Little Creek Mesa

Little Creek Mesa is a one of a kind experience. Just being on top of a mesa in the southwest is an experience in itself. To be able to mtn bike on this and the surrounding mesas is a memory that won't be lost. The ride consists of rolling over smooth and bumpy slick rock with patches of dirt trail. The ride described here rides partially along the mesa's rim  where awesome views are to be had. The trail is marked with just enough cairns (piles of rocks) so you don't get lost BUT keeps you on your toes. There are additional trails that link with the one described here. Just make sure to ride the rim in order to get the awesome views. The hardest part of the ride is GETTING THERE and GETTING BACK to the highway in your car. Pay close attention to the instructions below as they shold be "dummy proof". Make sure to visit the Bike Box located at the Chevron located on your left 1.6 mi before you leave the highway to pick up extra tubes, lube, and a map that includes all area rides including Gooseberry.


(Bike Box located inside)

Ride Type: Slick Rock/Singletrack adventure on top of a mesa located out in the middle of nowhere.
Distance: 9.22 mi
Elevation Gain: 617 ft
Time: 1.5 hr -however long you want to tool around
Season: Spring & Fall to avoid extreme heat

Even with the store bought map, the trail directions for Little Creek are very vague and just give you a basic understanding of about where you are. For the rest of the trails in the area (Gooseberry Mesa etc.), the map is very detailed. Once you get to the parking space, continue a couple hundred yards down the slick rock road and enter the trail (sign post) on your right. For this ride I followed the trail/cairns and took right hand turns at all sign posts ("magic carpet ride" and illegible signposts) except at 2.54 mi where I hung a left to get out to the rim Update: 6/21/14: There has been a lot of changes to the trail systems in Little Creek since making the map below. DON'T RELY ON THE MAP BELOW alone. seek help from the local bike shop.

Getting There: (Google Maps Link) From St. George Blvd. (St. George), take I15 north to the Hwy 9 Hurricane exit. Take this east thru downtown Hurricane. Follow signs to Colorado City (take a right off the main street (hwy 9) onto 100 East/hwy 59 then your 1st left to continue on hwy 59). Hwy climbs for a mile or so and then levels out for 9 miles or so before you turn right on the dirt road that takes you out to Little Creek Mesa. It is the first right turn after the "Gooseberry Mesa" sign. This happens to be 1.6 miles past the Little Creek Chevron Station which is home of the Bike Box (located on 1st aisle on the left when you enter store, trail maps for area at front of store next to register). After you take your 1st right after the "Gooseberry Mesa" sign, follow the following directions (zero out your trip odometer):

at 0.2 miles turn left on Coyote Rd.
at 0.7 miles turn right on Little Creek rd.
at 1.5 miles take the right at the fork
at 2.9 go straight (rule of thumb for the most part is to stay on the widest and best fire road
at 4.9 miles you'll cross a cattle guard
at 5.9 miles you'll turn right (old corral on left hand corner)
at 6.5 miles turn left
at 7.5 miles you'll cross another cattle guard
at 8.0 miles the dirt road will suddenly turn to slick rock. The makeshift parking lot is right here on the left. You'll see a nice/big campfire ring. Make sure to METICULOUSLY follow this way backwards to the highway. Otherwise, you'll waste a lot of time being lost.