If you want to ride bikes on tough trails come to Coe State Park in California. 87,000 ac of mid coast cattle country. Lots of trails and lots of up and down. No dogs however. The mid-pen area below San Francisco has miles and miles of bike trails. Gotta share with hikers and horses. Dogs allowed in most areas. Santa Clara county parks are dog friendly but San Mateo county is not. I agree with the post about need for controls for the heavily used areas. Too damm many people in Cal and a lot of them could care less about the environment.

Europe just doesn’t have the wide open spaces that we enjoy here. Sure, there are exceptions, but there’s a reason why so many Europeans feel the need to come over here…and tell us how superior they are. “hiker,” please stop complaining or please go back to Switzerland, or Germany, or -most likely-France. I think that the term “Ugly Americans” can be changed to “Ugly French.” Few tourists are as rude as the French-at least Germans learn to speak English extremely well.

Wow, Bill, you sure had your eyes open in Europe. Share with us which country you visited where the government ‘own practically everything’.

Much of Europe has a higher population density than most of North America – but not all of it. Utah and its neigboring states are great places to be – but so for the same reasons are the pyrenees, Sicily, the highlands of Scotland to name but a few. Or perhaps your tour bus didn’t get to those places.

>The biggest threat to groundwater are the people in their sensitive houses moving to the desert in drovesAgreed on that point.

Bill:

I meant to say are *necessarily* destructive.

> They graze where they shouldn’t

I read that as “anywhere”, which is the view of the crazy environmentalists (I bet a lot of them love their steaks). Let em starve while they freeze (or overheat) in the dark.

The biggest threat to groundwater are the people in their sensitive houses moving to the desert in droves, not the cattle.

Cattle aren’t destructive but are unsightly.

Tim, are you kidding? Cattle are extremely destructive. They graze where they shouldn’t, they stink, and most seriously, they really foul up the water table, esp. groundwater, horribly. They do this all the time out west on public lands, and it’s a major, major source of concern. So next time do some research before you say others are “crazy environmentalists.”

> Is the [horse] trail really a part of the wilderness?

Technically yes. Horses are allowed under standard designation of wilderness. That doesn’t mean horses aren’t destructive. They do stay on the trail. But there’s really two arguments here. One is with regards to Bryce, which is more of a park and not a wilderness and one is what should be allowed in wildnerness. Both I have strong opinions on, and may not even consistent opinions on. I’m definately not one of these crazy environmentalists who want to define wilderness boundaries on places they’d never been or maybe went hiking there once. I also really love certain places and want to be able to keep going back and not have them trashed.

Anyplace that has cattle with no bikes then there is something else going on, like “No Trespassing”, and I’ve never seen it. Most people work cattle with 4-wheelers. Cattle aren’t destructive but are unsightly. Even here in RI where I make my home on one side of the road is Chase Farm with horses. It isn’t overgrazed and is a nice bucolic typical new england field. On the other side is a state park with excellment mountain biking. Pretty much any drop than can be ridden has been ridden and the trails are making a mess of the park. What can you do?

Oh, and another thing-with Germans and other such foreigners coming over here and complaining all the time and boasting about how great their lame homeland is, think it might be time to call the Germsans the “Uglies,” rather than the Americans. Please go home.

It’s funny: I’ve been to europe and there seem to be more regulations and taxes than one can point a stick at. Everything there is taxed. The gov has controls on everything, partly because they own practically everything. Utilities, (esp. Telecommunications) roadways, cars, parking-it all sucks. It’s also amusing, given the amount of cheap or free stuff, subsidized by US taxpayers, that a foreigner can get for naught here and still complains about it. Be happy we let you into our wonderful country so you can escape your crowded, industrialized wastelands.

Philip,

In some regards, that’s why Clinton’s declaration of the Escalante park land status is not neccesarily a good thing. With designated status as a national monument, and perhaps eventually a Nat’l Park, comes more and more regulation. Southern Utah is an astounding place. I have dragged many friends and family members out there, including my husband on our honeymoon after getting hitched in Vegas. When I was out there with my Mom, the Goblin Valley State Park camp ground was full, so we pulled our rental SUV off to a clearing on BLM land and pitched a tent. Not something you can oft do in Massachusetts or Fairfax, VA (my residence). The vista’s are mind blowing. Get back there in October when the heat has abatted – just you and the German tourists on the trails.