Flintstone Trail

The Flintstone Trail is a mile of expert downhill singletrack with multiple man-made stunts. It lies on the northeast corner of Lake Mountain, with a trailhead in Eagle Mountain's Mountain Ranch Bike Park . A loop ride is 4.7 miles. Vertical change is 500 feet, to an altitude of 5400 feet.

Flintstone was closed for several years (starting in 2017) but now seems to be open for bicycles and hiking. Note that Shooting Gallery (south of Flintstone) remains closed.

It's probably possible to shuttle this ride with a drive around the northern end of the mountain. Below I have driving instructions to reach the singletrack via Hidden Canyon Road. (See GPS multi-track file.)

There's also a singletrack route from the Pony Express Parkway using the Hidden Canyon and Cow Tracks Trails, with a bit of doubletrack at the end. See the second ride description below. You can also reach it by forking uphill where either Jackrabbit or Roadrunner cross the doubletrack. GPS tracks for these trails are found in the multi-track file.

The loop starts at the bike park. As you enter the park from the kiosk at the north end, ride the broad gravel path southward along the west border of the park. Turn left as the path ends on gravel doubletrack. Follow the DT as it turns southwest to climb to the top of the hill. (Extra point route: as the DT turns, go L on ST, then R at the fork, R at the next fork, then straight to where the ST hits the DT, where you'll turn L.)

At the top of the mountain, turn left on continuing doubletrack. At the next couple of forks, keep left and straight as you climb up the ridgeline. It's a bit of a grunt. The surface has a lot of small angular rock. In general, you want to stay close to the east side of the rim. Small roads forking to the west (right) may take you off the mountain.

The ridgeline DT will wind around through juniper trees and pass a newly-constructed water tank (wet cement on the top December 2, 2009). Keep left and on the ridge. As you reach, you'll see a singletrack on your left, heading toward the edge. Easy to miss. Hopefully, you'll see tire tracks turning into the trail.
To arrive via singletrack, park in the paved lot and take Rock-a-Billy, Cow Tracks, then Bugs Bunny, then Paintball City. At the doubletrack, turn uphill and pedal to the top of Flintstone.

Now it's time to change from Grind-it-Out gear to Downhill-Flight. The trail is designed for expert downhillers. Turns have high banks for speed. And you need to take them with speed. The apex of the turns have steep slopes, so you can't crawl through with your brakes on. And you can't put a foot down. The loose stuff on top of hard clay guarantees that you'll slip and go down hard. Get the idea? No Beginners!

Most of the man-made stunts have ride-arounds. On the other hand, in some spots the trail reaches control points (such as little cliffs) that function to keep horses, ATVs, and other trail-destroyers off the route. You won't be able to see what's downhill from that rock ledge on your first ride.

As you reach the bottom, turn left on the dirt road. When you reach the subdivision, find your way to the northwest corner. Here the Golden Eagle Road takes you over a low pass (unpaved in 09 up to the pass). Follow the road back to your car.

Flintstone Trail from Bike Park via ridgeline doubletrack:
0.0   Uphill from kiosk, N40 21.414 W111 58.695
        Stay on broad gravel path
0.4   R on DT, N40 21.144 W111 58.961
        Follow DT around turn and uphill
0.6   Fork L uphill on DT N40 21.060 W111 59.076
0.7   Keep L (follow ridgeline)
        N40 21.038 W111 59.034
0.8   Keep L N40 21.021 W111 58.929
        In general, stay L on ridgeline
1.6   Pass water tank
2.0   Flintstone ST on L, N40 20.328 W111 58.152
3.0   At fence, L on DT, N40 20.452 W111 57.665
3.3   Enter subdivision, follow streets to NW corner
        Aim for gravel road going over rise to NW
4.1   On gravel road, becomes paved
4.7   Back at parking

Getting there, bike park TH:  Take the I-15 Lehi Main Street exit and turn west. Continue west on SR-73, crossing Redwood Road (11600 West). Just after climbing the hill, turn left at the stop light onto The Ranches Parkway. Stay on that road as it narrows and turns. When you come to a T intersection at the end of The Ranches Parkway, turn right on Golden Eagle Road. Drive about 1/3 mile and watch for the trail kiosk on your left. Park by the trail kiosk and begin your ride by climbing up the trail heading south. (The only bathroom is here by the jump line.)
Singletrack route:  Turn right off Ranches Parkway onto Pony Express Parkway. After 1.1 miles, turn left to Hidden Canyon Road and find a parking spot. Start on the eastbound paved trail on the south side of Pony Express.
Shuttle to top:  As above, head south on Ranches Parkway. At Pony Express Parkway, turn right. Just over miles later, turn left on Hidden Canyon Road. Keep heading generally southwest, staying along the edge of the hill to your left. (Mile 0.4 keep L, 0.5 keep R, 0.8 keep L, 1.3 L then quick R -- don't take steeper DT up hill -- to continue southwest, 1.5 turn R, 1.8 you're there.)
Drive to bottom:  From Ranches Parkway, go east on Pony Express Parkway about 3/4 mile to Porter's Crossing Parkway and turn right (south). Go about 1/2 mile south on pavement, then keep straight onto dirt road. At mile 1.5 from Pony Express, the exit from Flintstone will be on your left.