2023 Fall Gateway to Canyon Country

Idaho with whom he had worked in
the past, and they spent a week mapping
out how the whole biking scenario
would work. The black-diamond
sections more than doubled the trail’s
length from the original 5 miles to
nearly 11 miles.
“When they were done, I was blown
away at how amazing of a trail system
that we now have,” Cormier said. “I’m
absolutely ecstatic with how it turned
out.”
Hansen, whose experience as a trail
builder dates back 40 years and spans
locations throughout the United States,
first visited Page in November 2022,
just prior to the time Cuddy Mountain
Trail Company bid on the project.
Before then, Cormier had already
been consulting with Hansen over the
phone to get the information she needed
to write the grant proposal, including
how much it would cost to develop
and build the trail system. Once the
City of Page was awarded the grant,
Hansen decided to bid on the project.
During that first trip to Page, Hansen
walked about 1 mile of the proposed
trail with Cormier.
“It was so unique compared to anything
I’ve done in the last 40 years.
I’ve probably done some kind of work
30 Gateway to Canyon Country
on a thousand miles of trail, and I said
to myself, ‘I just want to do this trail
because it’s different than anything
I’ve ever done,’” Hansen said.
What was “unique” was the amount
of slickrock.
“You just don’t see that opportunity
very often. It’s something that mountain
bikers are just craving, something
that’s challenging, something that’s
different,” Hansen said.
“There’s so many things you can do
with rock that you can’t do with dirt
because it doesn’t erode and it provides
a unique experience for mountain bikers
and a more challenging ride that is
environmentally friendly, too, because
they don’t leave any marks, there’s no
big erosion. People will travel for this,
I guarantee it.”
Hansen added that he has a nephew
who has been a serious mountain biker
his whole life who lives in Salt Lake
City, Utah, but who occasionally travels
to Page – nearly 400 miles away –
for his work as an attorney for the National
Park Service.
“He came down when we were just
getting started [on the trail project] and
he looked at what we were doing. He
said, ‘I can guarantee people will come
from Salt Lake to ride this and spend
the weekend,’” Hansen said.
Indeed, feedback from Page-based
mountain bikers who have ridden Red
Mesa Rim Trail has been exceedingly
enthusiastic and positive.
“The locals who have gone out there
have said, ‘Wow, these are trails that
we spend three hours driving to, and
now they’re in our backyard. This is
incredible,’” Cormier said.
One of those cyclists is Jerod Viers,
who said the Red Mesa Rim Trail is a
great improvement for recreation in the
City of Page.