Bonneville Shoreline
Orem to Pleasant Grove
(Provo Canyon to Battle Creek) |
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This
section of the Bonneville Shoreline trail connects the mouth of Provo
Canyon to Battle Creek Canyon in Pleasant Grove. It's a nice 4.5-mile
singletrack ride, nothing very technical, with views over the valley.
There are some sections, as you see in the photo, where the side-slope is
steep and will make kids and beginners nervous. Photo
looking south, as we approach the Orem Bench trailhead. |
| The trail has 650 feet of elevation gain, starting at around
5100 feet. You'll do this climb whichever direction you ride the trail.
(You'll do it twice if you ride the trail out-and-back.) The surface is
mostly dirt, but there are some areas towards the Orem end where there's
talus (broken rock).
The trail is quick and fun to ride, even if the scenery along the trail is relatively non-inspiring. This is
foothill scrub, typical for the western slope of the Wasatch. You'll
ride through grass with occasional sagebrush and isolated stands of scrub
oak. On a clear day, the views over the valley are nice, as you try to
identify "what's what."
Looking west over Lindon towards Utah
Lake. Photo May 2, 2006.
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| The point of this ride is that it's close to civilization.
You can easily hit this trail before or after work. And it's ready to ride
a couple of months before snow clears from the canyon trails. The
singletrack trail was in great shape and well-maintained when I rode it.
There's an alternate route that takes you though a maze of interconnecting
doubletrack on the Pleasant Grove end -- a rutted playground of ecological
vandalism awash with shotgun shells, broken glass, and beer cans. Large
boulders had just been moved into position to enforce the "no motor
vehicles" rule, so you should find things a bit prettier on the
"alternate route" in the future. |
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Most sections of this trail will clear of snow by
mid-March, although there will still be occasional snowstorms. Some muddy
sections will persist until May. In some years, horse riders may post-hole
the trail rather severely by riding in early spring while portions remain
deeply wet. Most riders do this as a 9-mile out-and-back.
But you can close a loop with city streets, or do a short loop via the Dry
Creek trailhead. Jackie enjoys a break
along the trail. We're on the descent towards Battle Creek Canyon. |
Riding notes, from the Orem
Trailhead:
0.6 trail crosses road circle at water tank
1.3 fork, keep R uphill
1.6 trail at Dry Creek trailhead
N 40° 20.51' W 111° 40.62'
continues by gate N of parking
3.? ST fork, go either way
R = less steep, tight switchbacks
turn 300 degrees when
trails join
L = straighter, steeper
next fork keep L (R =
return from other fork)
3.7 ST trail descends
Alt = find connector to DT for uphill route |
4.0 At gravel road
Right at paved road to go to parking.
4.5 At Kiwanis Park Completing a
loop via city streets:
From Kiwanis Park in Pleasant Grove
Go downhill (west) on 200 South
Turn left (south) at 400 East.
400 East becomes Canal Road.
Left on 1600 North
1600 N veers right (southward)
L on pavement just before cemetery
Follow road up to parking. |
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These photos are here for two reasons: (1)
This is the area where the upper alternate route hits the singletrack
climbing up from the valley. If you want to do the alternate path while
going north, watch for this torn-up area of illegal 4x4 activity and find
a way to link onto DT on your right. (2) Can you believe how irresponsible
some 4x4 drivers are? |
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Getting there: For the Pleasant Grove
trailhead, turn east on 200 South and keep going straight until the road
turns to gravel and ends at Kiwanis Park in Battle Creek Canyon. To start
the ride on the alternate route, find a singletrack climbing the hill at
the southwest corner of the parking area. For the official route, drop
back down the paved road 1/4 mile, turning left on a small gravel road
just before the first home. Watch for the singletrack 1/4 mile later on
your left. |
Orem trailhead: Drive towards the mountains on 800 North. At 800 East, turn left and drive north about 1
mile. Immediately past the cemetery, turn right (east) on Cascade Drive just
before the Y in the road and drive 1/2 mile, go up 2 short switchbacks, and
park just above the small brown building in the paved parking area. The
trail begins on the north at N 40° 19.514' W 111° 40.213'.
Alternate trailhead -- getting to the Dry Canyon parking
area: Turn east off State Street at 200 South in Lindon, which also
happens to be 2000 North for Orem. Keep straight as you approach the
mountains. When the road forks, veer left, then keep straight uphill. The parking area is at N 40° 20.52' W 111°
40.62'. |
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