Isengard

Looking west toward Timpanogos as Upper Potatoes makes a gentle downhill run. Review by Bruce on June 3, 2022.

Isengard Area
Skills park, Lower Potatoes, Upper Potatoes

This page reviews the easier trails at the northwestern side of the Coyote Canyon/Riverview trail system just north of Heber. This includes the Isengard skills area and flow trail, plus Upper Potatoes and Lower Potatoes DH. There are small trailside signs identifying the trails at forks and cross-overs, but a GPS navigation app is very helpful here. The expected riding season is mid-April through early November.

The trails include beginner-level routes on the lower mountain such as northern Lower Riverview and Bag End, northern Middle Earth, and the downhill-only Lower Potatoes. The Isengard Skills Trail is beginner-level if you bypass the stunts that require upper-intermediate skills to clean. These trails lie between Middle Earth and Lower Riverview. Upper Potatoes is a two-way intermediate trail that runs from Upper Riverview to the northern end of Middle Earth (and the top of Lower Potatoes).

Upper Potatoes has been used mostly as a downhill from Riverview to Lower Potatoes. Now that Lonely Mountain and Mordor are complete, the usage may change.

Bruce on the Coyote Loop.

The trails described here are a small portion of a huge riding area. You may want to refer to other trail pages for detailed information on connecting trails that may be mentioned on this review page:

   Coyote Loop - 21-mile loop around the mountain
   Riverview Trail page - Upper Riverview and connections
   Chop'd Coyote page - Alternate route that bisects Coyote Loop
   Lower Riverview page - Trails on the lower front-side
   Wile E Canyon page - trails off Highway 32 on northeast Coyote

Recommended trailheads

Hitting the UVU Connector to climb up above the canal, where Lower Riverview awaits.

UVU Trailhead
Most riders get to the Riverview area west-side trails from the UVU Wasatch Campus trailhead. This is found on the far north end of Heber on Highway 40, one mile south of the Highway 32 junction. At the UVU campus entry, turn east (toward the mountain). Go to the uppermost level of parking behind the UVU buildings. Look for the duck-under and kiosk.

Looking down the Riverview Connector toward the trailhead.

Riverview Trailhead
From Salt Lake, take I-80 eastbound to Silver Creek Junction (just past Park City). Go south on US-40, past the Jordanelle reservoir and descend past the dam. At the traffic light at mile 14.2 from I-80, turn left on 32 and climb 1.1 miles. When you see the second entry into Riverview on your left, note the gravel parking area on your right N40 34.403 W111 25.214. That's your spot.
From Utah County, drive up Provo Canyon to Heber. At the traffic light on US-189/US-40, turn left and drive north through Heber. 4.7 miles from the intersection, turn right on Highway 32 and climb 1.1 miles to the parking area as above.

Getting to the riding area

Bruce cranks north on Lower Riverview.

Lower Riverview to Lower Potatoes and Isengard

For the lower trails, head uphill on the UVU Connector. There's a meandering singletrack and a straight up the hill route. Take either one. After you cross the canal at mile 0.2, find the singletrack on your left. This is the combined UVU Connector and Lower Riverview. After another 0.1 miles, keep left on Lower Riverview while the Connector heads uphill toward Middle Earth and Upper Riverview.

Now pedal 1/2 mile north on Lower Riverview and fork to the right uphill on Bag End. You'll reach the doubletrack after 0.1 mile. You're now 0.9 miles from the trailhead. Turn right on the doubletrack.

Continue north 0.2 miles. The connector to the Isengard drops loop will be on your right uphill, and the skills trail is directly across on your left.

After a few feet Mordor crosses. Now the doubletrack climbs gently to cross Lower Potatoes. Turn left to descend the one-way Lower Potatoes trail. (If you're headed further up the mountain, I believe the bit of Lower Potatoes uphill from the doubletrack is two-way to allow you to reach the bottom of Upper Potatoes.)

Looking uphill as Bag End forks away from Lower Riverview.

Heading uphill on the Connector Trail.

Riverview (UVU) Connector to Doubletrack or Middle Earth

This route lets you access all levels of the trails. When Lower Riverview and the UVU Connector split at mile 0.3 from the UVU trailhead, turn to the right uphill. Cross the Lower Riverview Doubletrack at mile 0.4 (or you can turn left on the Riverview DT to head directly to the Isengard trails).

At mile 0.7 from the trailhead, Middle Earth joins the Connector trail for a few feet, then splits away again. Keep left at the first fork, then 30 feet later, keep left again for Middle Earth. Middle Earth will take you 0.9 miles north to the bottom of Upper Potatoes and the top of Lower Potatoes.

he trail on the left is northbound Middle Earth.

Arriving at Upper Riverview on the UVU Connector trail. Left turn here.

UVU Connector and Riverview to Middle Mordor, Lonely Mountain, or Upper Potatoes

Climb 1.6 miles on the UVU/Riverview Connector trail. When you reach Upper Riverview , fork left to head north. After 1.1 miles, Mordor crosses to start the Middle Mordor trail section.

Looking back downhill to the Highway 32 trailhead.

Upper Riverview Trailhead to Upper Potatoes

From the Riverview trailhead on Highway 32, pedal uphill on the Riverview trail until you reach the Coyote Loop at mile 0.3 then turn to the right.

At mile 0.4, Sheep Bones forks to the right downhill. If you're headed for the easier trails, descend Sheep Bones for one mile, then continue south on the doubletrack until Lower Potatoes crosses. (Note that Sheep Bones is a more-difficult trail. If this is a problem, continue on Upper Riverview 1.3 miles until you reach the top of Upper Potatoes. Then descend Lower Potatoes, get on Lower Riverview, then turn uphill on Bag End.

Trail Details

Isengard Drops Loop and Skills Course

Connector to the Drops Loop from the doubletrack, looking south.

Isengard consists of a drop practice loop and a skills flow trail. The drops loop is around 1/10th mile with very little elevation change. It lies uphill from the Riverview doubletrack, just to the south of Lower Potatoes and Mordor.

The drops are on the far end of a short loop. The staging area above the drops is short, so you'll be taking the drops at low speed. For those of you riding clipped-in, there isn't room for you to get clipped, balanced, and comfortable if you start cold from the top. You'll want to pedal into the top of the staging area then turn toward your drop of choice.

Looking west and downhill, with ramps on the right and rock drops on the left. This picture is shot from the very top of the staging area. You have very little time to get balanced and up to speed.

Looking south at the relative heights of the drops. The rock at the far left side is a big one.

In 2022, there are three wooden drop ramps and three lines for rock rollovers and drops. The drops are more difficult as you go right to left. The landing-recovery zone is short without much of a run-out, so you'll need to recover your balance quickly. (The short approach and run-out prevents morons from smashing other riders at high speed.)

After you turn right at the bottom, you'll loop back up for another go.

The Isengard skills trail is 0.3 miles long with 75 feet of elevation loss from the doubletrack down to Lower Riverview. My understanding is that it's designated as a two-way trail (so you can backtrack to try something a second time), but intended to flow top to bottom.

Two split logs to balance on, and a rock-pile rumble strip.

This log is a bit more anxiety-provoking, as you must navigate a turn while 18 inches in the air.

Stunts vary in difficulty but are fairly forgiving if you fall off.

A table jump to practice on. A bit long for the speeds that are possible on this...

There's a series of connected banked turns to practice keeping your sight lines ...

To make a second run, keep left at the (non-marked) bottom of the skills trail to join Lower Riverview Pedal 1/10th mile south, then turn left uphill onto Bag End to climb back to the doubletrack.

All of the stunts have generous ride-arounds. Here's a nice steep partial-circle bridge.

Upper Potatoes

The bottom of Upper Potatoes is where northbound Middle Earth turns to the west to become Lower Potatoes. My bike is on Upper Potatoes, and the track on the right is the connection to Middle Earth. Note that most riders are turning from Upper Potatoes to Lower Potatoes.

Upper Potatoes is a two-way trail, but until now it's been heavily used as a descender from Upper Riverview through Lower Potatoes to Lower Riverview With the completion of Lonely Mountain and upper Mordor in 2022, more people will be climbing Upper Potatoes.

The trail is smooth and non-technical, with a gentle grade. The turns, and some sections of trail, have a bit of pitch that may give true beginners a problem. I'd rate the trail as early-intermediate in aerobic requirement and technical skill.

Upper Potatoes is 0.8 miles long, with 250 vertical feet of elevation change. When combined with Lower Potatoes as a continuous downhill, that's 1.2 miles and 350 feet of descent.

Looking downhill as Upper Potatoes descends through oak brush that's been bitten by a late frost.

Looking east uphill as we climb Upper Potatoes.

As mentioned, Upper Potatoes can be a legit climbing route to Upper Riverview. You'll arrive at the bottom of Upper Potatoes from Middle Earth. Once you get to the top, turn to the right on Riverview if you're heading for Lonely Mountain.

If you're descending Upper Potatoes, you'll find the top of the trail on Upper Riverview at mile 1.6 from the Upper Riverview trailhead on Highway 32. Upper Potatoes forks to your right on a ridge as the trail makes a left turn.

If you're arriving via the UVU Connector trail, it's going to be 1.6 miles climbing the Connector then 1.7 miles north on Riverview to reach the top of Upper Potatoes.

Looking west as Upper Potatoes forks away from Riverview.

Lower Potatoes

iew west over the Heber Valley, with Cascade Mountain and Timpanogos in the distance.

Lower Potatoes is the continuation of northbound Middle Earth. The transition occurs where Upper Potatoes forks away to the right uphill. Lower Potatoes is 0.4 miles long with a bit over 100 feet of elevation loss. It's a one-way downhill trail.

Lower Potatoes is very easy to ride, suitable for children and true beginners. If you have enough skill to arrive at the trail, you're skilled enough to ride it.

At the bottom of Lower Potatoes, Mordor will join from your left (junction currently non-marked June 2022). Then Lower Potatoes joins the Lower Riverview singletrack heading south. From here, you'll pass the bottom of Isengard (also non-marked) on your left. If you keep straight, in a bit over a tenth of a mile, you can turn back uphill on Bag End to reach the doubletrack, or continue south for a bit under a mile to the UVU Connector trail to climb higher on the mountain.

Rolling through a few final wiggles before the trail ends on Lower Riverview.

Descending Upper and Lower Potatoes

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Map of the Isengard area

Getting there!

UVU Wasatch Campus trailhead: One mile south of the junction of Highway 40 and 32, turn east (toward the mountain) at the UVU campus. Northbound from Utah County, the UVU campus is a couple of miles north of Heber's business area. Go to the uppermost level of parking behind the UVU buildings and look for the step-over and kiosk. The singletrack UVU Connector trail climbs to Lower Riverview at mile 0.2 and Middle Earth at mile 0.7, then continues to the Riverview Trail at mile 1.6.

Trailhead options!

UVU Wasatch Campus Trailhead: One mile south of the junction of Highway 40 and 32 (a couple of miles north of Heber), turn east (toward the mountain) at the UVU campus. Go to the uppermost level of parking behind the UVU buildings. Look for the duck-under and kiosk. A singletrack trail climbs 1.5 miles to the Riverview Trail.

Wile E Canyon trailhead: The Wile E Canyon trailhead is located on the southern side of Highway 32, just over 4 miles from US-40. It's 1/10th mile east of the old Cutthroat trailhead (see below). There's room for about 8 cars here. From the parking lot, a connector trail takes you 120 yards uphill to the Wile E Canyon loop. To get to Beep Beep (or the Coyote Switchbacks or East Riverview), turn right at the trail fork, keep right at the next fork, then turn left onto the Coyote Riverview Connector trail as you approach the gravel road.

Coyote Riverview Connector trail (old Cutthroat): You can still connect through the old Cutthroat trailhead, although there's no longer a parking area here. For example, if the crowds have forced you to park where construction workers leave their vehicles along Highway 32, you can pedal to the gravel road to the new golf course leaves the highway, four miles east of US-40 and just east of the big rock-wall road-cut.

Puddy Tat parking: On Highway 3 around three miles from US-40, watch for a dirt road turning to the right in a huge sage meadow. There are a couple of buildings across Highway 32 at this spot. The parking spot is just through the fence, with a connection to Puddy Tat on the eastern side of parking. (This spot was still being worked on at the time of my review.)

Riverview trailhead: From US-40 just south of the Jordanelle reservoir, turn east at the traffic light onto Highwat 32 (at mile 14.2 from I-80 if you're coming from the north). On Highway 32, climb 1.1 miles. When you see the second entry into Riverview on your left and a road under construction to your right, the Riverview Connector trail starts on the uphill side of that road just after it leaves Highway 32. (In 2025, there's no longer protected parking here. It's unclear whether the trailhead will be restored when construction is complete.)

Coyote Trailhead: The southern Coyote trailhead has been lost to subdivision construction. Access to the southern side the trail system is in limbo, but some riders find their way through the construction zone by pedaling up the gravel Coyote Canyon road.

Canal DT trailhead: Just uphill from the light on highway 32, watch for the canal crossing. Park along the road. Start riding south on the doubletrack just uphill from the canal.

Riding resources:
GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
     Multi-track GPX area master file
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to area resources
Trail pages:
     Coyote Loop
     Riverview Trail page
     Chop'd Coyote page
     Lower Riverview page
     Wile E Canyon page

Bathrooms: No public restrooms nearby.
Water: Gas stations in Heber, campgrounds.
Camping: Hailstone campground at Jordanelle on US-40, about 6 miles away.
Bike services: Slim and Knobby's bike shop, Heber