Also, you'll stare out over a vast region of mammoth terraces incised by rivers and bound by scarps called the Grand Staircase. In the fall of 1996, by presidential proclamation, Bill Clinton created the namesake national monument and forever preserved this unique landscape. When you're not gawking across the land, you'll be pedaling through the Paunsagunt Plateau's rich forests and stream-fed valleys. When they spied the Pink Cliffs, they applied simple but evocative names. You, too, will follow the footsteps of the Paiutes and stare with awe at bands of tribesmen that have been cast in stone.
Storm clouds gather over the Pink Cliffs.
There are no crushing climbs on this route, but several heart-pumpers just the same. Doubletracks are mostly packed dirt with minor ruts. Mostly, the loop is cruisey. The route rises to 9,394 at the Pink Cliffs themselves. Total elevation gain is about 1,600 feet.