Mill D North Fork Trail Guide

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Mill D North Fork
The Mill D North Fork trail is a very pretty singletrack ride. It's a tad on the technical side, with many roots and embedded rocks, so it's best for strong-intermediate or advanced riders. It's a great downhill, but a bit of a beast to climb up. So most riders take the road up to Guardsman, then drop off the Wasatch Crest trail to complete a loop using Mill D as the downhill. But the uphill is nice, too, if you've got the leg for it. Because this trail is very popular with hikers, you'll need to be extra careful and considerate.

Loop 1: Most bikers ride a loop by climbing the paved road from the trailhead. Turning left onto the Guardsman Road, they ride to the Wasatch Crest trailhead and climb Puke Hill. Just past the Desolation Lake overlook, the trail forks left to drop down past the lake. Keep left at the Dog Lake trail intersection. This gives 4 miles of kick-butt downhill. Total climbing is 2700 feet. To avoid the road ride and 1700 feet of climbing, you can leave a shuttle at the Mill D trailhead and drive up to the Wasatch Crest trailhead.
Loop 2: A fun but challenging loop option is to ride Mill D uphill, climb to the Wasatch Crest, then turn left and ride down the Great Western in North Mill Creek. After descending a few miles, we keep left at the trail intersections to ride past Dog Lake. Half a mile past Dog Lake, we turn right downhill to complete the loop. The climb to the Crest is 2400 feet. Add another 400 feet of climb to get back past Dog Lake. NOTE: Upper Mill Creek trails are CLOSED to bikes on odd-numbered days!
Epic Loop: For a truly worthy ride, head up-canyon on pavement to the Wasatch Crest as in Loop 1 above. But instead of dropping down the Desolation Lake Trail, continue north on the Wasatch Crest. Descend down the north side of Mill Creek, and when you hit the Dog Lake trail, climb 400 feet back up. Ride past Dog Lake, then turn right on Mill D after descending from the lake. NOTE: Upper Mill Creek trails are CLOSED to bikes on odd-numbered days!
Out-and-back: As an out-and-back to Desolation Lake, the trail is 3.8 miles each way, with a gain of 2000 feet. Starting altitude is 7300 feet. Add in a ride around the lake, and you've got a total of 8 miles. This option, and the Mill Creek loop option, are for strong climbers with good root-hopping skills.

Getting there: Go to Big Cottonwood Canyon (Wasatch Blvd and 72nd South) and drive 8.8 miles up from the traffic light. Park near the trailhead on your left. GPS N 40° 38.976' W 111° 38.884'.

Guardsman Pass trailhead: Ride up the road past Solitude Resort (about 6.5 miles). Just before you reach Brighton, the road to Guardsman Pass turns off on your left. Exactly one mile later (1.8 miles from the fork in the road), you'll see a dirt road on the left. GPS N 40° 36.817' W 111° 33.532'. Park along the hairpin turn and bike up the road.

Trail conditions change, and the layout of a trail may change without notice. Use this trail guide at your own risk.