Gooseberry Mesa (White Trail to South Rim Trail loop)

March 18, 2013

The weather was supposed to be perfect for a desert hike today and with the day off from work, Liz and I decided that a hike was in order. Gooseberry Mesa is famous for it's mountain biking trails, although an occasional hiker will use them as well.

We left our home in Hurricane, Utah a little after 9:30 in the morning and caught hwy 59 that goes out to Colorado City (also known as 100 south in Hurricane). The highway immediately climbs up the Hurricane cliffs. 13.7 miles after getting on hwy 59, the turnoff to Gooseberry Mesa is on the left side of the road. It is a signed dirt road. The road is, for the most part, well maintained. We took my Pathfinder just in case there were some sketchy parts that my accord would have trouble with. I am very glad I had it because there were 2 or 3 parts of the road - close to the trail head - that would have required creative maneuvering of a low clearance vehicle. I will also note that if it has rained in the two or three days prior to this hike, the roads would probably be impassible for just about any vehicle.

Gooseberry Mesa Trail head and parking area

After driving 2.8 miles on the Gooseberry road, there is a marked junction, indicating that Gooseberry Mesa is to the left. Accordingly, we turned left as the sign said, crossing a cattle guard. This is the road that is a little washed out in spots. About 3 miles after making our left turn, we crossed another unmarked cattle guard, and after 3.5 miles from the turn off (6.3 from hwy 59) we came to the Gooseberry Trail head, restroom, and parking area. Another sign indicated that the White Trail head, which is the trail we planned to take, was a little further ahead and off to the left. So we headed off to the left, as indicated by the sign, but not long after, the road forked and there was no sign indicating which way to go. By luck, we decided to take the right fork, which is the correct way. After 1.1 miles from the Gooseberry Trail head sign, we came to another sign and parking area indicating the start of the White trail head. We also noticed a small sign and gap in the fence marking the start of the South Rim trail. We parked, got our gear together, and started on our hike at 10:19am.

White Trail head and parking area

The temperature was about 50 degrees when we started, with a little breeze and it was cool enough to make me rethink my decision to wear shorts and short sleeves. The White Trail is a well used bike trail, that small mechanized vehicles, such as 4-wheelers, can take as we found out on our hike. The trail isn't very scenic at first, as it meanders through a desert landscape. But after about 3 miles, the trail takes you to some spectacular views off of the north rim of the mesa. From here we could see the little town of Virgin, off of hwy 9 on the way to Zion National Park, as well as some of the land marks from the National Park its self.

View off the North Rim

The junction with the South Rim Trail was soon after the view point, and we followed the South Rim trail further west to the end of the trail - a rock peninsula with drop offs of a few hundred feet on 3 sides. We stopped and took in the amazing views and snapped a few photos before continuing back on the South Rim trail. I will say here that we lost the actual trail in spots here and did a little bit of scrambling to reach the view point at the end of the trail, but we were able to follow it on the way back. It was at this point of our hike that we encountered the first of the dozen or so mountain bikers we saw today.

View off the South Rim

When we reached the junction of the White and South Rim trails, we took the South Rim trail back. Again, we lost the trail a couple of times, but I remembered from looking at maps that the South Rim trail stayed pretty close to the South Rim its self, so when we lost it, we just headed for the south cliff band and managed to find it again. Because the trail stayed along the south rim, the views were great looking down at the highway that we drove in on and toward the former Kokopeli Golf Course. The South Rim trail negotiates a lot of rock. In spots where the trail goes over rock, the trail is marked with white dots of paint, which are very easy to spot and follow.

At one point, about 2 miles from the end of the hike, the South Rim trail gets with in yards of the White Trail, before heading back to the south east. If you're tired, this would be a good way to cut about a mile off of the total hike distance. But if you choose to stay on the South Rim trail, as we did, you will be presented with a nice walk through juniper trees and other pines, quite different from the other parts of the trail.

We made it back to our vehicle after 9.7 miles and 3 hours and 42 minutes of hiking. The trail was a very easy trail as far as elevation gain/loss is concerned. The trail head started at just under 5200 feet and the view point at the end of the hike is just over 5400 feet. Other info: The White trail is 3.1 miles long and the South Rim trail, about 5.9 miles long. You will do a short back track on the South Rim trail to get to the view point.

The junction of the White and South Rim trails