SXS Adventure Rally at Sand Hollow State Park
Moab’s Rally on the Rocks is the largest UTV jamboree in the west, and the promoters were looking for a venue for a late fall jamboree that would also satisfy the rock-crawling itch. Sand Hollow State Park has a great combination of red-rock formations, dunes and open desert, and it’s also the new home of the World Off-Road Racing Championship Series (WORCS). So, ROTR promoter Lanse Churnos teamed up with WORCS promoter Sean Reddish to put on the first annual SxS Adventure Rally, a three-day UTV jamboree in southwestern Utah.
Located south of Zion National Park, Sand Hollow State Park is one of the most scenic OHV areas in the country, and it’s the site of the Tri-State ATV Jamboree each March. Opened in 2003 as an official Utah state park, Sand Hollow is 15,000 acres of red sand dunes, sand washes, open desert and red sandstone formations, and there is also a large reservoir with beach camping adjacent to the Sand Pit Campground with 31 campsites.
LIKE AN OHV NATIONAL PARK
Locals are continually scouting new trails in Sand Hollow’s red-rock formations, and the SxS Adventure Rally had 15 guided rides each day, with 11 leaving from rally headquarters, which serves as the starting line for WORCS UTV, ATV and dirt bike races. Five rides are ranked Difficult: The Maze, Smurfette/Double Sammy, Sliplock/Johns Trail, Plan B and the Ledges. Four rides are Moderate: Upper West Rim, Milts Mile/Double Sammy, Fault Line/Lower West Rim and Toquerville Flats. Six rides are Easy: Leeds, Dinosaur Track, West Side, Gunlock, Utah Hill and Top of the Word Loop. We did Upper West Rim and the Maze, and the view from the escarpment overlooking Washington Valley and St. George was spectacular. On most of the more difficult rides, there are bypass routes for the hardest obstacles, and rally guides spot for ride participants and do a great job of leading and chasing each ride so that everyone has a good time and gets home safely.
DEMO RIDES AND SPONSOR/VENDOR SWAG
Rally vendors set up on Wednesday, and the $110 entry fee ($120 on-site) for the three-day adventure includes a T-shirt and hot breakfasts on Thursday and Friday cooked by the crew on Camp Chef propane grills. With full bellies, adventurers line up in the sand for daily rides and depart for challenging trails and majestic scenery. There is also open riding each day after guided rides return to base camp, and a raffle was held Friday evening with product swag from CST Tires, Discount Tire, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, HCR Racing, DWT, Maxxis, Ruthless Motorsports, Desert Bling, Method Race Wheels, Raceline Wheels, MIG Trailers, Z-Broz Racing, Ryfab, Rent Utah Toyz.com, Daystar and Camp Chef. Saturday’s breakfast was continental, because all three Camp Chef BBQ grills were raffled off on Friday, and there was a BBQ dinner Friday and Saturday during the raffles. And, throughout all three days, attendees got to demo-drive Can-Am, Polaris and Yamaha UTVs.
Although the SxS Adventure Rally crew doesn’t rent UTVs for the rally, there are local rental companies that do, so people can fly into Saint George, rent vehicles and lodging, and experience all Sand Hollow State Park and the SxS Adventure Rally have to offer. Plan ahead, as the 2016 SxS Adventure Rally will be held November 10–12.
CONTACT:
SHSP Visitor Center
3351 Sand Hollow Road Hurricane, UT 84737
(435) 680-0715
SxS Adventure Rally
(435) 215-9679
[email protected]
www.sxsadventurerally.com
ATV/UTV RENTALS/TOURS
ATV & Jeep Adventure Tours: (888) 656-2887
Ideal Sports of Southern Utah: (801) 718-9156
Red Desert Motorsports: (435) 674-2091
Southern Utah Adventure Center: (435) 635-0907
UT Power Toys: (435) 767-1869
UTV Adventure Tours: (435) 3134040
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