I Street Mountain Bike Park

Overhead view of a tiny portion of the I Street park. Photos and confused ride by Bruce on September 13, 2021.

I Street Jumps

The I Street Bike Park is located at the top of the Avenues area of Salt Lake City. The riding area is only around 150 yards wide, but it's packed with multiple lines leading to tons of jumps. It can be reached directly from the 18th Avenue trailhead, or via the City Creek section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail .

While the park was intended to support riders of all levels, at this time there's very little that's appropriate for a beginner or even for most intermediate riders. For non-experts, it's almost impossible to descend any line without running straight into a jump you can't handle -- or getting in somebody else's way. Bottom line, if you aren't able to jump your bike, you will not enjoy riding here.

Side view of a gap jump with some serious throw.

Trailhead, looking north. The park is to the left, around the water tank.

The 18th Avenue trailhead on Hilltop Road gives you direct access to the park. There's room for around 10 vehicles here, and it fills up early with hikers. As you pedal from the parking area, keep to the left and curve around the water tank. The main entry (drop-in) to the park is on the opposite side of the water tank from parking.

In 2021, there's a picnic table and a trash dumpster at the main drop-in. There's no water or bathroom.

Arriving at the main drop-in.

Aerial view of the trails radiating out from the main drop-in.

From the main entry, trails fan out over 90 degrees. There are map kiosks at the main drop-in, the north acess, and the western BST (bottom) access. But there are no signs or trailposts that will help you while you're riding. (I did find one sign saying "up" but 30 feet later I was lost again while trying to find my way back to the top.)

You'll need to spend a bit of time here to figure things out. The kiosk maps at the drop-ins over-simplify the system. The ideal is to follow a veteran on his favorite lines. If you're all by yourself, well, good luck. These trails are total chaos. Like a pile of Ramen noodles dumped in the dirt. Lines go everywhere.

On the far south side, just leaving the main entry. These southern lines have some of the meanest jumps. I'd suggest you go a bit to the right and hit the trails down the middle of the park first!.

Three lines here.

The upside of all this complexity is that there's a hell of a lot here, in a very small area. The whole park is less than 1/10th mile top to bottom, side to side.

This is not a formal over-engineered park where every stunt was carefully planned and precisely placed, then set in stone for all time. The jumps were built by riders and are maintained by volunteer diggers. And it's constantly evolving.

And so, gentle reader, this trail review has no trail names or specific recommendations. I'll tell you how to find the place. Then you're on your own to find your favorite stuff.

Pick your drop.

A green route shown as "easy" on the northern side is cut off by a big trench as a gap jump is added.

The green "double slalom" is interrupted by this new huge "not green" gap jump.

Trailhead kiosk

Here's the kiosk map in 2021. For high-res version that will let you read the trail names, click here to open the map in a separate window But look between the lines at the gray satellite photo. See all those white areas that are trails and jump lines?

In addition to the main drop-in, there's a northern entry. From the trailhead, you can get there by continuing north 100 yards past the water tank instead of curving around the edge of the tank. Now look for a trail turning left that drops through a small dip to enter the riding area. Look for the map kiosk.

You can also reach this trail by taking the right-most trail from the main drop-in. This trail will traverse across a shallow ridge at the top of the park.

Middle of the park. Riding lines crossing and twisting.

Looking up at the entrance to the park from the BST.

The third entry to the park is at the bottom. Here the City Creek uphill-only section of the BST sends a spur through the log fence. Rather than enter here, I'd suggest that the BST is a good uphill route to take you back up to the top of the park after a run downhill. See the my map below for the trail alignments.

There's a small designated "beginner loop" at the bottom of the park, just inside the gate from the BST. Go ahead and check it out.

There's a bit of wood stuff -- some falling apart, some still solid.

The dual slalom trail, looking uphill...

and downhill.

The only on-trail sign I saw. But 30 feet later, I was lost again.

Bottom Line!

Fun stuff for truly expert riders -- youngsters who have yet to separate both their AC joints and who still own many non-broken ribs. And who have many fewer years of wear and tear than some of us. Expect to spend some time learning the lines.

I-street map

Getting there:
In northern Salt Lake City, turn off South Temple onto I Street northbound (uphill). Continue uphill until the road turns to the left and becomes North Hills Drive westbound. Follow it around the turn to go east again. It will then become 18th Avenue. Just after the church, watch for Hilltop Road on your left. Go up to the parking area.

No bathroom or water at trailhead.

Map note: the tracks on this map are simply my own meanders as I explored the park and do not correspond exactly to "official" trails.

Trail Resources!
GPS track file (right-click and select "Save Target as..."):
GPX multi track area file
Topo map region for printing: View
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to NE SLC resources