REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

Salt lake area trails

2482 Views 30 Replies 15 Participants Last post by A.P.B, Aug 9, 2010

A.P.B

Discussion Starter · Jul 20, 2010

Going to be in the salt lake city area for a week or so .Looking for some trails to ride . Looking for all mountain trails. Well be bringing Dh and 6 inch travel bikes. Shuttling wont be and issue. Any suggestions well be great thanks: thumbsup:

Andy

1 - 20 of 31 Posts

chuky

· #2 · Jul 20, 2010

We might want to start a sticky titled:
"What makes you think that SLC has a bunch of great big bike/DH trails?"

It could go right under the "What tires for Moab" sticky.

There are good trails out there, but they are either trails we don't discuss online or they are hiking trails that really aren't ok to shuttle except late in the day, or they are super complicated link-ups of a bunch of trails to make something worth the drive.

DV has lift served options. A quick search will give you a sense of local regard for their system. Draper has a nice little DH specific system. Bob's Basin is good for a few pedal laps, but is best in the early morning.

SprungShoulders

· #3 · Jul 20, 2010

chuky said:
We might want to start a sticky titled:
"What makes you think that SLC has a bunch of great big bike/DH trails?"

It could go right under the "What tires for Moab" sticky.

I second the motion. :thumbsup:

...I'm not exactly sure how the pervasive rumor that the SLC area is some kind of riding mecca got started. :???: I was just in the Yukon, where there are better trails within any given five square kilometer area than there are in the entire SLC valley (and most of PC), and I fielded at least three inquiries along the lines of, "...oh, you guys have a bunch of gnarly cool trails down there, eh?". My standard reply was, "Please specify which alternate universe you're hearing that from. I'll visit it, and let you know."

I call it the "Moab Effect", i.e. the mystique surrounding Moab rubbing off on the rest of the state.

So, to all those wondering about SLC, bring your fully rigid 29'er and you'll be golden on at least 90%+ of the trails around here. A six inch AM bike is plenty for 99%+ of the remaining (legal) stuff. Want a "real" bike park to play in? Look elsewhere

All the potential is here, it's just not realized.

slcrockymountainrider

· #4 · Jul 20, 2010

If you're really nice you could try and get someone to show you Bobsled behind the University, but even that is a bit of a kill joy on a DH bike or even a 6" bike as it's as smooth as my taint after a painful visit to Neko's salon. There's a nice shot of Scott Markowitz (spelling?) riding the bit of single track near the entrance to BS in the new issue of BIKE magazine. That photo pretty much tells the tale of our humble state.

Last week I noticed a pile of DH bikes at the bottom of Mill D post ride. I'm guessing that group pushed those things for a couple of hours along the Crest to get a ripping 7 minute descent out that trail. Excuse me, probably a 20 minute descent with all the foot traffic (assuming any yielding took place).

wookie

· #5 · Jul 20, 2010

We might want to start a sticky titled:
"What makes you think that SLC has a bunch of great big bike/DH trails?"

It could go right under the "What tires for Moab" sticky.

Or, you could just ignore the redundant threads that seem to annoy you? You are not obligated or required to read and respond to every single post. Geez, lighten up on the guy.

Bortis Yelltzen

· #6 · Jul 20, 2010

wookie said:
Or, you could just ignore the redundant threads that seem to annoy you? You are not obligated or required to read and respond to every single post. Geez, lighten up on the guy.

That response is not very "Rick James" of you... :nonod: :skep:

slcrockymountainrider

· #7 · Jul 20, 2010

If one were so inclined (and lazy) they could ride the gondola at the Canyons and descend Holly's on their 6" travel All-Mountain shredder. Or you could pedal to the top and get your Sweatin' To The Oldies on before descending through all the moon dust.
I saw a hottie on a new Rocky Mountain Slayer awaiting such a ride a couple weekends ago after chasing some single speeders along the Trail Formerly Known As The Mid-Mountain. Maybe if you're fast you could catch her. Obviously I wasn't fast enough...

Idiot Boy 1

· #8 · Jul 20, 2010

Come on...

SprungShoulders said:
I was just in the Yukon, where there are better trails within any given five square kilometer area than there are in the entire SLC valley (and most of PC), and I fielded at least three inquiries along the lines of, "...oh, you guys have a bunch of gnarly cool trails down there, eh?". My standard reply was, "Please specify which alternate universe you're hearing that from. I'll visit it, and let you know."

SLC isn't Whistler. It may be the Moab effect or it may be the fact that SLC has the steepest skiing in the country that gives people the impression that there is a downhill scene here. Unfortunatly (or fortunatly) we aren't in Canada. Few places in the US have super knarly downhill trails. That said if one is creative and inclined to pedal a bike a bit uphill there is a ton of great rides with long downhills in the Wasatch. Sure, they arn't comparible to Whistler but what is? At least we aren't in Kansas or some other flat humid hell hole

slcrockymountainrider

· #9 · Jul 20, 2010

Idiot Boy 1 said:
Sure, they arn't comparible to Whistler but what is?

Two words: Downhill Domination on Playstation!

Ok, that was four words. Whatever.

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Pedalfaraway

· #10 · Jul 20, 2010

Riding in SLC.

First off I woud like to apologize for all of the useless responces and banter that people get on this forum. There is some useful info in there if you can pick it out.

SLCRM has a point and I believe is correct that most of the riding in SLC is going to require some (alot) pedaling so a DH bike might not be the best weapon. I would suggest checking out www.Utahmountainbiking.com and reading some of the trail descriptions and picking some rides there. There are some shuttleable DH rides if you know where to look for them. Have fun.

SprungShoulders

· #11 · Jul 21, 2010

Idiot Boy 1 said:
Few places in the US have super knarly downhill trails.

Been to the east coast?

Sure, what we have is nice enough from an XC point of view for (kinda) being in our backyard, but every time I pedal over an hour up Rob's/Colin's to Mid Mtn and then enjoy a whopping six minutes of kinda OK quasi-DH on the new "black diamond, experts-only" trail (which, literally three days after it opened was closed and re-routed half way down!!

:madman: ) that drops through the Canyons and intersects with the bottom of Holly's, I think to myself that with the steeeeep terrain the Canyons has access to they could build progressive gravity-fed fun to rival the best anywhere. But, they don't.

And being a Chicago native, I find it somewhat ironic that even the Windy City is going to get a full-blown bike park, while Salt Lake continuously ponders the important stuff, like how to keep alcohol out of the hands of consenting adults.

So, it's my advice to leave the DH rig at home, especially if you have a slack-ish 6in AM bike. You'll save yourself hauling the big rig around, and still be able to enjoy pretty much all the trails we have, Deer Valley included.

Bring an extra set of lungs if you're not used to prolonged climbing and/or the altitude, and a cattle prod to deal with the pesky hikers and single-speeders.

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A.P.B

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jul 21, 2010

Wow

Don't know if most of that was in fun or not. I havn't heard anything about the trails one way or another in the SLC area . That why I was asking . Going to be up that way visiting some people thought I would find out what was around . Sorry to aggravate the locals . If any of you come down to Az we well treat you right :thumbsup:

selector

· #13 · Jul 21, 2010

A.P.B said:
Don't know if most of that was in fun or not. I havn't heard anything about the trails one way or another in the SLC area . That why I was asking . Going to be up that way visiting some people thought I would find out what was around . Sorry to aggravate the locals . If any of you come down to Az we well treat you right :thumbsup:

I ain't no DHer and I don't know/care what "all mountain" means... I'm all XC and I can get all I need right here in the valley or up an adjacent canyon.

If you want to ride, there are a gubillion trails in or very near the SL Valley.

Draper Corner Canyon (a city park)
Solitude (yes, the snowboard area)
Wasatch Crest (just up the street from Sol)
Yellow Fork (south west corner of the valley)
East Canyon (a tiny bit out of the SL valley)
Temple Quarry (base of little cottonwood canyon)
Bobsled et al behind the U
BST
On
and
On
and
On

If you wanna ride, PM me and let's chat. :thumbsup:

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jon.moab

· #14 · Jul 21, 2010 (Edited)

A.P.B said:
Don't know if most of that was in fun or not. I havn't heard anything about the trails one way or another in the SLC area . That why I was asking . Going to be up that way visiting some people thought I would find out what was around . Sorry to aggravate the locals . If any of you come down to Az we well treat you right :thumbsup:

Ignore all of the perceived aggravation, several locals have nothing better to do than complain about things!!! This mentality is not shared by the SLC biking community. There are tons of great trails which afford excellent views/riding experiences. As others have mentioned, be prepared to pedal. If you are ok pedaling, you will love the riding here. Utahmountainbiking.com is a great resource. You may also want to check out some of the trails north of SLC, such as:

Mueller Park to Rudy's Flat (ride on a week day, morning if possible)
Snowbasin
Southern Skyline to Lewis Peak
Northeyn Skyline to Ben Lomond

Make sure you ride the Wasatch Crest trail. It will not provide a gnarly downhill, however the views will be unlike anything you have ever seen. You will want to shuttle this trail and can descend Millcreek Canyon to lengthen the ride.

If the whiners above don't like the riding afforded by the SLC area, they should move elsewhere. There are plenty of us who love the local trails!

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Pedalfaraway

· #15 · Jul 21, 2010

He means Millcreek canyon

You can go down the pipeline trail in millcreek canyon. You can also climb up to dog lake from the bottom of the crest and then down Mill D trail back to big cottonwood. There are lots of ride options.

Bortis Yelltzen

· #16 · Jul 21, 2010

jon.moab said:
Ignore all of the perceived aggravation, several locals have nothing better to do than complain about things!!! This mentality is not shared by the SLC biking community. There are tons of great trails which afford excellent views/riding experiences. As others have mentioned, be prepared to pedal. If you are ok pedaling, you will love the riding here. Utahmountainbiking.com is a great resource. You may also want to check out some of the trails north of SLC, such as:...

I think the point made by the "complainers" had more to do with the lack of DH/shuttle type rides than the SLC MTB riding in general. I think most of the aggrivation is about how much better things "could be" than they are. Not that things suck, because there is a lot of great riding. But be prepared to pedal and a 40 lb DH sled with a single ring isn't going to be a ton of fun on 99% of the trails here, and the 1% that it will be fun on are mostly kept on the DL by the "brocals".

jon.moab said:
Make sure you ride the Wasatch Crest trail. It will not provide a gnarly downhill, however the views will be unlike anything you have ever seen. You will want to shuttle this trail and can descend Immigration Canyon to lengthen the ride.

If the whiners above don't like the riding afforded by the SLC area, they should move elsewhere. There are plenty of us who love the local trails!

Please explain. Ridden Crest to Mill Creek canyon countless times, but not sure how to connect it to Emigration Canyon. And Dog forbid someone doesn't agree that SLC riding is mecca and perfect the way it is and shouldn't change. As a mtb rider you should thank the people out there looking to add trails and improve things, the first step in doing that is speaking up about trails and features that are lacking... which can be called complaining I guess...

The old "if you don't like it move" argument is gheyer than AIDS and about as cool as "I know you are but what am I"...

My $0.02...

BY

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chuky

· #17 · Jul 21, 2010

jon.moab said:
If the whiners above don't like the riding afforded by the SLC area, they should move elsewhere. There are plenty of us who love the local trails!

Reading comprehension is weak on this forum. No one said they didn't like the local trails. Many of us moved here for the trails. What we did say is that somehow, somewhere, Northern Utah has gained a reputation as a place where you should vacation with your DH bike, which is really not a great plan.

While DH friendly trails do exist, they are either illegal, unofficial, short, hard to find, poorly maintained (DV, looking at you here) or they require a lot of pedaling. None of which is particularly friendly to Joe Kansas coming out here looking for his big bike stoke.

Now, if you wanted to ask me about the best singlespeed friendly trails in N. Utah, I would have a long list, and would probably include several of DV's so-called DH trails, as I have found them to be quite fun on the hardtail lately...

jon.moab

· #18 · Jul 22, 2010

It has nothing to do with reading comprehension. I fail to see the utility in being hostile to someone who is genuinely seeking advice/recommendations.

@BY

There is a huge difference between pointless bickering and a general lack of consideration and actually advocating and working to create new trails.

wookie

· #19 · Jul 22, 2010

It has nothing to do with reading comprehension. I fail to see the utility in being hostile to someone who is genuinely seeking advice/recommendations.

Well said!

SprungShoulders

· #20 · Jul 22, 2010

jon.moab said:
It has nothing to do with reading comprehension. I fail to see the utility in being hostile to someone who is genuinely seeking advice/recommendations.

No, it has EVERYTHING to do with reading comprehension. The original poster stated he was bring his 6in AM and DH bike. Advice was then offered-up that with a 6in AM bike you can ride 99.9+% of all legal trails in/around the valley. A DH bike is overkill, unwieldy, and if you're going out of your way to pack said bike from AZ to SLC, you're wasting your time and effort.

It was then observed that, somehow, the SLC valley has gotten a bogus rep as a place to bring a DH bike. A few observations as to why that might be were made. No hostility. No bickering. People honestly have a much different opinion of the quality of the trails here depending on what you're looking for. That's it!

...And anyone who reads more than three threads from this forum should know that much of what is said is done with tongue firmly planted in cheek. It shouldn't be a tremendous mental strain to read through the white noise to extract the pertinent info.

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