Utah Olympic Park Mountain Bike Trails

View south with The Canyons on the right and Deer Valley in the distance. We're on the Legacy Loop. Photos and review by Bruce on July 15, 2015.

Utah Olympic Park (UOP) Trails
RTS, UOP (Iron Bill), Legacy Loop and Legacy Ridge

The trails at the Utah Olympic Park near Park City offer riding options from beginner to strong upper-intermediate. The trails are located just a mile south of I-80's Park City (Kimball Junction) exit. This page covers RTS, Wild Bill, and the Legacy Loop/Legacy Ridge trails. See the UOP Bobsled Loop page for more ride options higher on the mountain in the UOP area.

RTS Loop

For beginning riders and families, I recommend the RTS loop, on the northern end of the trail complex. The loop begins at the main trailhead along the Olympic Parkway. You'll want the parking lot on the north (right) side of the road. (The parking lot on the other side is for dog walkers -- no bikes on those trails.)

At the lower parking area, with the ski jumps to the southwest. We'll ride right up to the edge of the jump area on Iron Bill.

Typical trail view with aspen and wildflowers, as we climb up into a gentle turn on RTS.

It's recommended that you ride the loop clockwise on even-numbered days, and counterclockwise on odd-numbered days. Unfortunately, that information isn't shared at the trailhead, nor at the connection of the loop to UOP (Iron Bill trail) -- you see the sign only after you've been riding (July 2015).

The loop is 2.5 miles round trip. There's only 200 vertical feet of elevation difference between the lowest spot (6475 ft) and the highest (6675 ft). It's easy both technically and aerobically, and will make a great first Park City experience for newbies and out-of-shapers.

The only bumpy spot on the loop: rock armor plating as the trail passes through a sometimes-swampy area.

Tahooka Daisy

Showy Goldeneye

Looking north on a downhill segment.

The riding on the RTS loop is very mellow by Park City standards. The slopes are easy, turns are generous in radius, and 99% of the trail surface is butter-smooth. For more advanced riders, there are plenty of swooping turns to keep your attention.

UOP Trail (Iron Bill)

After hammering the loop, more advanced riders will head for UOP (Iron Bill) at the top of the RTS loop. Shortly after the trail fork, Iron Bill will cross the Olympic Parkway and begin climbing the ski-jump hill. I recommend Iron Bill for upper-intermediate riders.

Note that (as of 2015) the trail is labeled "UOP" at the ends and "Iron Bill" just about everywhere else.

At the trail fork where UOP (Iron Bill) forks away from RTS.

Log bridge on UOP. There's also a 100-foot section of narrow metal plates passing through what I presume was wet ground a month ago.

Although it starts out mellow, Iron Bill will become a more typical Park City trail, with sustained climbing and a bit of embedded rock. The pitch isn't that tough, though, and there are plenty of recovery segments. On the way to the Legacy Loop, you'll climb about 500 vertical in 1.5 miles.

The turns here are fairly tight, but they have a good berm and roll nicely both uphill and down. The terrain will vary depending on sun exposure -- there will be a bit of cool fir and aspen forest, alternating with bitterbrush and scrub oak. Typical for Park City, you'll have to grab your views through the occasional gaps in the trees.

Approaching a turn (heading downhill on the return trip), with Deer Valley in the distance.

Legacy Loop and Legacy Ridge

View to the east.

At the highest point of Iron Bill, the lariat Legacy Loop forks off uphill. (Meanwhile, Iron Bill heads over to Bear Hollow Drive, about one-half mile uphill from the Rob's Trail parking lot. This is your route up to Midmountain.)

The Legacy trails consist of an uphill stem then a loop around the mountain (the Legacy Loop), plus a trail that cuts across the loop by going up and over the top (the Legacy Ridge trail). The loop itself is short (0.7 miles) with no tough climbing. It's suitable for experienced beginners, but does have some bumpy rock on the southwestern side.

You can drive directly to the Legacy Loop. Two short trail spurs take you from the pavement to the loop: one is found on Bear Hollow Drive opposite the Bobsled facility, and the other is in the parking area as you approach the top of the Slide. The most obvious use for these connections is a shuttled downhill run.

The north side of the Legacy Loop is cool aspen, chokecherry and fir forest. The south side is rockier, with oak brush, bitter brush, and sage.

Looking west into Bear Hollow. Rob's trail is near the bend in the road.

My sample ride hits Legacy Loop and Legacy Ridge as a loop-de-loop. At the far side of the Legacy Loop on your first pass around the loop, climb up and over the hilltop on Legacy Ridge. Then you repeat the 1/4 mile of Legacy Loop trail between the south end of Legacy Ridge and its north end. This second time you go straight to complete the loop. Note: the UOP Bobsled Loop has an entry on the other side of the bobsled facility (reached via a spur from the Legacy Loop).

Now you head down the stem of the lollipop, or lariat or whatever, back to Iron Bill and retrace your ride back to the lower parking lot. (Remembering to use the opposite side of RTS so you obey the clockwise-even/counterclockwise-odd direction recommendation.)

Bottom Line!
Quick, smooth, non-threatening ride for beginners on the RTS loop. More advanced riders may catch themselves riding laps for time. The ride to the top of Legacy is short and fairly quick; advanced riders will find this ride of interest when time is limited. Quick trip up Parley's; three minutes off the freeway; 7.7 miles with 1200 feet of total climbing hammered out.

Almost to the top of Legacy Ridge.

Ride notes, 7.7-mile tour, odd-numbered day:
0.0   Olympic Parkway TH, through fence
         R (then stay L, ignore smaller "cheat" route)
         N40 42.970 W111 33.254
1.9    R uphill onto UOP N40 42.856 W111 33.446
2.0    Road; cross downhill to ST
2.5    Turn L (R = to slide unloading)
         N40 42.685 W111 33.376
3.5    R uphill onto Legacy connector
         N40 42.308 W111 33.433
3.8    R on Legacy Loop N40 42.398 W111 33.492
3.9    R to stay on Loop N40 42.450 W111 33.546
         (L = return from Legacy Ridge)
         Pass foot trail to skills area on L

4.0    Keep L (R = to parking for slide)
         N40 42.497 W111 33.596
4.2    Keep L (R = to Bobsled facility)
         N40 42.374 W111 33.713
         20 feet, then hard L uphill Legacy Ridge
4.7    Keep L to join Legacy Loop again
          N40 42.450 W111 33.546
4.9    Keep straight to unridden part of Loop
         N40 42.369 W111 33.713
5.3    R downhill (exit loop) N40 42.398 W111 33.492
5.4    L on UOP (Iron Bill) N40 42.308 W111 33.433
7.0    Cross road again
7.1    RTS loop, go R (odd day) N40 42.856 W111 33.446
7.7    Back at parking.

Map of the Olympic Park trail area

Getting there:
From I-80, take the Park City Kimball Junction exit. Turn south toward Park City. 0.4 miles from the freeway, turn right on the Olympic Parkway. At the roundabout, go 3/4 around (effectively a left turn) to head south on Olympic Parkway. The road will begin climbing. At one mile from I-80, turn right into a gravel parking area. The RTS loop is just inside the break in the fence.
Upper-mountain access: You can reach connectors to the Legacy Loop from the top of the Utah Olympic Park area. Using either the Olympic Parkway or Bear Hollow Drive, head up the mountain to the ridgeline. An entry trail is found on the east side of the road opposite the Bobsled facility, and on the south side of the road as you approach the Slide loading area.

Bathrooms: None at trailhead.
Water: None at trailhead.

Riding Resources for this trail:
One-page printable riding guide
GPS Track Files (Right-click and "Save as...")
     7.7-mile ride track
     Olympic Park multi-track area file
     Park City area file (>140 tracks)
Topo map for printing: View map
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Park City area resources