Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

Grapevine

The Grapevine trail consists of a 2-track, dirt maintenance road to city water facilities but provides access to the start or middle of numerous trails in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and NCA.  These include the Bracken’s Loop, Sand Hill, Dino Cliffs, Prospector, and Church Rocks trails.  The Grapevine trail is located entirely on lands currently managed by the Utah School and Institutional Lands Administration (better known as SITLA or the Utah School Trust).  The trail is accessed off exit 13 of Interstate Highway 15 where parking is provided on a graveled area just off the north frontage road.  Vehicles should not enter the actual maintenance road since it is gated about ¼ mile up the trail with no reasonable turnaround option.  From the gate, it is still a short walk up the hill before a second gate with stepover is provided at the boundary of the Reserve.  This easy trail is generally level over its 2.6 mile length with an elevation change of 435 feet from start to end and a total up and down elevation change of 630 feet.  The trail itself offers little to visitors other than excellent views of mountain peaks and red rock canyons to the north in the Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness area and Dixie National Forest.  It is, however, a critical link between the trails noted above.  Those linkages make the trail popular for hikers, bikers, and equestrians alike.