Bike Tour Dates:

2012 Tours: 

May & June 2012

• 5/27 – 6/1
• 6/3 – 6/8 (minimum met, tour is a go)
• 6/17 – 6/22 (5 spots remain)

September & October 2012                              

• 9/16 – 9/21
• 9/23 – 9/28 (minimum met, tour is a go)
• 10/7 –10/12 (tour opened)

           Video of Day Two’s Descent of Hell’s Backbone to Calf Creek Falls

 

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Tour Registration Form

 

Bike Tour Overview:

6-Days

Total Miles: 215 up to 350 total mileage options

Mileage Range: 12 to 71

Ability Level:  A combination of car free roads and plenty of climbing makes this tour well suited for intermediate to advanced cyclists.  The Whiterocks Tour has less mileage, but more climbing then Lizard Head Cycling’s much admired Redrock Canyons Tour.  This is a challenging tour with lower mileage options for intermediate cyclists.

2012 Cost: $2,795- w/plane flight, $2,595- without plane

Tour Includes: Five nights of exceptional lodging & fine dining, scenic charter flight, all taxes, entrance fees, lunch on the route, energy food, liquid refreshments, shuttles, guide service, and mechanical support.  Alcoholic beverages, massage, & bike rental are additional.

Single Rooms: Add $595- single supplement based on availability.

View Whiterocks Tour Full Route in a larger map

“An Impractical Route of Epic Proportion”

The Whiterock Canyons Road Tour delves into the most remote region of the lower 48 United States, the canyon-country of south central Utah.  How remote you ask?  Well the tiny Mormon outposts in this region (Boulder, Escalante, Tropic) were the last towns to receiv U.S. Mail via mule train (the late 1940′s).  The only paved road in this region, Highway 12, was not completely paved until 1985.  There are few cars out here in this land of weird and wild geology.

The Mormon Church’s Hole in the Rock Expedition of 1879 attempted a crossing of this inhospitable terrain to settle Bluff, Utah in 1879.  Although ultimately successful, the 60 young families struggled and suffered bitterly with wagons and beasts of burden for months across an unforgiving moonscape of rock and canyon. They had chosen an impractical route of epic proportions in their attempt to cross southern Utah.  Today this is the route of our Whiterock Canyons Tour!

The Burr Trail: One of America’s Most Unique & Challenging Rides

The Whiterocks Tour is not your typical road bike tour.  For example on Day 2 we explore the Burr Trail from the depths of Lake Powell to America’s “Forgotten National Park”, Capital Reef.  The Burr trail is a 66 mile long road that crosses through a rough and tumble desert topography of wild beauty.  We consider the Burr trail one of the most unique and challenging rides in the United States.

Fantastic Lodging 

From the Defiance Lodge on Lake Powell to the remarkable hospitality of the Boulder Mountain Lodge and the Slot Canyons Inn Bed & Breakfast, the lodging and food on the Whiterocks Tour ranks as one of our favorites.  We enjoy the staff and food at Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah to such a degree that we dine there for two nights.

What Else?

We really can’t say enough about this Utah bike tour.  Take a good look at the photos, read the descriptions and then sign up today.  Oh we would be remiss if we forgot to mention the hike to Calf Creek’s 126-foot high desert waterfall!

This is a cycling vacation we guaranteed will be enjoyed. It contains a region so spectacular that cyclists are within a State or National Park virtually the entire tour.  Highlights include Glen Canyon-Lake Powell National Recreation Area,  Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Escalante State Park, Kodachrome State Park, Anasazi State Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and “America’s Forgotten Park” Capital Reef National Park.

Who Can Ride this Tour?

The Whiterocks Tour is designed for intermediate to advanced cyclists.  Both cyclists new to multi-day tours and advanced riders who pedal over 3,000 miles annually have enjoyed the Whiterocks Tour.  The tour is a similar challenge to rides such as Cycle Oregon, Ride the Rockies, or RAGBRAI.

Daily shuttle options allow cyclists of varying abilities to enjoy the Whiterock Canyons Tour by customization of their mileage options.  See How the Shuttle Works below in the Tour Beta section below.

We have discovered that many cyclists who worried themselves sick about not being able to keep up, are surprised to find that all the worrying was about nothing.  They do just fine!

Daily shuttle options allow varying abilities to enjoy the Whiterocks Tour.  It is no big deal.  If you have any questions about your ability to complete this tour, please call or email us today (970.728.5891 or Info@LizardHeadCyclingGuides.com).

Ride Difficulty?

The tour has less mileage, but more climbing then Lizard Head Cycling’s much loved Redrock Canyons Tour.  If cyclists pedal all of Day 2′s climbs, there is over 7,000-feet of climbing available.  Although the miles are less then the Redrock Canyons Tour, additional mileage options and the bonus climbs available on the Whiterocks Tour make it a real challenge to pedal every mile.

Additional Information?

Please see the Tour Beta section below.

Day 1: Hanksville to Bullfrog Village on Lake Powell (42 miles)

The moderate distance and net elevation loss of today’s route makes this a welcome acclimatization to the elevation and atmosphere of canyon country.

Day 1′s route is a real gem!  When we put this tour’s itinerary together we had not realized how compelling a ride Day 1′s tour through the Henry Mountains to Lake Powell would be.  The road moves with the landscape as it dances between massive redrock boulders and mysterious canyons.  There is a 800-foot climb onto the shoulders of the Henry Mountains followed by more ups, downs, twists and turns then one cares to count.  The route even passes through the range of a free roaming Buffalo.  In short Day 1′s ride is a blast.

To complete Day 1 cyclists are rewarded with a long descent into the Glen Canyon-Lake Powell National Recreation Area.

Tonight’s lodging and dinner is at the Defiance Lodge overlooking the deep-blue waters of Lake Powell and the mystical canyon walls that surround the reservoir.  If Edward Abbey’s fictional character Hayduke were still alive, he would live somewhere hidden in this region.

View Whiterocks Tour Day 1: Hanksville to Bullfrog in a larger map

42 miles

2,485′ ascent

3,354′ descent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2: Bullfrog to Boulder via Burr Trail (55 miles)

True-to-form for Lizard Head Cycling’s guided tours, Day 2 dawns on a truly epic adventure as we escort you “Way Back into the Way Back” of canyon country via the little known and rarely used Burr Trail.

Established in in 1876 as a cattle trail, the Burr Trail snakes through the rough and nearly impassable country around the Waterpocket Fold, Burr Canyon, and Muley Twist Canyon. In the 1990′s, and to the chagrin of some environmentalists, all but 16 of the 68 mile trail were paved. Still, the length, location, and remoteness of the route virtually guarantees a day of wonderment on the bike unlike any other.

A shuttle is available for the 16 unpaved miles of the Burr Trail or if cyclists enjoy the challenge of  pave’ they can elect to try and ride up the dirt section.  After the pavement resumes cyclists exit the Burr Trail after riding within the narrow confines of Long Canyon’s 700-foot high walls.

Day 2 is the “Queen Stage” (the longest day with the most climbing) of the Whiterock Canyons Tour.  If cyclists are able to pedal the entire 71 miles (including the 16 miles of dirt/pave’) they will have climbed over 7,000-feet in only 71 miles of pedaling!

This evening’s lodging is at the Boulder Mountain Lodge, a welcoming oasis of calm, comfort and luxury in an otherwise harsh environment.  From it’s western-eclectic log, stucco and stone architecture to it’s refreshing eco-tourism personality this place just feels good.  And with critically re-known Hell’s Backbone Grill on-site you’ll know why we visit the lodge not once, but twice this tour.

View Whiterocks Tour Day 2: Bullfrog to Boulder in a larger map

55 miles (excluding 16 unpaved miles)

4,556′ ascent

3,484′ descent

GOOGLE EARTH FLYOVER

Click here: Day 2 Route Flyover for a birds-eye view of the Day 2 Route in Google Earth. The link opens in another window. Click on “Download” or “Open”, then “Open” and the tour will start. Make sure speakers are on!  If you don’t have Google Earth you can download it here: Download Google Earth

 

Day 3: Boulder to Escalante, Utah (12-32 miles)

 

Today the Whiterocks Canyons Tour joins Utah State Highway 12.  If ever there was a road built for cycling, this may be it.  Highway 12 twists and turns and climbs and dives across rough desert topography.  The road sees little traffic and is in a word, simply spectacular.  From Boulder, Utah  we follow Highway 12 across the ridge of Hell’s backbone; an exposed piece of highway which drops hundreds of feet on either side.

Highway 12 traces the northern edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a 1.9 million acre spectacle of multi-hued cliffs and terraces with distances that defy human perspective.

After 12 miles we arrive at Calf Creek Recreation Area where bike shoes are exchanged for hike shoes.  Calf Creek is an enchanting desert oasis with lush vegetation, beaver ponds and after a 3 mile walk the year-round 126-foot cascading waterfall of Lower Calf Creek. In this desert paradise we spend a few hours in search of Indian ruins and petroglyphs while observing wildlife such as birds, deer and if very lucky, even mountain lion.

After the 6 mile roundtrip walk in Calf Creek cyclists can call it a day or challenge themselves with a 19-mile (including a 6-mile 1,000-foot climb) ride up and over to the Slot Canyons Inn Bed and Breakfast in Escalante, Utah

View Larger Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 4: Escalante to Bryce Canyon hike & optional return ride (49 miles)

On Day 4 cyclists enjoy Bryce Canyon National Park.  From the comfy confines of our lodging at the Slot Canyons Inn Bed & Breakfast and we shuttle in the morning to Bryce Canyon National Park for a hike down through the hoodoos and goblins that make the park so famous.

Although today is a rest day on the Whiterocks Tour where pedaling is not necessary, cyclists wishing to ride some or all of highway 12′s dazzling twists and turns (49 miles) back towards Escalante can choose to do so.

If time permits when returning from Bryce Canyon National Park, a side trip into Kodachrome State Park is possible.

Tonight we return for a second night at the Slot Canyons Inn Bed & Breakfast to refresh the body, mind, and spirit.

Star-gazers will delight in one of the clearest and darkest skies in the U.S. visible from our lodging in Escalante, Utah.

 

GOOGLE EARTH FLYOVER

Click here: Day 4 Route Flyover for a birds-eye view of the Day 4 Route in Google Earth. The link opens in another window. Click on “Download” or “Open”, then “Open” and the tour will start. Make sure speakers are on!  If you don’t have Google Earth you can download it here: Download Google Earth