A superb shuttle option from the top of Guardsman Pass if you've already ridden the Wasatch Crest Trail one too many times.

Statistics

0 - 1

hrs

166

m

1,028

m

8

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

Have you ridden the Wasatch Crest trail so many times that you know it by heart? While that iconic shuttle route is tough to beat, this route, which similarly begins at the top of Guardsman Pass, offers some beautiful alpine views, but focuses more heavily on the descending, dropping quickly back down to the town of Park City. While the Park City trail network offers a never-ending array of options, this route follows Jupiter Peak Road to Dead Tree, Apex, Keystone, Webster Road, Link trail, to the Mid Mountain trail, to Empire Link, Daily Grind road, Prospect Ridge trail, and then the paved bike path back to the Park City Mountain Resort parking lot.

The alpine views up high and the sinewy black strips of singletrack through the aspen trees and wide-open meadows are more than enough reason to tackle this ride.

But when the singletrack points downhill, the high-speed descending will demand total focus, putting aspen trees and views of Park City completely out of your mind.

Dark black dirt makes for mad traction all the way down the mountain.

While some small rock gardens and root webs punctuate the singletrack, overall the trails are flowy and non-technical, making for a great intermediate-friendly shuttle run. The trails through Park City Mountain Resort are fast and flowy overall, but the fast straightaways have a tendency to end abruptly in switchbacked corners.

Most of the corners are now bermed, helping to conserve some speed.

Despite a few awkward turns, this ripping descent is guaranteed to put a smile on your face!