St. George is located in southern Utah, where spring/fall temperatures are perfect for hiking, biking and camping. Less than an hour from Zion National Park and only 2 hours from Las Vegas, St. George has become a beacon of sun and warmth for those looking to escape cold temperatures.

For us, it is like a bi-annual migration south (with the rest of Salt Lake) to play in the beautiful desert – and as we’ve been mountain biking more, we’ve learned there are a ton of kid-friendly, beginner-friendly mountain biking trails. So many in fact, that it has taken many trips to find the ones in this article!

This is not an exhaustive list.  Many of you have great tips and ideas as well. I invite you to share them in the comments below!

Family Friendly Biking in St. George, Utah

Bearclaw Poppi via the Bearclaw Poppi Trailhead

BearClaw Poppi / kids biking in Utah

Nothing but fun. 2.5 miles of mild uphill followed by flowy trails, jumps and drops on the down hill.  You can make this trail whatever you want. Need a short loop for toddlers or young kids? Stay on the lower 3rd. Have older kids? Lap the full loop (5ish miles).

Similar to flow trails at a bike park, Bearclaw Poppi is longer, has many options from green through black, and is a must-do for your family.

More Cowbell via the Jem Trailhead

More Cowbell trail, Southern Utah

Short (3 mile loop), we did it counter-clockwise, very limited elevation gain and great views!

What you should know? There is a down hill at the start and hence, an uphill at the end. The bulk of the trail is along a bluff, so if you have really young kids, keep them away from the cliff edge. At the end of the loop have those kids ring the cowbell! (Yes, there is a bell 🙂 )

Jem Trail (shuttled) via the Jem Trailhead

Jem Trail, Southern Utah Biking

The JEM trail is a fantastic family ride being that is it almost entirely downhill from the JEM trailhead. For this reason we suggest you shuttle it. (7 miles one way)

There are a few steep downhill sections at the start – one of which 90% of people will have to walk down. However, it is super short. The remainder of the ride is flowing and rolling single track through the desert. We did this ride with 7 kids ages 6-11. The end of the trail, at the very bottom, has sections of trail that are close to the cliff edge (though very pretty) so if you have really little kiddos, turn right before the gorge part and take the gravel road.

Pushing Tin via desert canyon trail parking

Pushing Tin trail, mountain biking Utah

This is a fun loop just south of St. George not far from the Airport. From this trailhead, there is a connector trail (fun and flowy) that leads to the loop. Total mileage is roughly 5 miles with rolling hills.

Most obstacles are short, so a beginner could quickly push their bike around and most the climbs are less than 3 switch backs long. Beware, the connector trail back to the trailhead is mostly uphill. So tired kids might be slow or need to walk a bit.

Prospector heading south from cottonwood trailhead

Prospector (South), St. George, Utah

This trail is mostly packed desert sand with short sections of deeper sand. It rolls gentle through the landscape.

We’ve only done the southern end of this trail, starting from the Cottonwood trail, and connecting onto Prospector.

Suggestions to add to your list but we haven’t tried yet:

Anasazi/Quail Creek Trail by Harrisburg – Pst! We heard there are dinosaur tracks. 🙂

South Lake Side Trail by Quail Creek Reservoir

Jem trailhead