Hitting a turn on the Lower Rodeo trail. Trail review and photos by Bruce on Sep...
Hitting a turn on the Lower Rodeo trail. Trail review and photos by Bruce on September 4, 2018.
Oakley Trail Park

The Oakley Trail Park is located just east of Oakley (south of Rockport Reservoir and north of Kamas) at the mouth of Seymour Canyon. The trail system was built in 2018 and includes both general-purpose two-way trails -- open to horses -- and one-way bikes-only trails. At an elevation of 6700 feet, the riding season is June through October.

The park includes beginner, intermediate, and expert-level downhill trails. Still waiting completion (September 2018) are a planned jump line, skills trail, and pump track. The terrain is a mix of sage, oak, maple, and aspen.

In addition to the 3 miles of trail in the park, the system connects to the Oakley and Seymour Canyon trails for access to the upper mountain.

Drone shot of the twisty climb on Lower Lariat.
Drone shot of the twisty climb on Lower Lariat.
Turning north (left upon entering the park) on Lower Lariat.
Turning north (left upon entering the park) on Lower Lariat.
The trailhead is reached via Boulderville Road on the south end of Oakley. This road becomes 1000 East, then Pinion Lane. See the "Getting there" instruction below. Parking is on the west (left) side of the road across from the trail park.
There's a trail map at the base of the park and trail ID posts at trail forks. I found it necessary to pull up the map of the trail system while on-trail, because there's a lot going on here. Trail forks come quickly and close together.
Airborne between two bumps to complete a double.
Airborne between two bumps to complete a double.
General-purpose trails (horses and two-way traffic)
Northbound on Lower Lariat.
Northbound on Lower Lariat.
Lower Lariat

The Lower Lariat trail runs across the lower slope. It's your access to the other trails in the park, as well as your return trail from the downhill-only trails. As you pedal to the doubletrack across from the parking strip, you'll intersect Lower Lariat about 40 feet from the paved road. Lower Lariat is 0.6 miles in length.

The eastern end of Lower Lariat ends in a little loop, with a short connecting trail to the road. Don't bother going left, as this side of the trail is a return from Rodeo and Buckaroo.

Northbound -- a left turn from the doubletrack -- Lower Lariat makes a twisty climb up the hill for 0.2 miles. At this point, you'll reach forks for the Buckaroo Connect (hard right) and Lariat Connect (left then right uphill) trails. To continue on Lower Lariat, keep left and pass both trails. Lower Lariat then settles in for a traverse to the north.

Looking south on Lower Lariat.
Looking south on Lower Lariat.
An older boardwalk gets the trail across a couple of swampy spots.
An older boardwalk gets the trail across a couple of swampy spots.
You may recognize that this part of Lower Lariat is a re-dig of an old trailcut. At the junction of Lower Lariat with Upper Lariat, the old trail continues north. It dead-ends at a private property border 1/10th mile later.
Upper Lariat and Lariat Connect

At its north end, Upper Lariat begins on Lower Lariat, then climbs through a series of turns to the middle-mountain area. It turns southbound and offers connections to Barrel Racer and Lariat Connect before ending on the doubletrack access road. This DT can be considered part of Upper Lariat and is your route to the Oakley trail, Seymour Canyon, and Upper Rodeo. The loop at the end of the DT is a vehicle trailhead for the upper-mountain trails.

Trail fork of Upper Lariat (on the right) and Lariat Connect. This trailpost is ...
Trail fork of Upper Lariat (on the right) and Lariat Connect. This trailpost is typical.
Southbound on Upper Lariat. Mostly scrub oak here.
Southbound on Upper Lariat. Mostly scrub oak here.
From Lower Lariat to the Oakley trailhead, Upper Lariat is 0.7 miles in length. It has only about 100 feet of elevation gain.

The Lariat Connect trail is 0.2 miles long, connecting a meander of Lower Lariat with the middle of Upper Lariat. Lariat Connect provides a quick short climbing route if your object is to reach the top of the Rodeo downhill trails quickly.

Downhill bike-only trails
Buckaroo is a beginner-level downhill-only flow trail. It's only 1/4 mile in length, dropping 75 vertical feet. It's reached by taking Lower Lariat up to the 4-way intersection. Make a hard right turn and head south on Buckaroo Connect. (There will be connections to the skills and jump line trails from Buckaroo Connect in the future.)
Entry to Buckaroo. Aspens and shade for a cooler ride. Note that you can also bi...
Entry to Buckaroo. Aspens and shade for a cooler ride. Note that you can also bike, push, or drive a tiny distance up the dirt road to reach the top of Buckaroo.
Typical trail view. The pink color is due to reinforcing crushed rock.
Typical trail view. The pink color is due to reinforcing crushed rock.
Buckaroo

As you cross the Oakley-trailhead access doubletrack on Buckaroo Connect, the trail becomes Buckaroo. You'll immediately notice that the trail has been liberally covered with crushed roadbase. Hopefully, this means no ruts and no moondust-wallowing.

There are some "try-it" bumps built into the trail. This helps beginners learn to get off the saddle and let the bike "buck" under them -- and also offers a chance to try a little jump. Buckaroo ends on Lower Lariat.

Barrel Racer

Barrel Racer is an intermediate-level downhill-only flow trail. It's 1/4 mile long, with 120 feet of elevation loss. The trail starts at the northeast corner of Upper Lariat, so it can be reached either from Lower Lariat clockwise or Lariat Connect counterclockwise. (The trail fork is engineered to access Barrel Racer by climbing from Lower Lariat clockwise.)

Looking south, were at the trail fork between Upper Lariat and Barrel Racer.
Looking south, we're at the trail fork between Upper Lariat and Barrel Racer.
Descending. Short and not too tricky.
Descending. Short and not too tricky.
Compared to Buckaroo, Barrel Racer has higher berms, steeper turns, and bigger bumps. There are some tabletop jumps and doubles. But you can simply roll everything on the trail. An experienced beginner can manage this trail.

Barrel Racer ends on Lower Lariat, where a right turn can take you back uphill for another go. If you keep left, it will take you to the 4-way fork with Lariat Connect and Buckaroo Connect.

Rodeo (Upper Rodeo and Lower Rodeo)

The Rodeo trails are for experts or aggressive upper-intermediates. The two trails combine for a downhill route of 3/4 mile with 275 feet of elevation loss. The Rodeo trails feature high steep berms, quick turns, and plenty of jumps.

Both trails are reached by climbing to southbound Upper Lariat, then continuing south when the singletrack joins the Oakley trailhead access doubletrack. If you only want Lower Rodeo, you can turn onto the trail from the doubletrack.

Approaching the step-over at the Oakley trailhead, heading for Upper Rodeo.
Approaching the step-over at the Oakley trailhead, heading for Upper Rodeo.
Dropping in.
Dropping in.
To reach Upper Rodeo, continue uphill on the gravel road. Keep right at the road fork (it's a one-way loop). As you curve around the end of the loop, turn uphill to the right at the Oakley trailhead sign.

Keep left at the trail fork immediately after the step-over gate. The right fork is for Seymour Canyon. After 100 yards on the Oakley trail, including a short tricky rockslide, keep left at the fork to start downhill on Upper Rodeo.

It's 0.3 miles on Upper Rodeo until you hit the gravel-road crossing. Angle across to Lower Rodeo.

The Rodeo trail has almost constant turns. They're bermed for speed. In general, as you get further down the hill the tabletop jumps become taller. Launch what you dare; roll the rest.

Railing a turn on Lower Rodeo.
Railing a turn on Lower Rodeo.
Approaching a tabletop jump. This one looks like its old-man sized, so go for it...
Approaching a tabletop jump. This one looks like it's old-man sized, so go for it!
Rodeo ends on the southern end of Lower Lariat. Time to head back uphill for another run.
Upper mountain trails
Are you sure you want to do this? The first 1/4 mile of Oakley really sorts out ...
Are you sure you want to do this? The first 1/4 mile of Oakley really sorts out the casual riders.
Oakley Trail

The Oakley trail is, of course, your access to Upper Rodeo, but you'll only be on it for about 100 yards. If you venture further, you'll find that the trail winds back and forth across a huge rockslide. There's nice rockwork in place (in 2018). If you spin out on the "smooth" center trail, consider riding the big-rock line on the edge. Or hike your bike.

These rockslides will be a lot of run to ride on the way down. And once you're past them, the trail is pretty good, although steep. With occasional push-a-bikes, at least for me.
A turn. Wasnt able to clean it going up, but downhill, you can simply take the l...
A turn. Wasn't able to clean it going up, but downhill, you can simply take the line on the outside of the stairs.
Looking toward the valley through a grove of mountain mahogany.
Looking toward the valley through a grove of mountain mahogany.
The Oakley trail is a bit over 2 miles long, extending up to a ridge overlooking the Kamas Valley. The downhill is very nice.
Seymour Canyon Trail

The Seymour Canyon trail is a right-turn from the Oakley trail, just after you cross the step-over gate. It extends about 3 miles south up Seymour Canyon. Like the Oakley trail, it's a stiff climb but offers some nice views and a flying downhill.

Looking southeast as we climb Seymour Canyon.
Looking southeast as we climb Seymour Canyon.

A quick ride through the Oakley trail system...

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Map of the Oakley trail system
Map of the Oakley trail system
Getting there:
From Utah Country, head to Heber and turn left on US-40. At the light below Jordanelle, turn right on SR-32. In Francis, turn left at the stop sign to stay on SR-32. Go straight through Kamas and Marion, and as you approach Oakley and the road veers a bit left, turn right onto New Lane. Now turn right (east) on Boulderville Road. Drive one mile. Boulderville Road will turn 90 degrees left and become 1000 East. After another mile the road will turn right (back to the east) and become Pinion Lane. In 1/4 mile the road again turns to the left northbound. Now watch for the trail park on your right and the parking strip on the left.
From Salt Lake, take I-80 to Highway 32 and head south. As you pass through Oakley, go about a mile south and turn left on Boulderville Road. Go to the stop sign with New Lane, keep straight and proceed on Boulderville Road to the trailhead as above.

Bathroom:  none
Water:  none

Riding resources:
Topo map for printing:   View topo
Lodging, camping, shops:
    Links to Park City area resources     Links to Heber resources