Anasazi Trails
The trails on the northern side of the Santa Clara river are collectively known as the Anasazi trails, and though there are specific trail names on each of the various trails, they are Paiute names and somewhat difficult to pronounce for riders who are not familiar with the region. The riding on this side of the river is also on a sloping mesa of shinarump, but the difficulity of the riding is quite varried from the begininer riding of the north to the more technical riding of the south.
The Anasazi trailhead is just off of highway 91 (Sunset Blvd) and offers ample parking and a toilet. The trail ascends a surface of packed road base switchbacking up to the ridge line 1.3 miles and gaining 300 feet in elevation. This trail permits access to the most concentrated series of petroglyphs in the entire region, and the hide and seek nature of discovering these ancient symbols is an awesome treat for kids. The trail continues uphill to the peak of the ridge along an old jeep road, then turning to singletrack for the final climb.
Descending down the south side of the area the technicality of the trails climbs significantly and begining riders will begin to need to dismount. There are numerous side trails that lead off of the main Anasazi ( Tempi’po’op) trail, which lead to a trail head called Tukupetsi at the southern end of the system.
All told, there are 14 to 18 miles of trails to ride on this side of the river, and as it is far less popular than the Barrel Roll system to the south, solitary rides are a more common experience, with hikers outnumbering bikers on any given day.