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Mountain Green Trails
Mountain Green's trail system is located in The Cottonwoods residential
area. While much of the riding seems remote and wild, you're never far
from Silverleaf Lane, the main road. There's a bit over 8 miles of
singletrack here, mostly beginner to easy-intermediate in tech
requirement. The trails are at around 5100 feet elevation, with an
expected riding season of late May through October.
View southwest from the Lake Loop trail over
Wilkinson Reservoir, with Mount Ogden in the background. Photos and ride
reviews by Bruce on June 15, 2022. |
| Here's a reasonable plan for a ride that hits most
everything. It's a counter-clockwise loop that ties the trails together
with a few short bits of pavement. Depending on whether you do every DH
route at Launchpad, loop the Farm or just climb uphill, and climb to the
overlook, your ride will be around 12 miles and 1800 vertical feet of
climbing.
OK. Park at the top of Wilkinson Reservoir and catch the connector
trail. Go left on Lake Loop to head north and it will turn into Silverleaf.
Fork right on Park Meadow. When you hit the top of Launchpad, turn left
downhill. The Launchpad trails rejoin at Silverleaf near the pond. Turn
left uphill and follow Silverleaf back to the Park Meadow fork and go back
uphill. Lap Launchpad on a new path if you want. At the north end of Park
Meadow, turn left and find Cobble Creek on the paved road. Follow Cobble
Creek around to Willow Creek road. Go uphill on the road and
find Adrenaline at the back end of a tiny park on your right. Take it east
to Silverleaf Drive and go right a tiny bit on pavement to find Middle Crest.
Descend Middle Crest and follow the paved road down to Willow Creek then
turn left downhill. Find the Farm trail on your left at Sage Crest
Road. At the top, turn right and go out to Silverleaf Drive and go right again.
Link up with the paved trail. When you see singletrack on your right
uphill, hop onto the West Silverleaf trail. When it ends on paved trail,
cross the road and climb up a bit. When you see singletrack trail on your
right, follow the Lake Loop over the dam and uphill. Loop around Honeyhole,
then continue north on Lake Loop back to the parking connector. |
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There are NO formal trailheads. There's also no off-street
parking that I could find. Rather than annoy a homeowner by unloading in
front of his house, I suggest
that you park north of Wilkinson Reservoir off Silverleaf Drive. There's
room for 6 cars in the area in front of the gate. Go toward the gate and
turn left uphill on the connector trail. In 1/10th mile the connector will reach the
Lake Loop trail.
You can also link to the paved trail from here. It crosses Silverleaf
Drive just a bit
downhill.
Looking toward the reservoir from Silverleaf Drive.
Don't block the gate. |
| Another option is just a tiny bit further up Silverleaf Drive. A gravel road
heads uphill on the right, with a wide shoulder area that can fit a couple
of cars. From here, the trail is about 100 feet up the doubletrack, with The
Lake Loop heading south (right) and the Silverleaf trail going north
(left).
Roadside parking.
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Silverleaf Riding Area (bottom to top)
The Lake Loop |
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From either parking area on Silverleaf Drive, you can head
south on The Lake Loop. It passes above the reservoir then descends to
cross the dam before rolling around a small hill to end on the paved
Silverleaf trail. The Lake Loop trail is 0.9 miles long and has
connections to the Honeyhole Loop and the Silverleaf Overlook trail. There are a
couple of unofficial trails in the area west of the reservoir, but the main
path should be
obvious.
Heading south above the reservoir when starting from
the lake parking area. |
| There's a bit of up-and-down riding on Lake Loop. Turns are
slow and swooping. The trail surface is smooth and the ride is suitable
for beginners.
Rolling into a few meanders.
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At its far end, the Lake Loop trail ends on the paved
Silverleaf path. Downhill will take you across the street to the western
Silverleaf singletrack trails, while uphill will take you along the
reservoir on the paved path to cross the road near where you parked.
Junction (currently un-marked) of the western side of
the Lake Loop with the Silverleaf paved path. |
| When The Lake Loop trail is taken in the other direction (from the paved path back
to the uphill side of the reservoir), the ride has some modest climbing.
There will be the option to loop around the Honeyhole trail (see below).
You can also do a short up-and-back to the Silverleaf viewpoint.
After passing over the dam, we're climbing up toward
the Honeyhole loop.
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Do not trespass onto the monster trail system that you'll
see to the east of the Lake Loop and the Silverleaf viewpoint. It's not
for bikes anyway.
Northbound above the reservoir. We'll connect to the
Silverleaf trail in about 1/2 mile. |
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The Honeyhole Loop is a fun option off The Lake Loop trail.
The uphill side is a series of meanders as it climbs to an old lake bench
then descends.
Trail fork on the north end of the Honeyhole loop,
seen when arriving riding southbound. |
| The loop is 0.5 miles around, with 100 vertical feet of
climbing and descending. Although the trail surface is smooth, I'd give
this option an intermediate-rider rating.
You'll enjoy views over the lake and of mountains in every direction.
You'll rejoin the Lake Loop trail only 1/10th mile from where you left it.
A banked turn near the top elevation of Honeyhole.
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| Northwest over the lake. Lewis Peak. |
West toward Ogden Canyon. Mount Ogden and
Lewis Peak. |
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The Silverleaf overlook trail is a very short trail
extending from The Lake Loop uphill to an overlook area. It's 1/10th mile.
The trail fork is 0.2 miles north of the Honeyhole Loop trail on The Lake
Loop. Looking south as we hit the trail fork for the
overlook. The carved-up area seen above the trail fork is private
property. A careful look will show the features are way too big, and the
slope too mellow, to be a mountain bike course. It's obviously for motos
and it's off-limits. Don't Go There. |
| It's reasonable to skip this bit of trail. The overlook view
isn't that much more awesome than what you'll see from the trail fork,
although from the overlook you can see the bench and hills to the east.
View from the overlook.
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The Silverleaf trail is the continuation of the Lake Loop
trail northbound. It will climb roughly parallel to Silverleaf Drive but
with a series of climbing turns to gain elevation more gently. The trail
is easy to ride with no technical features.
Looking north at the spot where The Lake Loop trail
turns into Silverleaf as it crosses a gravel road. |
| The trail will gain around 200 feet of elevation before
descending back toward paved roads. Shortly after the trail fork for Park
Meadow, Silverleaf will pass the pond and arrive at Park Meadow Drive just uphill
from the Silverleaf Drive roundabout.
Wasatch penstemmon blooms at the trailside.
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The terrain is mostly sage and scrub, with serviceberry
bushes, occasional maples and a bit of oak. In late spring, you'll be
treated to blooming Wasatch penstemmon and mules ear.
Looking southwest as the trail takes a climbing
meander. |
| The bottom of Silverleaf is your route for connecting back
to Park Meadow when doing laps on The Launchpad (see below).
Descending down toward the pond, where the Park
Meadow trail awaits. Or you can continue downhill to the paved road.
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West Silverleaf Trail (unofficial name) |
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The bottom of this trail is found where the paved Silverleaf
path crosses Silverleaf Drive downhill from the reservoir. The trail
starts west, right where the paved trail from the reservoir makes a T
intersection with the paved path right along the road. It will then turn
and meander uphill, heading generally north uphill.
Climbing along the paved path shortly after starting
the trail from the downhill end. |
| This segment of trail is exactly one mile long, with some
up-and-down riding that add up to just under 200 vertical feet.
Rolling around a knoll of sage, wildflowers, and
cheat grass. Nice view.
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The riding surface is smooth with no significant technical
challenges. There are some steeper parts that make this an
early-intermediate ride, but it can be handled by strong beginners.
We're near the trails high point, heading generally
northbound. We'll descend through those trees. |
| After the initial climbing, the trail descends back toward
Silverleaf Drive. At mile 0.6 from the origin there's a trail fork with a
short connector descending to the paved path along the road.
Looking back uphill at a banked turn during the
descent -- or as you'd see it if you were taking the trail from the uphill
end.
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The continuing trail -- to the left at the fork -- runs
another 0.4 miles winding uphill.
Rolling through a bit of a dip shortly after passing
the trail fork. |
| Although you'll end up back at the paved path along Silverleaf Drive, the trail will climb up through some meanders. (Note
that on my recommended loop ride, you take this trail the other direction,
downhill. But it's good either way.) The west Silverleaf singletrack will end on the paved trail
at each end, which you'll use to head for your next singletrack segment.
More climbing coming up as we head north..
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The Park Meadow trail begins by forking off the Silverleaf
Trail just uphill from its end on Park Meadow Drive. From the road,
it's 0.1 miles to the trail fork. (On Silverleaf, after you pass the
end of The Launchpad downhill flow trail, ignore the first branching path
heading straight uphill and keep to the right on the main Silverleaf
trail.) Fork hard left onto Park Meadow.
Passing by the pond near the trail fork for Park
Meadow. |
| After 0.3 miles of gentle climbing, Park Meadow arrives at
the top of The Launchpad, a set of three downhill flow trails that descend
back to Silverleaf near Park Meadow Drive. A loop downhill and back to the
top is a bit over 1/2 mile each. Keep right and uphill to continue north
on Park Meadow.
A bit of elevated wooden trail crossing a stream
area.
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Park Meadow will make a long traverse northbound over open
hillside. Park Meadow is exactly one mile in length with less than 100
vertical feet of climbing.
Still heading north on a long traverse. |
| At the northern end, the trail ends on what is currently a
dirt road. (It appears that this area will be developed, so you may find
paved road when you ride.) To link to Cobble Creek, turn right, then
continue the same direction on paved road. You'll find Cobble Creek in 0.2
miles on Silverleaf Drive, on your right where the road crosses a raised area.
Looking south on Park Meadow.
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The Launchpad is a set of three downhill flow trails that
run from the Park Meadow trail to Silverleaf near the pond south of the
roundabout. The trails are intermediate in technical difficulty. Each is
around 0.2 miles long with around 75 vertical feet of elevation loss.
Here's the entry to the flow trails. To the left is
the first option. We're looking down the second option, which splits
around the middle of the photo. The continuing Park Meadow trail is just
out of sight to the right. |
| A loop from Silverleaf, up Park Meadow, then down any of the
three flow trails would be around 1/2 mile. 1. The first fork you encounter
off Park Meadow will be the leftmost trail. It wiggles downhill through
banked turns and has some baby table jumps. In spring 2022, the bottom 150
feet has washed out and is a boulderfield.
2. The center option drops away at the
trail-post 20 feet after the first fork. Keep left as the trail splits 40 feet later.
About 1/3 of the way down there's a 50-foot alternate line that may
sucker you into thinking there's a whole 'nother trail there.
3. The
rightmost option forks to the right off the center trail just after you drop off Park Meadow.
All the trails have a similar feel during their short descent.
Looking down the middle option at an A/B trail split.
Note the healthy thistles crowding the riding line.
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These trails aren't long or exciting enough to be
destination DH flow trails. At the time of my ride, they don't appear to
see a lot of use. And the overgrowth of monster thistles on
these trails certainly won't encourage more tires.
Unfortunately, thistles LOVE disturbed soil, and there's nothing more
disturbed than an engineered DH trail. I expect that the local
trail-lovers will be eliminating the thistles in time, but in the meantime
ride it anyway. Just adds to the challenge.
Rolling through a banked turn. |
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Cobble Creek starts on upper Silverleaf Drive. It drops down
to follow a creek north around a hill then go southbound. After
descending a bit along the airport runway, it ends on Willow Creek Road.
Looking north over Cobble Creek from its origin on
Silverleaf Drive. |
| Cobble Creek is 1.4 miles in length. When done east to west,
there's around 150 feet of elevation loss, but a bit of up-and-down riding
too.
Rolling a banked turn in an area crowded with willow.
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The few creek crossings have nice wooden bridges. There will
also be some woodwork to cover seasonally damp areas.
At mile 0.9 riding westbound there's a trail fork. The left fork takes
you quickly up to Willow Creek Road, while the right fork descends to the
valley.
Heading southbound, there's another fork at mile 1.1. Take either fork;
they rejoin in 1/10th mile.
We're southbound at the moment as the trail has
completed a semicircle. |
| Cobble Creek ends on Willow Creek Road. From here, you'll
take pavement to your next trail. You can pedal uphill 0.2 miles to catch
Adrenaline for the full tour, or turn right 100 yards to catch the
climbing trail through the farm for a shorter ride.
At the trail fork for the connector. Cobble Creek
continues down through these two wooden sidewalks to head south near the
airport.
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East-west neighborhood trails
Adrenaline |
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Adrenaline is the northernmost of the neighborhood trails.
It runs from Willow Creek Road to Silverleaf Drive.
It's 0.5 miles in length with around 150 feet of overall climbing when
done west to east.
Starting eastbound on Adrenaline. |
| On the west end, Adrenaline starts at the back of a small
park (with no path connection from the sidewalk). It climbs up to a low
ridge and follows it east.
Looking west from the ridgeline on Adrenaline.
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Adrenaline ends on the sidewalk along Silverleaf Drive. To
link up to Middle Crest, just turn right and go 100 yards downhill and
watch for a trailpost on your right.
Approaching the homes on Silverleaf Drive at the
eastern end of the trail. |
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Middle Crest starts on Silverleaf Drive and heads west. It
ends on Hidden Hills Drive, which will then descend to Willow Creek Road.
As with Adrenaline, the trail corridor follows a ridge and is so wide that it seems like open
space.
We're heading southwest on Middle Crest, doing a
zigzag with the three trails between Willow Creek Road and Silverleaf
Drive. |
| The dirt portion of Middle Crest is 0.6 miles in length. It
will lose around 100 feet of elevation as it goes from Silverleaf Drive to
Hidden Hills Drive. If you're following my recommended loop, you'll turn
right on Hidden Hills, left on Willow Creek, and then at the intersection
with Sage Crest, go left uphill through "the farm."
Descending toward Hidden Hills.
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"Farm" loop from Hidden Hills (official
name unknown) |
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The trail I'm calling "the Farm" runs from Willow
Creek Road to upper Hidden Hills Drive near Silverleaf Drive. The trail is
now on private property, but at this time public use of the trails is
being allowed.
View from the top of the loop. If the gate is closed,
do NOT enter these trails. |
| There's a fairly straight path on the south with a gentle
but steady rate of climb. This trail is 0.6 miles with 120 vertical feet
of elevation gain from west to east.
Descending the southern side. I liked this option for
climbing because it was straight with a gentle rate of elevation gain. (I
finished my exploration ride with 16.5 miles and 2100 vertical.)
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On the northern side of the small valley is a newer second
trail that creates a loop with the original. This trail is 0.5 miles long,
with much of its climbing coming abruptly at the eastern end. It's a
harder ride than the southern option. (Note: when you hit a trail fork in
the middle, don't go uphill. The trail climbs to private property.)
On the northern side of the little valley. |
| The Cottonwoods Trail System in Mountain green is well
built, with smooth machined trails that are easy for strong beginners and
intermediates to ride. The sheer number of "trail pieces" can be
intimidating, but it's possible to put a nice ride together. The most
satisfying riding will be found in the area east of lower Silverleaf
Drive, which can be combined with the newer trail west of Silverleaf. If
you enjoy your ride, please consider a contribution to the Mountain Green
Trails Foundation.
Looking north on the singletrack west of lower
Silverleaf Drive. Here the wiggles traverse the hillside to join the paved
path. |
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Getting there:
On I-84 eastbound in Weber Canyon, take the Mountain Green (ski areas)
exit. Keep straight as you pass the road to Snowbasin and Powder Mountain.
Just over a mile later, turn left on Silverleaf Drive to enter The
Cottonwoods residential area. Go uphill 0.6 miles. When you see a gravel
area in front of a gate at the uphill end of the reservoir, find a spot to
park. Don't block the gate. The connecting singletrack trail is just left
of the gate.
Alternate: there's another bit of roadside parking just 100 yards uphill
on the side of a gravel road. Here the trail is about 100 feet uphill,
crossing the gravel road.
A reminder that, if you choose to park elsewhere, you should avoid
parking in front of private homes or in construction zones!
No water or bathrooms at trailhead.
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