Vernal Utah Singletrack Home

Welcome!!
You have reached the only source for free maps, trail guides, and information about riding the sweet singletrack in Vernal, Utah. You can download the maps and trail information on the Vernal Trail Guide page. This is the only trail guide that has all of the original information on all of the trails in the Vernal area - it the original and it is free. We also feature Google Maps and Google Earth information to help you find the trailheads and newer rides not featured in the Trail Guide for all of the rides in Northeastern Utah. This includes information you will not find anywhere else about the Springfield Area and over 60 miles of the singletrack there. Pretty cool, eh?

Trail Conditions Update - 3 July 2009 - Sunny and warm forecast for the weekend and through next week. We have been having lots of rain from thunderstorms in the afternoon and evenings. This is supposed to continue through the next week. The trails should dry out quickly, but be careful of muddy spots. Stay on the trail and ride through the puddles, not around them. This will keep the singletrack - single.

Once things dry out, all of the trails in the Vernal area are in excellent shape! The weather pattern has been sunny mornings with widespread thunderstorms in the afternoons and evenings. All trails, including those in the high country such as Elk Park Loop, are open and rideable. Last weekend had lots of rain, so expect some erosion in washes and a few muddy spots early in the week.

There were some fine freaks from Fruita in town recently sampling the latest trails at the Springfield Area. We started our adventure on a dry Lenny & Carl, then transitioned on to a damp Smithers, and finished up the adventure with a blazing downhill run on The Full Monty and Flaming Homer. We then sampled the sun and some chilled beers at the trailhead. The Fruita folks found fun.

Jer and Jon from Fruita join up with Craven, Betty, and Barney for a weekend adventure on the trails at Springfield.

Jon powers up Smithers on a beautiful morning at Springfield.

Jer concentrates as he finishes off the big Smithers climb. That is a tasty Pamela in the background.

The pause that refreshes. The Vernal and Fruita folks take in the scenery on Smithers during a break.

Deadicated Utah Mountain Bikers Mid-Week Ride Info
Want to go on a low-key, mid-week ride with some of the well-dressed geeks you see on the Utah Singletrack web site? I thought so... the time, day, and location will be posted here weekly. This is a good opportunity to check out the trails in the Vernal area. Everyone is welcome.

7 July 2009 - Monarch Crest trail in Salida, Colorado - That's right we are on vacation in the beautiful Sangre De Cristo mountains of Colorado. Ride will leave the Crest at 9:00 AM sharp. We will be back in Vernal next week for a ride on Wednesay 15 July at 6:00 PM at the Springfield trailhead. Hope to see you there!

The 3 Bs. Bee Eye, joins Barney and Betty for a beer after a mid-week ride at Springfield. Bee Eye has become a mid-week regular out of Eagle, CO stomping a VooDoo 1-speed and providing tasty CO beers.

Little E and Craven lay down some Father's Day tracks on Flaming Homer.

Little E showed up for the mid-week ride and nailed her first Flaming Homer!

Little E hangs with the Vernal crew after her first mid-week ride.

(Warning - This website uses subliminal stuff) Barney, Betty, and Craven score one of the primo tables at the Springfield trailhead cafe after the mid-week ride.

Vernal Weather Forecast

The Vernal Singletrack Blog

You got questions - we got answers and if not, we will dish out some BS.

July is National Good Trail Ethics Month!!

A few quick words about trail ethics - the singletrack in Vernal is very narrow, please keep it that way. Here are a few tricks to help preserve tight singletrack:

1. ALWAYS fix your divots as soon as you create them. The only place for tracks is on the trail. Everyone makes divots, only jerks like this fellow don't fix 'em...

It only takes a minute to stop and kick out your divot. If you are making lots of divots, work on your bike control. Nice outfit Gomer, are you sponsored by Goodwill?

2. Always keep your tires on the trail. When you stop to regroup or take in the scenery, don't pull off the trail. Do it like this...

3. Use the correct technique to push your bike up and down the hills you cannot ride. Stand up your bike and push from directly behind. Pushing from the side destroys the trail for those who can ride the climbs. After you push your bike, go back and kick out the trail so it is ready to go for the next rider. Vernal has lots of steep climbs, so keep this in mind.

Correct Technique

Bad technique - Betty, what are you thinking?? Pushing above or below the trail erodes and widens trails - don't do it.

If you do push, be sure to go back and kick out your mess.

2009 Trail Updates

16 May 2009 Update: Believe it or not there was one more trail to open up for 2009 in Vernal. The cows were busy this winter. It can be found at the Springfield area and it goes by the name of Pamela (watch Borat for the correct pronunciation). This is an 11-mile adventure that will get your blood pumping to be sure! It starts by following Lenny & Carl directly east from the Springfield trailhead. There is about an hour of climbing that leads you up into the junipers. You then turn south and down a deep canyon for a technical descent of about 4 miles. You eventually rejoin the trail you started on to finish up this ride. This trail is not for the faint of heart or riders looking for the perfectly-groomed trail. It is fresh sushi and we like it like raw. You will end up with more than a few souvenir scratches if you have the sand for this ride. As usual, you can only find the free maps and trail information for this trail here on our Google Maps page.

11 May 2009 Update: Well folks, things have slowed down a bit so we thought we would review what is up this Spring in the Vernal area: over 50 miles of primo singletrack brought to you by the marching bovines of northeastern Utah. This includes Hell For A Hotdog, Smithers, Flaming Homer, Moe's Tavern, Mr. Burns, Lenny & Carl, and The Full Monty. These are all great singletrack trails that are brand, spankin' new and ready for the adventurous rider. Don't waste your time looking for trail maps and info anywhere else, because this is the only place where you can find the beta - and it is always free! Check out the Google Maps page for all of the info. And don't forget we also offer the original Vernal trail guide for free download with all of the maps and information for all of the other Vernal rides on the Trail Guide page.

3 May 2009 Update: With Red Fleet opening up we knew it would not be too long until one of the toughest trails in the Vernal area would break free of the winter. That's right - Hell For A Hotdog - is ready to go. This trail is the love child of Weavin' Steven. Somehow he talked Barney and Craven into riding with him on this animal. Now he is Leavin' Steven as he chases the oil boom east to Pennsylvania. In his honor, Barney and Craven laid down first tracks this afternoon and it was a bitch! The climbs are as steep as ever and the trail was a bit loose. This is another new trail that you will not hear about anywhere else but here. The trail map and description are up on the Google Maps page. Good luck with this monster!

Barney shows off his technical skills on the backside of Hell For A Hotdog

Hell For A Hotdog has a couple of climbs to warm your buns

1 May 2009 Update: The Red Fleet area is dry and ready for tracks. This includes Chrome Molly, Three Amigos, and The Handsome Cabin Boy. Hell For A Hotdog is still a few days out before it is ready to ride. Wait a minute you are saying, what is Hell For A Hotdog??? Yep, another new trail rolling out for 2009. Stay tuned as there will be free trail maps and information posted here as soon as the trail is ready to ride. Until then, here are some fotos from Chrome Molly and The Handsome Cabin Boy ride today.

Barney and Betty stomp up the Red Hillclimb on Chrome Molly

Barney lights it up on Chrome Molly

Betty works the opening climb on The Handsome Cabin Boy

Betty helps Barney celebrate after he puts the wood to the Cabin Boy climb

Barney owns the Cabin Boy climb!!

The tunnel traverse to finish The Handsome Cabin Boy

6 April 2009 Update: Wow, great weather during the past week - rain and snow last Friday - led to a good soaking of the trails and superb trail conditions this week. If that was not enough - another trail emerged from winter hibernation at the Springfield area west of Vernal! This one is called Smithers and it is a 10-mile loop that has about an hour of climbing (1,000' in 3 miles) followed by a killer descent off a very exposed spine. The ride wraps up with a scary-fast run through the desert known as the Full Monty (if you know the relationship between Smithers and Mr. Burns, you will love this section). Smithers and the Full Monty are more productions from those happy cows seeking something in the desert. You can find the map posted over on the Google Maps page. Here are a few pics of Smithers:

Barney attacks The Full Monty on the 1-speed... gears are for sissies!

MMMMM, nice, narrow singletrack on The Full Monty!!

Barney Bonair fires the guns and puts the wood to Smithers (in a manner of speaking). He sure had that Mojo workin' today!

Hop-A-Long Weavin' Steven styles his way up the final climb on Smithers. Nice shirt!

Barney and Steven get set for the final descent on Smithers.

Barney nails a 2-point landing on Smithers.

Weavin' Steven gets his heart rate going on Smithers' spine.

1 April 2009 Update: Trail crews began working on Retail Sale today. Plans include widening and paving the entire trail. This will allow everyone to enjoy this excellent trail. This project is unique because the asphalt used on the trail comes from Asphalt Ridge directly above McCoy Flats. The trail work should be finished in time for weekend riding. Generous funding for this project was provided by Cannonwhale. Three cheers for all of their hard work!

24 March 2009 Update: Cest La Moo is ready to go! You can find the map and information on this trail in our Trail Guide downloads. The cows were especially creative on this one, but erosion worked its evil hand over the winter. Lots of hard work by the Deadicated Utah Mountain Bikers has brought this classic trail back into rideable condition. This is one of the best trails in the Vernal area - not easy but full of classic moves and a killer singletrack 2.3 mile downhill finish. The trailhead for Cest La Moo is only a few miles east of the new Springfield area on the Lapoint highway. As a bonus, you can check out the trail on our Google Maps page. The trail is still pretty raw so bring your trail finding skills along for the adventure.

Barney Bonair and Weavin' Steven at speed through the junipers on Cest La Moo

Time for a little trailside bike maintenance on Cest La Moo

Weavin' Steven with a souvenir from Cest La Moo

Vernal Equinox Update (20 March 2009): What better way to celebrate the arrival of Spring in Vernal than to announce another trail opening up after the winter! This singletrack is at the Springfield area and is called Moe's Tavern. It is a cow trail about 10 miles in length and is for those who like to climb. There are short steep climbs, long steep climbs, rocky climbs, and long, steady climbs until you top out on a big, sagebrush flat overlooking the valley. The reward is a steep, exposed descent back into valley. That's 4 more trails in 2009, could there be more on the way??? Check back as Spring progresses...

13 March 2009 Vernal Trails Update: Friday the 13th turns out to be your lucky day! The desert trails in Vernal are rocking! There are still a few damp spots, so please walk around the mud and do not create permaruts. The big news is the new riding area called Springfield west of Vernal near Lapoint. That crazy crew of Deadicated Utah Mountain Bikers has been riding the past few years on a bunch of cow trails out there and they are now ready to roll. So far in 2009, Flaming Homer, Mr. Burns, and Lenny & Carl are rideable. Flaming Homer is a quick 4.5 mile jaunt in the sagebrush. Mr. Burns is a spur off of Flaming Homer that measures about 7.5 miles of steep climbs and cool descents. Lenny & Carl is 9.6 miles of climbing and cruising on narrow, twisty desert singletrack. The trailhead location, brief decriptions, and free trail maps have been posted under the link for Google Maps.

Stay tuned as more trails will be posted here as the conditions cooperate!

Deadicated Utah Mountain Bikers Trail Work Day on Cest La Moo - 15 March 2009 - Trail should be ready to ride in 2 weeks!

Weavin' Steven and Betty Bomber clean up after the flood on the Cest La Moo descent. Nice retro Ibis jacket Betty! Thanks for the hard work gang!

Some images from Springfield:

Weavin' Steven and Betty Bomber on Lenny & Carl - 13 March 2009

Betty Bomber sporting short sleeves on Lenny & Carl - 13 March 2009

Watch out for that snow Betty! 13 March 2009

Getting ready for Ride 1 - 8 March 2009

Cruising on Flaming Homer - 8 March 2009

Happy Boys!

The rest of the trails in Vernal at McCoy Flat are also ready to ride. The Can You Moo and Upper Moo trails are still trashed from the flood last summer and should be avoided. Inconsiderate early riders also left permaruts in the mud on the rideable sections. Stay tuned for updates, but do not expect these Moo trails to be rideable until May. The Red Fleet trails are also a few weeks out. No info on Red Mountain yet.

More news...

Vernal Singletrack Featured on 2009 Calendar!

You can purchase a copy of the calendar at Calendars.Com