2023 Hurricane Mountain Bike Festival Photo Gallery by Photo John

By John Shafer (Photo John) — In late March, mountain bikers travel from all over to attend the annual Hurricane Mountain Bike Festival. The gathering takes place in Hurricane, Utah, near St. George and Zion National Park. With a mix of singletrack and slickrock mesas, including legendary Gooseberry Mesa, the Hurricane MTB Festival offers world-class mountain biking surrounded by spectacular Southern Utah scenery. For the twelfth annual Hurricane MTB Festival there were all kinds of vendors, including bike companies, cycling clothing, protective gear, mountain bike components and more. Activities included mountain bike and E-MTB demos, group rides, games, giveaways, a BBQ dinner and mountain bike shuttles to selected trailheads.

Usually, the weather in Southern Utah is perfect in the spring with cool nights and daytime temps in the 70s or 80s. Not this year – this was the coldest Festival, yet. On the first morning, Festival attendees woke up to two inches of snow on the mesas. The wet conditions required some adjustment to the demo schedule and shuttle destinations but riders were out on the trails by early afternoon. The conditions may not have been the most comfortable, but everyone had a great time and the chilly temps and snowy scenery definitely made it a memorable event. Statistically speaking, the weather is almost certain to be better for next year’s Festival.

For more photos of the 2023 Hurricane MTB Festival, check out the photo gallery on the Festival website.