More Cowbell Bike Trail near Hurricane, Utah

 Fall break in October involved a dentist visit and getting the SUV serviced, but we managed to mix some fun in. While Desert Boy ended up sick and staying home with dad, Desert Girl and I headed to sunny St. George. While the vehicle was being checked, we biked over to Thunder Junction All Abilities Park. This is a newer park and so much fun! First we had to take the train ride, which costs a whopping $1 per person. Desert Girl really wanted to sit in the back, and since we were there on a weekday, there were plenty of open spots.

Then it was on to playing in the water and almost getting eaten by a dinosaur.

The next day we were off to try some mountain biking. I had done some research and found an easy trail recommended: the More Cowbell Trail near Hurricane, Utah. It's in the Gooseberry Mesa-Hurricane Cliffs area, which is gaining more attention as a great mountain biking destination.

We started off and then I got confused by the trails, so we went back and I took a photo of the map at the trail head. We had to start off on the Dead Ringer trail and then we'd take the More Cowbell loop.

The loop was about 2.5 miles. Desert Girl was a bit hesitant, but I knew she could do it. We were closer to the edge than this near the beginning, but she made it through just fine.

Then we got into a nice groove. We had great views and could see part of the loop trail down below us.

We had one rocky section where we got off our bikes, but then we were back on. We took a couple breaks, including at this "bench."

It was such a beautiful day to be out!

Good times!

We kept riding the nice, flowing trail. We could see the highway for part of it, and long sweeping views in other directions.

Near the end of the loop there's a cowbell, and Desert Girl was delighted to ring it!

Then we followed the Dead Ringer trail back. Here's the trail junction where we originally took off for the More Cowbell trail.

I had Desert Girl lead so she could start learning how to read the terrain. We had one more section where we got off, but otherwise we rode the whole trail.

Desert Girl was so proud of herself for riding over her first rock. She really was quite a beginner, and this trail was great for her. We're hoping we can do some more mountain biking and increase her confidence. And enjoy more beautiful times outside!