There’s never been a better time to be a mountain biker in Utah. New trails are being cut every year from north to south, east to west and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. The explosion of new mountain bike-specific trails is so unprecedented that the TV show, KSL Outdoors, went to Snowbird and Moab to dig into the phenomenon, highlight awesome new trails, and discover the driving force behind singletrack coming to the slickrock.
First, Snowbird’s Big Mountain trail is an important moment as it’s the first, true mountain bike trail cut in Little Cottonwood Canyon. At over 7 miles long, The Big Mountain Trail starts at the top of the Snowbird Tram on Hidden Peak, and descends down into the Gad Valley. According to Snowbird, the Big Mountain Trail is one of the longest, continuous trails in Utah. The trail was designed and built by Alpine Trails, Utah’s own trail-building company who is responsible for such famous trails like Mid-Mountain Trail, Pinecone Ridge, and many of the trails in Draper’s Corner Canyon. The most exciting part? This is only a taste of what’s to come for mountain biking at Snowbird.
Down in Moab, over 100 miles of new desert singletrack has been built since 2010. That’s a huge accomplishment, and the BLM, which is spearheading this massive undertaking, has plans for a total of 150 miles. The video highlights Grand County Trail Mix, the non-profit organization that has been tasked with building this vast network of mountain biking goodness.
The episode aired on August 9, 2014. Also of note, I’m the producer of KSL Outdoors, so this is a shameless plug. For more, tune into KSL Outdoors every Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Midnight on KSL 5.