Solitude Mountain Resort has some great trails for mountain biking, including lift-served downhill. With 20 miles of trails, the ‘Tude may not have the massive network that Deer Valley boasts, but what Solitude lacks in trail miles, they make up for in spectacular views, lung-busting climbs, and some ripping, technical descents. Best of all, it’s relatively uncrowded so you’re rarely competing with other riders and hikers on the singletrack.
But figuring out the best way to mountain bike Solitude can be difficult. The easiest, obviously, is to ride the Sunrise lift with your bike, then bomb down Kruzr to the base, and do it all over again. But if you’re like me and enjoy the workout, the ascent is where it’s at. So here’s my favorite way to ride Solitude where I get the best bang for my buck on both the ascent and the descent.
First, I like to park at the west end of the Moonbeam lot, mostly because there’s a ton of space here and you can hop on a trail right from your car. Locate the Queen Bess trail and ride it west as it goes underneath the Eagle Express Lift. Soon after, the singletrack becomes a double track as it steeply climbs up alongside the bottom of Silver Fork and Honeycomb Canyons.
The double track ends where the singletrack picks up again on the left. From here it switchbacks through old-growth evergreens in nice shade until it comes to an intersection with the Serenity Trail. Make a hard right and keep going up Queen Bess. You can take Serenity up as well, but staying on Quess Bess gives you a fun, straightaway descent to a service road just below the Round House restaurant.
At the service road (called Raptor Road on the map), climb up it to the Round House, then continue east until it meets up with the Summit/Kruzr intersection. There is an especially steep hill right before this intersection that will seriously test your lungs and legs. Go left on Kruzr and climb it to another intersection. Right is a foot path to Lake Solitude, while left is the start of the Kruzr downhill. I like to go straight and climb to the top of the Sunrise lift. Now, you don’t have to climb to the top, but I like to for the view, and there are a few benches to sit on for a break and a bite to eat.
Once done with your break, ride back down to the last intersection, and make a hard right onto the Kruzr downhill. This is an intermediate/advanced descent with lots of rocks, roots, and sharp corners. be sure you have good bike-handling skills because this trail is not fast, but it will test your mettle if you are a beginner rider. Also, watch out for flying discs as the trail crosses many disc-golf holes.
Kruzr dumps you out at the bottom between the two base areas. Go right and grab a bite to eat and drink at the Solitude Village, or go left to the Moonbeam lot to your car.
There are many alternate options to this loop, but described above is what I’ve determined to be the best way to ride. Queen Bess is also a very fun downhill, and you can also climb up Serenity for variations.
Solitude may not have a lot of trails, but what’s there is quality, old-school mountain biking. I highly recommend it not just for the workout, but for the actual Solitude you’ll find there compared to other resorts with lift-served mountain biking.
Summer operations end on October 1st, weather and conditions permitting. A day ticket for the lift costs $20, or $12 for a single ride. Mountain bike rentals are also available at Solitude Village. For more info or to see a more detailed map, visit solitudemountain.com
Do you have a different way of mountain biking at Solitude? If so, let us know in the comments below.