Green River, UT — The Athena Bike Trail will officially open on March 17.
The city of Green River received a grant from the National Park Service in 2014. The Green River Trails Committee was formed and a master plan has been in the works since. The completion of the Athena Bike Trail is the fruition of that effort.
The trail is a 5.5 mile loop for intermediate and expert riders. It is the first of several trails the committee is working on.
The trail is named for the Athena missile, an intercontinental missile that was regularly launched from a former complex, the Green River Test Site, during the 1960s.. When the military closed the site in the 1970s, the buildings and infrastructure were largely abandoned and left undeveloped. The Green River Trails Committee hopes that the former complex will now transition into a launch site for mountain bikers and hikers. A series of trails are in the planning stages.
The Athena trailhead lies adjacent to the former missile base, just off the I-70 exit, at a place known to locals as “tent city” for the concrete pads that once housed dozens of military tents. From this trailhead, bikers will climb nearby hills and buttes as they meander to a point that overlooks the Green River and the San Rafail Swell. Bikers who are well acquainted with the terrain of southern Utah with enjoy both familiar and unique features along the loop.
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