Draper's Corner Canyon offers low-altitude, off-season
single-track that's a joy to ride. It's close to civilization, with many
trails to chose from. This page discusses the Corner Canyon and Creekview
Trails, which form a small loop that's perfect for a quick ride. The loop is
just over 2-1/2 miles. Lower Corner Canyon is one-way uphill and lower Creekview
is one-way downhill, so your ride will be clockwise.
Matt Flygare posts a turn on
the descent down South Mountain.
Dashing behind at is Jackie, Bruce's Jack
Russell terrier.
Photo January 29, 2000. Latest page update May 2017.
Some Corner Canyon trails are open year-round, regardless
of weather, while others will be temporarily closed when muddy. See the Corner
Canyon trail closure page for the status of your intended trail.
These trails are considered all-weather and are never closed. But
riding in squishy conditions can still damage these trails, so use good
judgment for the sake of your fellow riders!
Bruce heads uphill on the Corner Canyon trail in
2017.
This loop is early-intermediate in technical skill
requirement. There are a couple of tight turns, but nothing tricky. You'll
do 350 vertical feet of climbing during your 1.5 mile crank uphill, making
the pitch tolerable even for beginners.
Sally races
down the lower part of Creekview. 2012 photo.
First, a quick overview of the ride: From the
Equestrian Center parking, you'll cross (or go under) Highland Drive to
climb Corner Canyon. (The Lower Corner Canyon
Trail -- high on the east side of the ravine, closest to the homes -- is uphill-only!)
You'll take the broad Bonneville
Shoreline (BST) trail west uphill to Creekview. Once Creekview reaches
its top altitude, it's all downhill from there. Cross the bridge and take
the
one-way downhill portion of Creekview back.
Bruce on the upper part of Creekview, still heading a
bit uphill.
The Ride!
First, get to the Corner
Canyon trail. If you're at the main parking lot, you can go straight
across the street. Or, you can descend the paved path then make a hard
left turn toward the underpass. Upon exiting the tunnel, make another hard
left to climb up to the sidewalk and find the trail.
This
is what things look like in 2017. The tunnel takes you under Highland
Drive. On the photo's right, a spur from the Bunny Bradley trail joins.
(Bunny Bradley runs over top of the underpass along the white fence. The
uphill trail will be a hard left turn after you exit the underpass.
If you're in the Bike Park
parking area, take the Bunny Bradley trail eastbound. As you approach the
big parking area, but before you cross the creek area, drop down to the
left to the underpass.
Once you've found the trail and climbed through a series of turns, head
south up the canyon.
We've just left the sidewalk and are climbing up the
Corner Canyon trail.
Keep to the left and uphill. You'll pass the Carolina
Hills trailhead, then join a broad doubletrack continuing south. When you
reach a broad open area at just over a mile from the trailhead, keep to
the right and turn to the west uphill on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST).
Heading
uphill through large gambel oak -- and the occasional maple -- on Corner
Canyon.
A note on the trail options at this broad four-way: To
your left is the eastbound Bonneville
Shoreline Trail, which can take you up to Rattler.
(These are also all-weather trails.) Straight ahead is doubletrack that
can take you uphill to connect to Canyon Hollow
or Ghost Falls. To the right is the westbound
BST.
We've just left the broad BST to hit Creekview. Going
north.
After about 1/4 mile heading west, the Creekview
singletrack forks away on your right -- heading north.
Descending
Creekview. At the fork in the photo, you'll turn to the right.
Creekview will climb a tiny bit before beginning its
descent. Keep straight as a connector from Corner Canyon joins on your
right.
As you approach some homes with a connector trail going to the
neighborhood, turn to the right to continue descending.
Descending through a maple grove. Creekview has seen
a lot of smoothing and grade-control work recently, so it's a plush ride.
At the bottom of the hill, keep right as an uphill trail
from the Highland Drive underpass joins. Cross the bridge over Corner
Canyon Creek, then turn left onto the downhill-only section. (A right turn
takes you uphill to the Corner Canyon trail for another loop around.)
Rolling
a turn to head toward the bridge.
The one-way section will drop to a broad trail northbound
toward the tunnel. (This is the path of gas-line construction in 2016. The
trail will narrow with time.)
Just across this bridge is the trail fork. Right to
head back uphill; left to descend to Highland Drive.
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Bottom Line:
Good ride for beginning bikers who are improving their skills but won't
last through a long uphill grind. Great after-work outing.
Steve Argyle descends through a grove of twisted
gambel oak on the Creekview Trail, with Jackie as the official pace-dog.
February 5, 2000.
Riding notes, winter figure-8 loop:
0.0 LEFT uphill on ST as it exits tunnel
(straight = one-way return
route!)
0.4 Pass ST on R, keep L at intersections
0.6 ST joins DT, continue uphill
0.9 Pass BST (on L), veer R
1.0 Keep R on DT at fork
Becomes ST, follow either fork
1.3 Junction with Silica Pit Tr,
fork L
(R = Clarks Trailhead)
1.6 L on DT then keep straight
(after 200 feet, back on uphill
DT)
1.8 L on ST (climbs quickly)
2.4 Cross bridge, hard L on LCC trail
2.8 Back at tunnel
Bruce heads downhill on February 1st, 2000.
Facilities: There's a toilet at the upper
Ghost Falls trailhead (where the trail meets the Corner Canyon road and
connects to Jacob's Ladder), at the point where the Bonneville Shoreline
Trail meets the Corner Canyon Road, and at the Equestrian Center parking.
Water is available only at the Equestrian Center. There are no facilities
at Coyote Hollow.
Getting there: Take the Bluffdale exit from I-15 and turn
east towards the mountains on Highland Drive. Go straight past the railroad
underpass. Stay on Highland until you reach the parking area
for the Lynn Ballard park on your left. To find the trail, go to the
west end of the parking area near the trail kiosk. Drop down the hill on
the paved route, then make a hard left on a broad southbound trail. Go into the tunnel under the road. After
coming out of the
tunnel, turn left and climb back up. The uphill trail is directly across
from the entrance into the parking area (GPS N 40° 30.351' W 111° 50.721'). To
reach the trailhead from the north (Sandy area), take 13th East southward until it ends at
the stop sign just past the underpass. Turn left and drive 1/4 mile to the
main parking.
