South Draw: Pleasant Creek to Tantalus Flats

This is an out-and-back ride and distances listed are one-way. South Draw road is a rough 4x4 road where it passes through Capitol Reef National Park, so it makes for fun riding. The south start/end of the road is outside of the Park in Dixie National Forest. Portions are mellow dirt road but the steep, rocky/ledgy sections make for a hard climb and fun, fast descents. The downhills are really fun except for maybe the most extreme singletrack snob . There are even some rideable features here and there if you keep an eye out. Beautiful and big redrock views throughout. As usual, please be respectful of multiple uses and stay on trails/roads.

You can also ride all the way to or from the junction with highway 12 (Lower Bowns Reservoir access road) but the riding is not exciting from a pure mountain biking perspective, although it could make a nice portion of a tour. There are obnoxious sandy sections as well as improved dirt roads. A roundtrip from Pleasant Creek to highway 12 and back may take around 4-6 hours. Lots of climbing to get up to highway 12.

Access Info

The ride is an out-and-back that you can start from either direction but access is much easier from the Park (north) side. If you start on the north end in Pleasant Creek within the Park you'll need to pay to drive the Scenic Drive (it is fairly affordable and pretty). Park at the bathroom just before the road crosses Pleasant Creek. Pleasant Creek road is dirt but is low clearance, 2WD accessible all the way to the parking area unless it is muddy. South Draw road crosses the creek where you park (Pleasant Creek road becomes South Draw) and requires high clearance.

The access point is much different if you start on the south end in Tantalus Flats in Dixie National Forest and requires AWD/4WD, potentially high clearance, and involves driving on dirt/sandy/rocky roads for much longer. But, it is free. Sand can be fairly deep on the road through Tantalus Flats. Off of highway 12, take the dirt road towards Lower Bowns Reservoir and then you will turn off that road to continue towards Tantalus Flats. I am not outlining the full directions for that route but it is not difficult with a map or good phone app. The whole area is beautiful.