View southwest from the Lake Loop trail over Wilkinson Reservoir, with Mount Ogden in the background. Photos and ride reviews by Bruce on June 15, 2022.
Mountain Green Trails
Mountain Green's trail system is located in The Cottonwoods residential area. While much of the riding seems remote and wild, you're never far from Silverleaf Lane, the main road. There's a bit over 8 miles of singletrack here, mostly beginner to easy-intermediate in tech requirement. The trails are at around 5100 feet elevation, with an expected riding season of late May through October.
Here's a reasonable plan for a ride that hits most
everything. It's a counter-clockwise loop that ties the trails together
with a few short bits of pavement. Depending on whether you do every DH
route at Launchpad, loop the Farm or just climb uphill, and climb to the
overlook, your ride will be around 12 miles and 1800 vertical feet of
climbing.
OK. Park at the top of Wilkinson Reservoir and catch the connector trail. Go left on Lake Loop to head north and it will turn into Silverleaf. Fork right on Park Meadow. When you hit the top of Launchpad, turn left downhill. The Launchpad trails rejoin at Silverleaf near the pond. Turn left uphill and follow Silverleaf back to the Park Meadow fork and go back uphill. Lap Launchpad on a new path if you want. At the north end of Park Meadow, turn left and find Cobble Creek on the paved road. Follow Cobble Creek around to Willow Creek road. Go uphill on the road and find Adrenaline at the back end of a tiny park on your right. Take it east to Silverleaf Drive and go right a tiny bit on pavement to find Middle Crest. Descend Middle Crest and follow the paved road down to Willow Creek then turn left downhill. Find the Farm trail on your left at Sage Crest Road. At the top, turn right and go out to Silverleaf Drive and go right again. Link up with the paved trail. When you see singletrack on your right uphill, hop onto the West Silverleaf trail. When it ends on paved trail, cross the road and climb up a bit. When you see singletrack trail on your right, follow the Lake Loop over the dam and uphill. Loop around Honeyhole, then continue north on Lake Loop back to the parking connector.
Area map of Mountain Green trails.
Trailheads
Looking toward the reservoir from Silverleaf Drive. Don't block the gate.
There are NO formal trailheads at this time. There's also no off-street parking that I could find. Rather
than annoy a homeowner by unloading in front of his house, I suggest that
you park north of
Wilkinson Reservoir off Silverleaf Drive. There's room for 6 cars in the
area in front of the
gate. Go toward the gate and turn left uphill on the connector trail.
In 1/10th mile the connector
will reach the Lake Loop trail.
You can also link to the paved trail from here. It crosses Silverleaf Drive just a bit downhill.
Another option is just a tiny bit further up Silverleaf Drive. A gravel road heads uphill on
the right, with a wide shoulder area that can fit a couple of cars. From
here, the trail is
about 100 feet up the doubletrack, with The Lake Loop heading south (right)
and the Silverleaf
trail going north (left).
Roadside parking.
Silverleaf Riding Area (bottom to top)
The Lake Loop
The Lake Loop
Heading south above the reservoir when starting from the lake parking area.
From either parking area on Silverleaf Drive, you can head south on The Lake Loop. It passes
above the reservoir then descends to cross the dam before rolling around
a small hill to end
on the paved Silverleaf trail. The Lake Loop trail is 0.9 miles long and
has connections to
the Honeyhole Loop and the Silverleaf Overlook trail. There are a couple
of unofficial trails
in the area west of the reservoir, but the main path should be obvious.
There's a bit of up-and-down riding on Lake Loop. Turns are slow and swooping. The trail surface
is smooth and the ride is suitable for beginners.
Rolling into a few meanders.
Junction (currently un-marked) of the western side of the Lake Loop with the Silverleaf paved path.
At its far end, the Lake Loop trail ends on the paved Silverleaf path. Downhill will take you
across the street to the western Silverleaf singletrack trails, while
uphill will take you
along the reservoir on the paved path to cross the road near where you
parked.
When The Lake Loop trail is taken in the other direction (from the paved path back to the uphill
side of the reservoir), the ride has some modest climbing. There will
be the option to loop
around the Honeyhole trail (see below). You can also do a short up-and-back
to the Silverleaf
viewpoint.
After passing over the dam, we're climbing up toward the Honeyhole loop.
Northbound above the reservoir. We'll connect to the Silverleaf trail in about 1/2 mile.
Do not trespass onto the monster trail system that you'll see to the east of the Lake Loop
and the Silverleaf viewpoint. It's not for bikes anyway.
Honeyhole Loop
Trail fork on the north end of the Honeyhole loop, seen when arriving riding southbound.
The Honeyhole Loop is a fun option off The Lake Loop trail. The uphill side is a series of
meanders as it climbs to an old lake bench then descends.
The loop is 0.5 miles around, with 100 vertical feet of climbing and descending. Although the
trail surface is smooth, I'd give this option an intermediate-rider rating.
You'll enjoy views over the lake and of mountains in every direction. You'll rejoin the Lake Loop trail only 1/10th mile from where you left it.
A banked turn near the top elevation of Honeyhole.
Northwest over the lake. Lewis Peak.
West toward Ogden Canyon. Mount Ogden and Lewis Peak.
Silverleaf Overlook
Looking south as we hit the trail fork for the overlook. The carved-up area seen above the trail fork is private property. A careful look will show the features are way too big, and the slope too mellow, to be a mountain bike course. It's obviously for motos and it's off-limits. Don't Go There.
The Silverleaf overlook trail is a very short trail extending from The Lake Loop uphill to
an overlook area. It's 1/10th mile. The trail fork is 0.2 miles north
of the Honeyhole Loop
trail on The Lake Loop.
It's reasonable to skip this bit of trail. The overlook view isn't that much more awesome than
what you'll see from the trail fork, although from the overlook you can
see the bench and hills
to the east.
View from the overlook.
Silverleaf Trail
Looking north at the spot where The Lake Loop trail turns into Silverleaf as it crosses a gravel road.
The Silverleaf trail is the continuation of the Lake Loop trail northbound. It will climb roughly
parallel to Silverleaf Drive but with a series of climbing turns to gain
elevation more gently.
The trail is easy to ride with no technical features.
The trail will gain around 200 feet of elevation before descending back toward paved roads.
Shortly after the trail fork for Park Meadow, Silverleaf will pass the
pond and arrive at Park
Meadow Drive just uphill from the Silverleaf Drive roundabout.
Wasatch penstemmon blooms at the trailside.
Looking southwest as the trail takes a climbing meander.
The terrain is mostly sage and scrub, with serviceberry bushes, occasional maples and a bit
of oak. In late spring, you'll be treated to blooming Wasatch penstemmon
and mules ear.
The bottom of Silverleaf is your route for connecting back to Park Meadow when doing laps on
The Launchpad (see below).
Descending down toward the pond, where the Park Meadow trail awaits. Or you can continue downhill to the paved road.
West Silverleaf Trail
(unofficial name)
Climbing along the paved path shortly after starting the trail from the downhill end.
The bottom of this trail is found where the paved Silverleaf path crosses Silverleaf Drive
downhill from the reservoir. The trail starts west, right where the paved
trail from the reservoir
makes a T intersection with the paved path right along the road. It will
then turn and meander
uphill, heading generally north uphill.
This segment of trail is exactly one mile long, with some up-and-down riding that add up to
just under 200 vertical feet.
Rolling around a knoll of sage, wildflowers, and cheat grass. Nice view.
We're near the trails high point, heading generally northbound. We'll descend through those trees.
The riding surface is smooth with no significant technical challenges. There are some steeper
parts that make this an early-intermediate ride, but it can be handled
by strong beginners.
After the initial climbing, the trail descends back toward Silverleaf Drive. At mile 0.6 from
the origin there's a trail fork with a short connector descending to the
paved path along the
road.
Looking back uphill at a banked turn during the descent -- or as you'd see it if you were taking the trail from the uphill end.
Rolling through a bit of a dip shortly after passing the trail fork.
The continuing trail -- to the left at the fork -- runs another 0.4 miles winding uphill.
Although you'll end up back at the paved path along Silverleaf Drive, the trail will climb
up through some meanders. (Note that on my recommended loop ride, you
take this trail the other
direction, downhill. But it's good either way.) The west Silverleaf singletrack
will end on
the paved trail at each end, which you'll use to head for your next singletrack
segment.
More climbing coming up as we head north..
Park Meadow Trail
Passing by the pond near the trail fork for Park Meadow.
The Park Meadow trail begins by forking off the Silverleaf Trail just uphill from its end on
Park Meadow Drive. From the road, it's 0.1 miles to the trail fork. (On
Silverleaf, after you
pass the end of The Launchpad downhill flow trail, ignore the first branching
path heading
straight uphill and keep to the right on the main Silverleaf trail.) Fork
hard left onto Park
Meadow.
After 0.3 miles of gentle climbing, Park Meadow arrives at the top of The Launchpad, a set
of three downhill flow trails that descend back to Silverleaf near Park
Meadow Drive. A loop
downhill and back to the top is a bit over 1/2 mile each. Keep right and
uphill to continue
north on Park Meadow.
A bit of elevated wooden trail crossing a stream area.
Still heading north on a long traverse.
Park Meadow will make a long traverse northbound over open hillside. Park Meadow is exactly
one mile in length with less than 100 vertical feet of climbing.
At the northern end, the trail ends on what is currently a dirt road. (It appears that this
area will be developed, so you may find paved road when you ride.) To
link to Cobble Creek,
turn right, then continue the same direction on paved road. You'll find
Cobble Creek in 0.2
miles on Silverleaf Drive, on your right where the road crosses a raised
area.
Looking south on Park Meadow.
Launchpad DH Flow trails
Here's the entry to the flow trails. To the left is the first option. We're looking down the second option, which splits around the middle of the photo. The continuing Park Meadow trail is just out of sight to the right.
The Launchpad is a set of three downhill flow trails that run from the Park Meadow trail to
Silverleaf near the pond south of the roundabout. The trails are intermediate
in technical
difficulty. Each is around 0.2 miles long with around 75 vertical feet
of elevation loss.
A loop from Silverleaf, up Park Meadow, then down any of the
three flow trails would be around 1/2 mile.
1. The first fork you encounter
off Park Meadow will be the leftmost trail. It wiggles downhill through
banked turns and has some baby table jumps. In spring 2022, the bottom 150
feet has washed out and is a boulderfield.
2. The center option drops away at the
trail-post 20 feet after the first fork. Keep left as the trail splits 40 feet later.
About 1/3 of the way down there's a 50-foot alternate line that may
sucker you into thinking there's a whole 'nother trail there.
3. The
rightmost option forks to the right off the center trail just after you drop off Park Meadow.
All the trails have a similar feel during their short descent.
Looking down the middle option at an A/B trail split. Note the healthy thistles crowding the riding line.
Rolling through a banked turn.
These trails aren't long or exciting enough to be destination DH flow trails. At the time of
my ride, they don't appear to see a lot of use. And the overgrowth of
monster thistles on these
trails certainly won't encourage more tires. Unfortunately, thistles LOVE
disturbed soil, and
there's nothing more disturbed than an engineered DH trail. I expect that
the local trail-lovers
will be eliminating the thistles in time, but in the meantime ride it
anyway. Just adds to
the challenge.
Cobble Creek
Looking north over Cobble Creek from its origin on Silverleaf Drive.
Cobble Creek starts on upper Silverleaf Drive. It drops down to follow a creek north around
a hill then go southbound. After descending a bit along the airport runway,
it ends on Willow
Creek Road.
Cobble Creek is 1.4 miles in length. When done east to west, there's around 150 feet of elevation
loss, but a bit of up-and-down riding too.
Rolling a banked turn in an area crowded with willow.
We're southbound at the moment as the trail has completed a semicircle.
The few creek crossings have nice wooden bridges. There will
also be some woodwork to cover seasonally damp areas.
At mile 0.9 riding westbound there's a trail fork. The left fork takes you quickly up to Willow Creek Road, while the right fork descends to the valley.
Heading southbound, there's another fork at mile 1.1. Take either fork; they rejoin in 1/10th mile.
Cobble Creek ends on Willow Creek Road. From here, you'll take pavement to your next trail.
You can pedal uphill 0.2 miles to catch Adrenaline for the full tour,
or turn right 100 yards
to catch the climbing trail through the farm for a shorter ride.
At the trail fork for the connector. Cobble Creek continues down through these two wooden sidewalks to head south near the airport.
East-west neighborhood trails
Adrenaline
Adrenaline
Starting eastbound on Adrenaline.
Adrenaline is the northernmost of the neighborhood trails. It runs from Willow Creek Road to
Silverleaf Drive. It's 0.5 miles in length with around 150 feet of overall
climbing when done
west to east.
On the west end, Adrenaline starts at the back of a small park (with no path connection from
the sidewalk). It climbs up to a low ridge and follows it east.
Looking west from the ridgeline on Adrenaline.
Approaching the homes on Silverleaf Drive at the eastern end of the trail.
Adrenaline ends on the sidewalk along Silverleaf Drive. To link up to Middle Crest, just turn
right and go 100 yards downhill and watch for a trailpost on your right.
Middle Crest
We're heading southwest on Middle Crest, doing a zigzag with the three trails between Willow Creek Road and Silverleaf Drive.
Middle Crest starts on Silverleaf Drive and heads west. It ends on Hidden Hills Drive, which
will then descend to Willow Creek Road. As with Adrenaline, the trail
corridor follows a ridge
and is so wide that it seems like open space.
The dirt portion of Middle Crest is 0.6 miles in length. It will lose around 100 feet of elevation
as it goes from Silverleaf Drive to Hidden Hills Drive. If you're following
my recommended
loop, you'll turn right on Hidden Hills, left on Willow Creek, and then
at the intersection
with Sage Crest, go left uphill through "the farm."
Descending toward Hidden Hills.
"Farm" loop from Hidden Hills
(official
name unknown)
View from the top of the loop. If the gate is closed, do NOT enter these trails.
The trail I'm calling "the Farm" runs from Willow Creek Road to upper Hidden Hills Drive near
Silverleaf Drive. The trail is now on private property, but at this time
public use of the
trails is being allowed.
There's a fairly straight path on the south with a gentle but steady rate of climb. This trail
is 0.6 miles with 120 vertical feet of elevation gain from west to east.
Descending the southern side. I liked this option for climbing because it was straight with a gentle rate of elevation gain. (I finished my exploration ride with 16.5 miles and 2100 vertical.)
On the northern side of the little valley.
On the northern side of the small valley is a newer second trail that creates a loop with the
original. This trail is 0.5 miles long, with much of its climbing coming
abruptly at the eastern
end. It's a harder ride than the southern option. (Note: when you hit
a trail fork in the middle,
don't go uphill. The trail climbs to private property.)
Bottom Line!
The Cottonwoods Trail System in Mountain green is well built, with smooth machined trails that
are easy for strong beginners and intermediates to ride. The sheer number
of "trail pieces"
can be intimidating, but it's possible to put a nice ride together. The
most satisfying riding
will be found in the area east of lower Silverleaf Drive, which can be
combined with the newer
trail west of Silverleaf. If you enjoy your ride, please consider a contribution
to the Mountain
Green Trails Foundation.
Looking north on the singletrack west of lower Silverleaf Drive. Here the wiggles traverse the hillside to join the paved path.
Map of Mountain Green
Getting there:
On I-84 eastbound in Weber Canyon, take the Mountain Green (ski areas)
exit. Keep straight as you pass the road to Snowbasin and Powder Mountain.
Just over a mile later, turn left on Silverleaf Drive to enter The
Cottonwoods residential area. Go uphill 0.6 miles. When you see a gravel
area in front of a gate at the uphill end of the reservoir, find a spot to
park. Don't block the gate. The connecting singletrack trail is just left
of the gate.
Alternate: there's another bit of roadside parking just 100 yards uphill
on the side of a gravel road. Here the trail is about 100 feet uphill,
crossing the gravel road.
A reminder that, if you choose to park elsewhere, you should avoid parking in front of private homes or in construction zones!
No water or bathrooms at trailhead.
Riding resources for this trail:
GPS track files (right-click, "Save as..."):
Multi-track GPX area file
Above map in fresh window for printing: View map
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Ogden area resources
GPS track files (right-click, "Save as..."):
Multi-track GPX area file
Above map in fresh window for printing: View map
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Ogden area resources
