of options to cater for groups of all sizes at Zion Mountain Ranch, with 65 cabins and counting located on the property. Many of these cabins are well equipped with full kitchen setups with laundry facilities, comfortable living areas and even some with hot tubs to unwind after a long day on the trails. We were hosted in the beautiful Lodge 132, capable of sleeping four couples comfortably plus two children, with all the amenities you could possibly need for a week spent at the Mountain Ranch. The location on the edge of one of the cliffs contained within the grounds was stunning, with incredible views out of the windows, and it made for a great base from which to hit the trails.

ZMR is constantly expanding with more cabins, campgrounds and more, so there will be no shortage of options based on your budget or size of crew.

THE TRAILS

Since ZMR trails are on private land, the speed and style in which they can be built is much more conducive to quick gains. The trail builders have more free reign to build what they like and think would be best use of the land. This has resulted in excellent use of the terrain, from incorporating natural rock features to working with the natural undulations in the ground, and it makes for a lot of fun for both eBikes and mountain bikes. The trails have been implemented in two phases so far, with a third phase hopefully joining them in the near future.

Phase 1 was the original mountain bike trail area at Zion Mountain Ranch, located lower down the hill in close vicinity to the ZMR hub. These trails are already open, with 10 miles of trail ready to ride and enjoy and a mixture of different grades to keep riders of all levels happy. Phase 1 is currently a standalone trail system, but is soon to have biker suites at the top of the trails with cabins specifically catered to mountain bikers who want to come and ride the trails. There are also plans to add a bike shop to the upper trailhead, which they hope to make the “Coolest bike shop in the world,” and will even have a trail running through it. They plan to stock rental bikes so anyone can come and visit Zion Mountain Ranch and enjoy the trails regardless of whether they have a bike already.

Phase 2 is set to open officially this summer (2023), with a new trailhead and an additional 25 miles of purpose-built mountain bike trail, and a connecting run up to link to the Phase 1 trails to incorporate both areas into a bigger combined ride. Phase 2 has everything from green trails for a beginner mountain biker; to beautifully crafted blue trails with increased speed, larger berms and optional gaps; and black trails with bigger berms and jumps, steeper lines and some rugged rock gardens. There’s more elevation to work with on the Phase 2 trails, offering up a huge amount of fun with minimal effort to gain speed, and some nice flowing climb trails to get you back up to the top without too much suffering if you aren’t on an eBike like our Pivot Shuttle LT’s. We think you’d be happy riding the area on anything from 130mm-170mm travel depending on your skill and targeted riding, and though there wasn’t anything extremely gnarly constructed by the time we visited, we expect the black trails to include some features that would justify the use of a longer travel bike.

As it stands it’s already a serious amount of fun, and was a very welcome break in our road trip from the more natural rough and rugged trails around the desert locations of Phoenix, AZ and St George, UT. Particular trail highlights were the stunning views within the Clear Creek Canyon trails of Phase 1 which provide a small taste of the Zion National Park terrain; and the incredible high speed flow of the Phase 2 blue trails that encourage you to push harder and harder. Supportive turns and groomed terrain is hard to come by in Southern Utah, and Zion Mountain Ranch has it in abundance.

OFF THE BIKE

Located at the Zion Mountain Ranch hub is their Cordwood restaurant, which utilizes lots of ingredients grown on the farm and locally and offers up a small selection of meals from breakfast to dinner. From an excellent fresh salad to the delicious Bison burger, the Cordwood restaurant treated us well for the times we didn’t want to use the kitchen in our cabin to cook.

Outside of the very fun mountain bike trails, there are countless activities to do in and around the Ranch. With just a five-minute drive, you can find yourself in Zion National Park, with endless hiking routes to explore, and guided hikes are offered to ensure you get the most out of the landscape. Also within two hours of ZMR are the stunning Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell and Grand Canyon, making the ranch an excellent base from which to drive in all directions to see some of these incredible sights.

Jeep tours or horseback riding through the mountains surrounding the Zion National Park are popular choices to cover more ground, or if you’re feeling more “extreme” than there is some exhilarating canyoneering nearby to explore where your feet alone can’t take you.

Overall, there’s plenty to do in and around Zion Mountain Ranch to keep you and the family entertained for days on end, and it’s absolutely a spot that we intend to return to, especially as the trail network continues to grow and improve upon the very solid, fun trail zone it currently is to ride. This is a truly special spot, and we’re very thankful to Tyler McCaul for persuading us to come along and check it out.

We’d like to thank Pivot Cycles, Endura, Abus Cycling and Maxxis Tires for making our 2023 eMTB Destination Tour series happen and allowing us to help share eBike friendly locations to our readers. After having traveled long distances only to arrive and find out that eBikes are not welcome, we wanted to do what we could to prevent others from similar frustrations.

If you’d like to see us visit and share more places, please leave a comment or suggestion so we can keep this series going!