Navajo Lake Trails

Navajo Lake sits on the Markagunt Plateau east of Cedar City, a small alpine lake at about 9,000 feet on the UT-14 corridor. A perimeter trail circles the lake, and several USFS singletrack and forest roads connect to nearby lakes and meadows. The riding is high-elevation, summer-only, and informal — the area is more often used for fishing, camping, and family hikes than for destination mountain biking.

A perimeter ride at altitude

The lake-perimeter trail rides as a relaxed blue-grade loop with a few rocky sections and several short climbs. The grade is gentle enough for intermediate riders, the surface drains well after rain, and the elevation makes the riding cool when the desert below is unrideable. Most riders combine a Navajo Lake loop with a stop at one of the nearby Markagunt overlooks for a midday rest.

What the network is and isn’t

The Navajo Lake area is not a formally developed bike trail network. Some sections of the perimeter trail are hike-only by signage, others are open to bikes, and the boundaries shift year to year as USFS management updates. Visitors should check current USFS designation before riding and stay on signed-bike sections.

Where it sits in the 435

Navajo Lake is part of the broader Markagunt Plateau summer-riding circuit — Lava Flow, Yankee Meadow, the Brian Head trails, and the Navajo Lake perimeter. None of them on their own are destination networks; together they make Iron County a viable summer mountain bike home for riders who otherwise drive north to Park City or south to Hurricane in the cooler months.