Bonneville Shoreline Rattlesnake Section

Looking north as we climb the switchbacks of Rattlesnake BST. Review and photos by Bruce on July 5, 2022.

Bonneville Shoreline Trail
Rattlesnake to Grandeur Peak Section

(includes Rattlesnake Gulch expert trail)

This section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) extends from the Rattlesnake Gulch trailhead in lower Mill Creek Canyon to the Grandeur Peak trailhead on Wasatch Blvd at the mouth of Parley's Canyon. The route from Parley's to Mill Creek includes a short section of the Mill Creek Pipeline trail.

The Old Quarry Road (aka Parley's Bench trail) goes one mile south from the Grandeur Peak trailhead. In fall 2023, the Grandeur Peak section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail was finished, and it includes the Parley's Bench trail. So the connection is now complete from the mouth of Parley's Canyon up to the Pipeline and then down to the Rattlesnake Gulch trailhead in Mill Creek Canyon.

A tame spot on the Rattlesnake Gulch expert trail, an alternate descending route.

Trailheads

Rattlesnake Gulch trailhead, looking north. The trail starts at the sign.

Rattlesnake Gulch

The Rattlesnake trailhead is 1.5 miles up the Mill Creek Canyon road from Wasatch Blvd. There are bathrooms. The trailhead is located about 3/4 mile uphill from the fee station. (Mill Creek Canyon is a US Forest Service fee area for vehicles. Bikes are free.) There's room for around 20 cars here, but it will fill up quickly on weekends. The combined Rattlesnake Gulch and Rattlesnake BST start on the west side of the parking lot, but separate within 100 yards with the BST forking left from the larger Rattlesnake Gulch trail.

Grandeur Peak trailhead, looking north.

Grandeur Peak

The Grandeur Peak trailhead is at the far north end of Wasatch Boulevard. The Old Quarry Road trail heads east uphill and will link to the new BST in around a mile. There are no services at this trailhead. The Grandeur Peak BST begins uphill to the east.

This trailhead also lets you take the paved lower BST (Bonneville Shoreline Trail) from the southern side of Parley's Canyon mouth. You'll cross the I-80 on-ramp road and I-80 itself on bridges, then connect to the Old Parley's Road trail which takes you to the southern end of the Parley's Pointe BST section. The trailhead has room for around 15 cars including roadside parking.

Rattlesnake BST

View up the BST shortly after splitting away from Rattlesnake Gulch.

The Rattlesnake BST was completed in fall 2021. It's an intermediate-level ride, 1.4 miles in length with 600 vertical feet of climbing.
At Mill Creek Canyon's Rattlesnake Gulch trailhead, the combined Rattlesnake Gulch and Rattlesnake BST trails leave the western side of the paved parking area, just north of the bathrooms. After around 100 feet, the BST forks away to the left at a break in the log fencing. (In July 2022, signs have not yet been installed.)

The trail begins climbing through a forest of oak, box elder, and maple. The forest gives way to open grass with groves of oak on a south-facing hillside. It will get quite warm on a summer's afternoon. The trail surface is smooth dirt with areas of loose limestone chunk.

Looking northeast toward the top of Grandeur Peak.

View west toward the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon as we climb up the switchbacks.

The Rattlesnake BST will gain 600 vertical feet, from 5350 to 5940 feet elevation. This occurs over 1.4 miles. I recommend this trail for intermediates or better, but strong beginners can make the trip if they walk their bikes around the switchback turns.
The rate of climb will be tough for many intermediates, especially with the tight switchback turns that often have a bed of loose limestone chunks in the turning path.

There will be views down into Rattlesnake Gulch, but there aren't open sight-lines out to the valley or to upper Mill Creek Canyon. These will have to wait until you reach the Mill Creek Pipeline trail.

Looking down to the bottom of Mill Creek Canyon in the bowl of Rattlesnake Gulch.

On the Pipeline trail at the top of the Rattlesnake BST.

At mile 1.4 from the trailhead, the Rattlesnake BST joins the Pipeline trail If you keep straight, it's 0.7 miles to the viewpoint over the valley. The Grandeur Peak segment will tie into the trail here once it's completed.

If your destination is uphill, a hard right will take you northbound on Pipeline. The expert-level descent down Rattlesnake Gulch is 0.3 miles away (see below). It's 3.9 miles to the Burch Hollow trailhead, and 6.5 miles to Elbow Fork. At Elbow Fork 100 yards uphill on pavement connects you to the Upper Pipeline , which takes you to Big Water .

Mill Creek Pipeline to viewpoint

Heading west on the Pipeline with Mount Olympus coming into view.

If you keep straight and left at the top of Rattlesnake BST, you'll head west toward the Salt Lake Valley on the Pipeline trail. It's 0.7 miles to the viewpoint.

The Pipeline is flat because it follows the path of an old water pipe. There's almost no elevation change as you ride west.
For now, you'll need to turn around at the viewpoint. The Grandeur Peak section down to the Old Quarry Road trail is not yet complete.

Almost to the viewpoint.

Grandeur Peak BST

The Grandeur Peak section of the Bonneville Shoreline was opened in fall 2023. It includes the old Parley's Bench trail, with new bench-cut singletrack extending further up the hill. It's 2.7 miles from the Grandeur Peak trailhead to the viewpoint at the western end of the Mill Creek Pipeline trail, with 950 vertical feet of climbing.

When riding uphill from the trailhead, there's an initial wide and steep area. Some days it will seem more like a dog park than a trail. The route will be defined better with time. Head directly east uphill from the parking area, then veer to the right as you find yourself on old doubletrack at around 0.2 miles.

The next half-mile is fairly flat as you pedal south on the old Parley's Bench. At mile 0.7 the new trail-cut veers uphill to your left.

The trail will now begin some serious climbing through switchbacks. Over the next two miles, it will gain 800 vertical feet at the government-approved maximum average climbing rate of 8%. As you gain elevation, take time to appreciate the views of the Salt Lake Valley.

At mile 2.7 from the trailhead, you'll arrive at the old Pipeline viewpoint. Turn to the left eastbound on the Mill Creek Pipeline Trail. In 0.7 miles, you'll reach the trail fork for the Rattlesnake portion of the BST, downhill to your right. The combined distance from the Grandeur trailhead to the Rattlesnake trailhead is just under 5 miles. If you loop back via the Mill Creek Canyon Road and Wasatch Blvd, the ride is 7.7 miles with just over 1000 vertical feet of climbing.

Rattlesnake Gulch Trail (alternate descent)

There are two entries into Rattlesnake Gulch, one on each side of the ravine. This is the west entry.

The classic Rattlesnake Gulch trail forks away from the Mill Creek Pipeline 0.3 miles from the top of the BST. This trail will drop the same 600 vertical feet as the BST, but it does so in only 0.7 miles.

This is an expert-level descent, with large embedded rocks, tight switchbacks, and log water-bars on a slope that averages 15%. In the technical areas the trail tends to be wide -- as hikers and bikes have dodged the obstacles over the years -- so you've got a few choices in picking your line.

Photos don't do justice to the boulders and slope of the descent.

Coming into a switchback.

In the old days, we used to climb up Rattlesnake Gulch with a bit of grunting and a lot of hike-a-bike. But with the completion of the BST, there's absolutely no reason to pedal up this trail.

Remember that hikers will be strolling up this trail. Keep your speed in check. Dust and loose pebbles make stopping difficult if you're riding fast. The log water-bars are one of the few spots where there's enough sight-line and mild enough slope to hop up in the air and safely recover.

On the lower slope, we're approaching two water-bars. The closer one is around 18 inches in height, suitable for a quick huck or even a fast roll-over.

Rolling into the trailhead.

As you approach the trailhead, the trail mellows. When you're looking uphill as you first start your ride up the BST, it might sucker you. Rattlesnake Gulch gets nastier the higher you go. So don't climb it.

Map of the BST from Parley's to Mill Creek

Map of the BST from Parley's Canyon to Mill Creek Canyon

Bottom Line: Good climbing option to get up to the Pipeline, for intermediate riders or experienced conditioned beginners.

Getting there: Get to Foothill Blvd on the east bench of Salt Lake City via I-215. Exit at 39th South. Take 3800 South (Mill Creek Canyon Road) eastbound into the Canyon. In 1.5 miles, turn left into the Rattlesnake Gulch trailhead.

Note: Mill Creek Canyon is a fee area for vehicles. On exiting the canyon, you'll need to pay $5 (2022 fee) by credit or debit card.

Riding resources for this trail:
GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
Area GPX multi track file
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to northern SLC resources