Over the past couple years, a lot of mountain bike festivals have disappeared or gotten much smaller. People are traveling less, mountain bike companies eliminated demo programs, and other vendors are choosing to spend their marketing money elsewhere. Instead of giving up and shutting down, the organizers decided the 2026 Hurricane Mountain Bike Festival should return to its roots – showing off the unique Hurricane-Zion mesa trails and introducing visitors to our wonderful Southern Utah mountain bike community.
This year’s Festival was much smaller with only a few vendors and one bike company. We didn’t hear any complaints, though. The weather was wonderful, the riding was great, people made new friends, and everyone loved the lakeside Quail Creek State Park campground venue. Scroll down to the 2026 Hurricane Mountain Bike Festival Photo Gallery to see some pretty pictures of the venue.
Aside from a smaller footprint and fewer people, the biggest change this year’s Festival was the huge Saturday group ride at Little Creek Mesa. It may have been the largest group ride at Little Creek, ever. Everyone started together and then split up into a few groups, depending on rider level and what kind of riding people wanted to do. If you’ve never ridden Little Creek before, this is the way to do it. When you ride with the locals you get to see all the secret, extra-credit tech lines. You might even want to try riding one – we like to session the fun bits. Scroll down to the gallery to see all the Little Creek Mesa mountain bike ride photos.
After the ride, everyone hung out on the slickrock at the trailhead, telling lies, re-fueling with post-ride snacks, and rehydrating with cold drinks. Back at Quail Lake, attendees enjoyed a delicious jerk chicken dinner made by our Jamaican friend Sanchez, followed by a swag giveaway, our traditional log-pull bike race, and a bunny hop high-jump competition.
If you’re looking for a fun mountain bike road trip next spring, keep the Hurricane MTB Festival in mind. It may be a little more intimate than was. But it’s still the best way to enjoy Southern Utah’s world class mesa trails. It usually happens at the end of March with registration opening at the beginning of the year. For more information, visit www.hurricanemtbfestival.com.
2026 Hurricane Mountain Bike Festival Photo Gallery
