FATMAP by Strava

Wasatch Crest -> Park City

Brighton and Solitude

Park City and Deer Valley

Salt Lake City

Gorgeous ridge top singletrack riding with a ripping descent to finish—the best trail in Park City!

Mountain Biking Difficult

Distance
22 km
Ascent
327 m
Descent
1.2 km
Duration
1-2 hrs
Low Point
2.1 km
High Point
3 km
Gradient
Wasatch Crest -> Park City Map

Flowy ridge top singletrack with jaw-dropping views of Big Cottonwood Canyon and the Park City region make the Wasatch Crest trail the most memorable mountain bike trail in Park City. With such a short shuttle up Guardsman's Pass, it's hard to wrap your head around how quickly you end up in the middle of absolutely nowhere—but soon you're surrounded by nothing besides jagged mountain peaks.

Description

The red dirt and rocks along these mountain tops provide an interesting accent to the high-speed riding, as it's very different than the dark black dirt in Park City proper.

Overall this trail is flowy, but the flow doesn't last—an extremely technical, rocky descent along the ridge known as "The Spine" is absolutely brutal, but can be walked by intermediate riders. Again the singletrack switches back to flow.

The route shown here finishes by descending through the Canyons Resort down the Park City side. Never fear: instead of dropping into the uber-gnarly downhill-only bike park, the route sticks to classic intermediate/advanced singletrack. Despite not necessarily being a legit bike park trail, the singletrack here is often chunky and rutted, with log drops and rock gardens interspersed. The high amount of traffic definitely shows in the trail wear.

Note that the Wasatch Crest has multiple options for the final descent. Several trails drop toward Park City, but one of the most popular descents actually drops down the other side of the mountain, all the way to Salt Lake City. If you're riding the Wasatch Crest, make doubly sure that you're descending down the correct side so you successfully end up back at your car and don't get stranded.

Difficulty

Difficult

Mostly stable trail tread with some variability featuring larger and more unavoidable obstacles that may include, but not be limited to: bigger stones, roots, steps, and narrow curves. Compared to lower intermediate, technical difficulty is more advanced and grades of slopes are steeper. Ideal for upper intermediate riders.

Extreme Exposure

4 out of 4

Some trail sections are extremely exposed where falling will almost certainly result in serious injury or death.

Remoteness

4 out of 4

In the high mountains or remote conditions, all individuals must be completely autonomous in every situation.

Best time to visit

between July and September

Features

  • Flow
  • Technical
  • Shuttle-run
  • Drops
  • Roots
  • Rock Slabs
  • Rock Gardens

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area