Bruce rolls past a rock outcrop on the way down Lehi's Dream. Review ride on September 30, 2024.
Lehi's Dream DH
Lehi's Dream is a one-way downhill route in the Traverse Mountain trail system. The trail starts at the highest point of the Mayors Trail and descends to join Mo-mentum in Steep Canyon above the Fox Canyon trailhead. This is an intermediate descent overall, with some quick challenges that require confidence and good skill.
Lehi's Dream is 1.8 miles long. The additional descent on
Mo-mentum adds 0.4 miles down to Sensei. Over this 2.2 miles, you'll drop
from 6400 feet elevation to 5550. This yields an average grade of only 8%.
At this elevation, and with some north-facing slopes, the expected riding season will be late May through October.
Looking down a rock ramp. The trail is generally fairly easy riding, punctuated by intermediate-level challenges.
The trail is machine-built, with tall banks on turns and a reasonably-generous turning radius.
Lehi's Dream is an upper-intermediate level DH overall. Most
of the trail is relatively easy non-technical riding. But there
are a couple of rock drops that require expert skill. There are two short
alternate expert lines -- featuring a rocky chute and a rock drop -- on
the way down. Both of these will be on your left, and are marked by signs
to keep out the unwary.
The climb to the top of Lehi's Dream from the Fox Canyon
trailhead via Lolo's is 3.5 miles with 900 vertical feet of climbing. The
total ride will be just under 6 miles. For a second lap, consider an
alternative route climbing
via Mo-mentum, Traverse Traverse, and northern Mayors Trail.
Heading towards the top of Lehi's Dream via the Lolo's route.
Trailhead and connections
Looking west in the trailhead parking lot. The trail entry is the paved ramp, turning to dirt as it curves to the right uphill.
Fox Canyon trailhead
The main access point for those who drive to the Traverse Mountain trails is the new paved trailhead in Fox Canyon. From Traverse Mountain Blvd turn onto the Fox Canyon road and drive to the top of the pavement. There's parking for around 20 vehicles, with a toilet and other amenities planned. The trail entry is on the northern wing of the parking complex. At the northwest corner, find a paved strip leading uphill to a dirt doubletrack (which then turns to the right uphill). Follow the dirt road 100 yards uphill to where the Sensei trail crosses.
The main access point for those who drive to the Traverse Mountain trails is the new paved trailhead in Fox Canyon. From Traverse Mountain Blvd turn onto the Fox Canyon road and drive to the top of the pavement. There's parking for around 20 vehicles, with a toilet and other amenities planned. The trail entry is on the northern wing of the parking complex. At the northwest corner, find a paved strip leading uphill to a dirt doubletrack (which then turns to the right uphill). Follow the dirt road 100 yards uphill to where the Sensei trail crosses.
Bruce heads uphill on Lolo's Trail.
Depending on your ride plan, you can reach the top of
Lehi's Dream by riding Sensei in
either direction. Southbound, you can ride Sensei to Lolo's, then climb to
Mayors Trail and pedal to the top of the DH.
Riding north, you can connect to Mo-mentum then Traverse Traverse. At the ridgeline, fork to the right on Mayors Trail and climb to the top of Lehi's Dream
Trail fork between Mo-mentum and Traverse Traverse, looking east.
Via Mo-mentum
You can take Mo-mentum either direction to reach Traverse Traverse, which will then take you to Mayors trail. Both put you at the bottom (north) end of Mayors trail. From there, you'll climb Mayors to the top of Lehi's Dream.
(1) Western route: On the dirt road above the Fox Canyon trailhead, turn left on the singletrack Sensei trail. When you reach Mo-mentum at mile 1.2, turn right. At the next trail fork at 1.8, keep left uphill on Traverse Traverse and pedal 2.1 miles. Turn right on Mayors at 3.9 miles from the trailhead. Now pedal 1.7 miles to the top of Lehi's Dream.
(2) Eastern route: Climb the dirt road from the Fox Canyon trailhead, but turn right on Sensei. After 0.1 mile, turn left uphill on Mo-mentum. Climb 1.8 miles, then make a hard right turn onto Traverse Traverse heading east. Go another 2.1 miles to Mayors trail at the ridgeline. Turn right and climb 1.7 miles to the ridgeline then transfer to Lehi's Dream.
You can take Mo-mentum either direction to reach Traverse Traverse, which will then take you to Mayors trail. Both put you at the bottom (north) end of Mayors trail. From there, you'll climb Mayors to the top of Lehi's Dream.
(1) Western route: On the dirt road above the Fox Canyon trailhead, turn left on the singletrack Sensei trail. When you reach Mo-mentum at mile 1.2, turn right. At the next trail fork at 1.8, keep left uphill on Traverse Traverse and pedal 2.1 miles. Turn right on Mayors at 3.9 miles from the trailhead. Now pedal 1.7 miles to the top of Lehi's Dream.
(2) Eastern route: Climb the dirt road from the Fox Canyon trailhead, but turn right on Sensei. After 0.1 mile, turn left uphill on Mo-mentum. Climb 1.8 miles, then make a hard right turn onto Traverse Traverse heading east. Go another 2.1 miles to Mayors trail at the ridgeline. Turn right and climb 1.7 miles to the ridgeline then transfer to Lehi's Dream.
Eastbound on Mayors Trail as we approach Lehi's Dream.
Via Lolo's
You can reach the southern end of Mayors trail riding Lolo's in either direction. From the Fox Canyon trailhead, turn to the right from the doubletrack on Sensei. Climb 1.3 miles, then make a hard left onto Lolo's eastern end. Continue the climb for another 1.4 miles to Lolo's highest point, then make another hard left turn onto Mayors trail. Pedal 0.6 miles to a ridgeline area -- with a doubletrack to your right -- where Lehi's Dream forks downhill to the left.
Note: if you decided to climb the western side of Lolo's, it's 1.3 miles from Sensei to Mayors trail.
You can reach the southern end of Mayors trail riding Lolo's in either direction. From the Fox Canyon trailhead, turn to the right from the doubletrack on Sensei. Climb 1.3 miles, then make a hard left onto Lolo's eastern end. Continue the climb for another 1.4 miles to Lolo's highest point, then make another hard left turn onto Mayors trail. Pedal 0.6 miles to a ridgeline area -- with a doubletrack to your right -- where Lehi's Dream forks downhill to the left.
Note: if you decided to climb the western side of Lolo's, it's 1.3 miles from Sensei to Mayors trail.
On Ann's Trail at the fork where Traverse Traverse climbs up to the ridge to the west.
From Ann's Trail
On western Ann's trail above Draper, go to the trail fork for Traverse Traverse. This is found 1.2 miles above the western end of Ann's, or 0.9 miles west of the fork between Ann's and the Maple Hollow TH connector trail. (If you started at the Maple Hollow trailhead, it's 2.0 miles to Traverse Traverse.)
Turn uphill and ride the "wiggles" up to the top of the ridge. At mile 1.3 from the trail fork, you'll reach a doubletrack on a ridgeline. Cross over, then turn to the lefty onto Mayors trail. Ride 1.7 miles south and uphill to the top of Lehi's Dream.
On western Ann's trail above Draper, go to the trail fork for Traverse Traverse. This is found 1.2 miles above the western end of Ann's, or 0.9 miles west of the fork between Ann's and the Maple Hollow TH connector trail. (If you started at the Maple Hollow trailhead, it's 2.0 miles to Traverse Traverse.)
Turn uphill and ride the "wiggles" up to the top of the ridge. At mile 1.3 from the trail fork, you'll reach a doubletrack on a ridgeline. Cross over, then turn to the lefty onto Mayors trail. Ride 1.7 miles south and uphill to the top of Lehi's Dream.
The Deer Ridge doubletrack, seen while climbing to the northeast.
From Deer Ridge Drive (Maple Hollow TH)
At the west side of the trailhead, there's a singletrack called Highland Connector forking to the left from the Maple Hollow connector trail. Ride 1/10th mile to Deer Ridge Drive and turn right uphill. Stay on Deer Ridge until you reach a saddle around mile 2. Fork right downhill and coast 1/4 mile to a gate. Lehi's Dream is to your right, just past the gate.
At the west side of the trailhead, there's a singletrack called Highland Connector forking to the left from the Maple Hollow connector trail. Ride 1/10th mile to Deer Ridge Drive and turn right uphill. Stay on Deer Ridge until you reach a saddle around mile 2. Fork right downhill and coast 1/4 mile to a gate. Lehi's Dream is to your right, just past the gate.
The lower entry to Beware of Doug, clockwise.
Many riders will divert onto the singletrack Beware of Doug
while connecting through from Maple Hollow. Consider doing a loop-de-loop
around before progressing on.
One mile into the climb up Deer Ridge, turn left on a smaller doubletrack. In 1/4 mile, the Beware of Doug trail crosses. You can go either direction. The left side is a bit shorter and more direct. Be sure you're not blundering onto a hiking-only trail, which also crosses the doubletrack at this same spot.
Lehi's Dream DH
Here's the drop-in, with Mayors Trail on the right and Lehi's Dream at mid-left.
The top of Lehi's Dream forks away from Mayors Trail at the
ride's highest elevation. The trail fork is designed with the expectation
that you'll be arriving via the shortest climb: Sensei to Lolo's to
southern Mayors Trail then eastbound to the saddle where Lehi's Dream
starts.
If you're arriving via Mayors from Traverse Traverse, you can swing onto the wide doubletrack to the right to make a turn to position yourself for the drop-in.
Lehi's Dream is 1.8 miles long with 750 feet of elevation
loss over its course. In general, the trail has a gentle downhill grade
with brief dirt plunges and rock roll-downs.
Lower Mo-mentum will add 0.4 miles of gentle downhill and another 100 feet of elevation loss. Remember that Mo-mentum is a two-way trail! Stay in control and be prepared to stop! When you hit Sensei, you can fork left for another lap, or go right to return to the trailhead.
Steeper ramps alternate with long areas of gentle descending.
Approaching a banked 180-degree turn.
The route is machine-built with engineered highly-banked
turns and a broad riding surface. In September 2024, I found the turns
were pretty solid. The rare spots where my tires slid in loose crud was on
the oak-dodging wiggles. These will firm up over the winter.
There are two alternate expert lines. Both of these fork
away to your left, and are marked by signs. The first is at mile 0.4 and
the second at mile 1.2.
The overall ride is upper-intermediate, but many intermediate riders will choose to walk a couple of rock areas.
Rocketing down a straight-away section.
Handlebar view of the toughest spot. It's easier if you enter on the right, then angle to the left as you drop down.
The meanest rock drop is a 30-foot ramp at around 45
degrees. There's a stair-step effect that will get you bouncing and
invites an endo. But the biggest issue with this drop is that it turns
fairly hard to the left at the bottom. So your tendency to try to control
your speed will get you in trouble.
My suggestion is to take a far-right entry, then begin to angle to the left across the rocks. This completes half of the turn before you hit the bottom, so you can let the bike bounce and roll.
The ride is not all downhill. There are a couple of
stretches where you'll need to pedal.
There's no shuttle route for this ride. You'll need to earn your vertical. The trail was designed for all-mountain bikes, not big gravity rigs. There are no engineered jumps or stunts.
Rolling down the trail!
Looking down Fox Canyon from the trail.
The terrain starts out as mature oak and maple forest at the
top. About half-way down, the slope gets warmer and dry. Here there will
be sage meadows and dwarf gambel oak.
I'd suggest that you try the ride with both clockwise (Mo-mentum,
Traverse Traverse, and northern Mayors) and counterclockwise (Lolo's, and
southern Mayors) loops.
The maples are just beginning to show their fall colors during this late September ride.
Bottom Line!
Very fun downhill romp. Long sections of easy cruising, with occasional challenges that are easier than they appear as you first approach them. I recommend a gentle scouting ride first, then you can let go on your second run.
Very fun downhill romp. Long sections of easy cruising, with occasional challenges that are easier than they appear as you first approach them. I recommend a gentle scouting ride first, then you can let go on your second run.
Most of the trail looks like this: broad smooth ribbon with a gentle downhill slope.
Area Map
Getting there, Fox Canyon:
Get onto Traverse Mountain Blvd in Traverse Mountain. North of the elementary school, turn onto the Fox Canyon road and drive to the top of the pavement. There's parking for around 20 vehicles, with a toilet and other amenities planned. The trail entry is on the northern wing of the parking complex.
Maple Hollow: At the 4-way stop at the top of Suncrest, turn west on Deer Ridge Drive. To to Elk Glen Drive and turn right, then quickly left into the parking area.
Get onto Traverse Mountain Blvd in Traverse Mountain. North of the elementary school, turn onto the Fox Canyon road and drive to the top of the pavement. There's parking for around 20 vehicles, with a toilet and other amenities planned. The trail entry is on the northern wing of the parking complex.
Maple Hollow: At the 4-way stop at the top of Suncrest, turn west on Deer Ridge Drive. To to Elk Glen Drive and turn right, then quickly left into the parking area.
