Bonneville Shoreline Trail, southern Salt Lake City section
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The Bonneville Shoreline Trail is a series of trails along the slope of the Wasatch Mountains where the old shoreline of Lake Bonneville met the hills. Sections of trail are found from Ogden to Payson. The southern Salt Lake City section extends from just south of Little Cottonwood Canyon to Draper's Corner Canyon road. The trail is 3.6 miles long, for a 7.2-mile out-and-back ride (add 2 miles if you biked up Corner Canyon to reach the trail). This trail is fairly new, so there are still some rough spots. Watch out for small oak stumps at pedal-grabbing height. |
| Looking south along the trail, with southern Sandy and Draper in the background. Photo January 24, 2000 |
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| The trail can be ridden from either end. We usually pick up the trail from the Corner Canyon road and ride it as an out-and-back. The southern end is easy aerobic, intermediate technical. At Bear Creek, the trail climbs some strenuous switchbacks, then becomes substantially more technical. We'd rate the northern half of the trail as high-intermediate technical with short (walkable) sections of advanced technical. Although not a year-round trail, it's rideable during temporary winter thaws. In the winter, you'll tackle steep climbs in mud and snow, and slippery rocky surfaces. |
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| Above: On the northern half of the trail, there are a few tricky sections. Here Bruce prepares to plunge down into one of several ravines that cross the trail. January 24, 2000. Note 2006: The ravines plunges have largely been replaced by cushy bridges. |
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The trail begins in Corner Canyon as an easy double-track heading north
along the old Bonneville bench. After 1/2 mile, you reach single-track, which continues on
to the northern end. There are many stretches of easy cruising, but they're mixed in with
some tough climbs, rough rocky sections, and a few unrideable switchbacks. (The trail was
cut without giving allowance for the turning radius of a mountain bike. Near Bear Creek,
there are a couple of switchbacks requiring dismount and pick-it-up -- or a 180-degree
hop-turn. There's also a climb that's "logged" for horse-foot traction, making
it unrideable by bike.) Never mind the obstacles, it's fun anyway. Dominic Bria bikes in the snow. January 8, 2000 |
The trail winds into sharp small canyons under the shade of oak and maple, with a few cedars thrown in. As it comes back around onto the exposed mountainside, you'll enjoy great views over the Salt Lake Valley. In the late spring, you'll be treated to panoramas of blooming mule's ears, plus locoweed, lupine, paintbrush, and daisy. The Mad Scientist rolls down the trail, with Jackie following behind. The rock face is quartzite from the late Precambrian Era (over 500 million years ago, when only simple life-forms existed in the oceans). April 1, 2000. Photo by Mike Engberson. |
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On the south end of this section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, you're riding on alluvial deposits -- a mixture of rock, sand, and dirt washed down from the mountains into Lake Bonneville. Lake Bonneville existed from 1 million years ago until around the end of the Ice Age, 10 thousand years ago. From Little Cottonwood to Draper, you're riding on the face of rock lifted up along the Wasatch Fault. You'll pass rock faces and boulders of Precambrian Quartzite (over 500 million years old), and granite from the mid-Tertiary igneous intrusion of around 26 million years ago. (Unlike the fairly uniform limestones of the Wasatch Front in Utah County, the strata here have been warped by upwelling igneous material, so older rocks are exposed. The granite formed by this intrusion is seen in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Lone Peak, and Dry Creek near Alpine.)
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Getting there, Northern trailhead: Take Wasatch Blvd to Willow Park, about two miles south of Little Cottonwood Canyon on the east side of the road. From I-15, take the 90th South exit, which will turn into 94th south as it approaches the mountains. At the mouth of Little Cottonwood, turn right on Wasatch. The park is located on a curve in the road just past a large church on your left. From the parking area, bike towards the mountain on the paved path. After 100 yards, you should see a "Bonneville Shoreline Trail" sign pointing uphill (GPS is N 40° 32.333' W 111° 48.704'). |
| Above: Mike Engberson rolls over the Bear Creek Bridge with Dominic Bria in pursuit. Photo April 1, 2000 |
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Getting there, Southern end: Printable one-page
guide to this trail |
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