The much anticipated 9K Trail in Park City is complete, and it is awesome! As the name suggests, the 9K Trail roughly follows the 9,000-foot elevation contour line from Empire Pass in Deer Valley, west to Shadow Lake in Park City Mountain where it connects to the Blazing Saddle trail. Also of note, the 9K Trail is 5.5 miles long, which is about 9 kilometers. So 9K is about the most descriptive trail name in the whole Park City singletrack network.
9K Trail a Significant Addition to Park City’s Trail Network
Much like the famed Mid Mountain Trail, the 9K Trail traverses across the mountainside, providing linkups to many other trails that can be utilized for a variety of loop options. Mountain bikers and hikers can also just ride the trail as a nice out-and-back.
I rode the 9K Trail the weekend after its grand opening, and I am extremely impressed with the trail work that Mountain Trails Foundation has done here.
9K Trail from Beginning to End
The trail begins at Empire Pass above Deer Valley. From there it heads generally northwest along the ridge above the Daly Chutes and Empire Bowl. The views are most impressive the entire way as the path crosses open ski runs and winds through aspen and evergreen forest.
Soon after passing under the Empire Express chairlift, the 9k Trail intersects with the Black Forest trail. Riders can descend here for a challenging downhill. Black Forest is advanced with a very steep grade and innumerable root drops, rutted, loose dirt, and tight switchbacks in a thick forest.
Beyond Black Forest, the 9K Trail continues through dense evergreen forests as it climbs a few switchbacks before exiting below McConkey’s Bowl on Jupiter Peak. This section is where the trail builders really flexed their muscles. The ground is lousy with scree, boulders and rocks of all sizes. The path is chiseled and paved with the stones, smoothing out a rock garden that is challenging yet rideable.
After the rock garden, the 9K Trail climbs again, this time through lovely aspen groves that blaze with color in the fall. At this point, 9K connects with Apex, where you can descend down to Keystone and the rest of Park City Mountain’s trail network. A few pedal strokes beyond Apex, you’ll find a mining relic from Park City’s former life – an 1890’s-era ore bin that has been restored. It’s a cool structure to check out while taking a break from the ride.
Near the end of the 9K Trail, Shadow Lake appear below where the singletrack offers a sweeping viewpoint. After a few more switchbacks in Scotts Bowl, 9K ends where it connects with Blazing Saddle. At this connection, riders can climb Blazing Saddle to the bottom of Puke Hill for a ride on the Wasatch Crest or descent on Pinecone. Or, one could take Blazing Saddle down to Shadow Lake.
With the 9K Trail complete, there are myriad new ways to mountain bike or hike the Park City trail system. As an IMBA Gold Ride Center, I could not imagine Park City’s network to get much better. But Mountain Trails Foundation went and did just that by building a connector trail that will fundamentally change how we map out epic laps between Deer Valley and Park City Mountain.
For more information and updates about even more new trail construction in Park City, visit mountaintrails.org