Gooseberry Mesa - Mountain Biking, photography, and more - Spring 2026
Sunset overlooking Zion National Park
Boy do I like Utah! What a beautiful state! April started out with a bang. I made my way to Utah to meet a friend on his way home from Moab. What a great adventure he had. I could not join, so I “settled” for a couple of days on Gooseberry Mesa. Pictured above is a photo from camp on Gooseberry Mesa. Photo captured at sunset looking over the Mesa and towards Zion National Park.
Gooseberry Mesa is located in southwestern Utah between the towns of Hurricane and Apple Valley. The Mesa is on beautiful Bureau of Land Management land. It’s a great place to spend a couple of nights. The views are incredible, and the mountain biking is world class (don’t google this, or do and let me know what you find). The northern rim overlooks Zion National Park which is located northeast of the Mesa. To get a great campsite with a stellar view, you need a little luck and some off-road capabilities.
Sunset overlooking Zion National Park from Gooseberry Mesa.
The Mesa is great for a hike or a campout, but mountain biking seems to be the main attraction with multiple trails catering to mountain bikers. The mountain biking is incredible. The rides are beautiful and challenging. The trails are technical. Blue on Gooseberry is just right for this solid blue rider. While I dipped my toes into some black diamond-rated trails (I’ve got the Stravas to prove it), any substantial length of riding on those trails was just too challenging for my poor conditioning and my acoustic bike setup.
What makes the riding so special is the fun technicality and beauty of the landscape. The views are pretty incredible too. What makes the riding so challenging, aside from its technical nature, is the frequency of punchy climbs, as the ride consists of a series of “rollers” throughout rather than a more traditional ride where one can bank some of the elevations gain and rip on a sustained decent. My heart rate spiked on every technical climb. Lots of walking on the climbs too, and just as my heart rate started stabilizing, it was time for another short VO2 climb. I need better fitness and skill, but still, the riding was perfect.
This was not my first trip to Gooseberry Mesa, but it was my first trip to Gooseberry in the spring. I took my flash to continue practicing my macro photography. Well… I guess it wasn't so much macro as it was plant portraiture (?). Most of the charismatic subjects were larger than a macro lens would demand, so I used my 85mm lens instead. A portrait lens for plant portraiture. I think the exercise worked out. I feel I got a better understanding of flash photography, and I was able to practice on a few beautiful subjects.
Death Camas (Toxicoscordion sp.).
The trip was a success. Good company, exciting and challenging rides, beautiful flowers, incredible vistas, fun off-roading, and pretty spectacular camping!
