Climbing Rabbitbrush from the Bonneville Shoreline Trail at the eastern side of the trail system on a counter-clockwise ride. Photos and trail review by Bruce on April 4, 2022. Updated September 23, 2022.
Rabbitbrush Trail
Wormwood and Hobble Creek Bonneville Shoreline
Wormwood and Hobble Creek Bonneville Shoreline
The Rabbitbrush and Wormwood trails -- together with a short segment of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) -- are the first installment of a trail system at the mouth of Hobble Creek Canyon. The plan is for more difficult trails higher on the mountain, with connections to the planned Springville Bike Park in Spring Canyon to the north.
Although there isn't a lot of mileage at this time, the trail layout allows for a wide variety
of possible rides. Trails are generally intermediate in technical requirement,
but suitable
for beginners. The riding here will mostly be of interest to bikers who
live in nearby cities
who need something quick.
The Wormwood Trail reaches Rabbitbrush. Note the nice trail markings.
View south over Mapleton from the BST.
Of the current trails, the Bonneville Shoreline is beginner level. Rabbitbrush and Wormwood
would be considered early-intermediate but suitable for beginners. There's
very little climbing,
so it's not much work. There's around 75 feet of elevation change from
the lowest point on
Wormwood to the highest spot on Rabbitbrush.
To ride the Rabbitbrush trails, go to 400 South in Springville and drive east, turning south
onto Canyon Road at the roundabout. Once you're in the canyon, watch for
a small reservoir
dam on the right side of the road. On the left side of the road, across
from the
Hobble
Creek paved pathway
and the pond, is a small gravel strip for parking. The BST entry is on the far west (downhill)
end of the parking zone.
You might think you can reach the trail via the BST from Slate Canyon in Provo or Spring Canyon in Springville. However, there's a subdivision in the way, and the two connecting trails from Spring Canyon to that subdivision are posted as closed. (See below.)
Looking east into Hobble Creek Canyon. I'm standing near the BST trail entry, looking toward the parking strip.
Bonneville Shoreline Trail
Heading west on the BST.
Access to Rabbitbrush, Wormwood, and future expansion trails is through the Bonneville Shoreline
(BST) trail. This segment of the BST is 0.9 miles long. Elevation change
is only about 40 feet,
most of it during the first 1/10th mile from the trailhead.
The BST begins across the road from the small reservoir on the Hobble Creek Canyon Road. It
heads west (away from the canyon) through a grove of mature trees. After
a short twisty climb
on tight trail through the trees, it settles into easy straight singletrack.
It falls onto
an old doubletrack after 1/2 mile, running just uphill from the canal.
The trees near the BST are bigger than the oak brush of the higher hillside.
Riding east on the BST between the ends of Rabbitbrush.
The Hobble Creek Bonneville Shoreline Trail ends as it hits 800 South. Despite what you may
see as you glance at your navigation app, in 2022 there's no uncomplicated
way through to the
Springville BST. There will be pavement. There will be gates and no trespassing
signs. This
includes the Canal Trail (along the paved ditch), and the BST (higher
on the mountain) which
has construction completely blocking the former trail (you can hop from
the Canal Trail up
to the BST via a connector, but you'll still find gates).
To reach the northbound Springville and Provo section of the BST , consider dropping down on paved streets to Canyon Drive. Head back toward the city a bit, then turn right on 2080 East. After 1/2 mile, just as the road turns from north to northwest, find the BST Access on your right at Spring Canyon.
Looking from the circle at the end of 800 South toward Hobble Creek Canyon. The BST is the smaller trail to the left.
Rabbitbrush Trail
On the clockwise ride, we're heading uphill to the east as the trail meanders uphill through oak and grass.
The Rabbitbrush trail is 0.5 miles long, with only around 80 feet of elevation change. The
trail can be ridden in either direction. A lariat loop hitting only half
the BST plus Rabbitbrush
would be exactly one mile.
The terrain is typical Wasatch foothill stuff. The trail winds through groves of scrub oak, with some meanders onto open grass-covered hillside.
The eastern side of the Rabbitbrush trail begins by forking right uphill from the BST 1/10th
mile from the roadside parking strip. The western end then reconnects
to the BST about 1/2
mile from the trailhead. Most riders will chose to do a loop of Rabbitbrush
and the BST.
The central portion of Rabbitbrush traverses an old corridor. We're looking east into Hobble Creek Canyon on a counter-clockwise ride.
Most of the BST follows an old doubletrack just above the homes in Hobble Creek Canyon. Here we've reached the trail fork where the western end of Rabbitbrush forks to the right uphill.
If you want to do the loop clockwise, fork left at the first trail intersection to stay on
the BST. Ride the BST for 1/2 mile until you reach the western end of
the trail (as shown in
the photo) then fork right uphill to loop around.
Wormwood forks away from Rabbitbrush at mile 0.1 on the eastern side (counterclockwise ride) and at mile 0.2 from the western end (clockwise ride). This layout offers fun variations on the loop ride.
Rabbitbrush is a hand-cut trail with a fairly narrow track. Overall the riding on Rabbitbrush
feels "old fashioned." Turns are generous in radius and sight lines are
long. Many turns have
modestly sized berms.
The trail surface is smooth dirt with no rocks or roots or technical stuff at this time. The alignment tends to run between clumps of brush rather than through the brambles, so there's plenty of elbow room.
Riding downhill on Rabbitbrush in September.
Heading into Hobble Creek Canyon on a ride in early April.
At the ride's highest elevation, it falls onto an old bench-cut for a bit. This is the straight
spot you can see on the map. At the eastern end of this straight area,
Rabbitbrush turns downhill,
while the faint uphill path is the location of a future expert line higher
on the mountain,
to be called Katseye. (Don't go there now.)
Wormwood Trail
View downhill to the west as we descend the eastern side of Wormwood. Note the wooden ramp for a jump ahead.
Wormwood is 0.5 miles in length. Both ends of the Wormwood trail are high on the hillside on
the Rabbitbrush trail. The eastern end comes 0.1 miles uphill on Rabbitbrush,
while the western
end is found 0.2 miles uphill when going the opposite direction on Rabbitbrush.
Between those ends, Wormwood drops down across the BST and traverses the lowest part of the hill before climbing back up to Rabbitbrush. See the map. Because Wormwood crosses the BST twice, you can use the BST to ride any piece of the Wormwood trail -- one end and/or the middle.
The climb uphill on Wormwood -- on either end -- is a bit steeper than Rabbitbrush. But it
doesn't last long. Many riders like to use both ends of Wormwood as a
downhill. After doing
the traversing portion below the BST, they take the BST out to the end
of Rabbitbrush for a
mellower climb.
Heading down the eastern side of Wormwood.
Climbing up the bald hillside on the western side of Wormwood.
The Wormwood trail can be done in either direction. There's a steep dip on the western end,
though, which presents itself as a wall when doing Wormwood uphill (going
east to west). Things
get ugly if you don't have enough momentum to rocket all the way up. (It's
too steep and loose
to safely stop.) So my guess is that riders who intend to ride all of
Wormwood in one piece
will prefer to go west to east.
Like Rabbitbrush, Wormwood is a hand-built trail that follows natural lines as it twists through
groves of oak. It's a bit tighter in the trees and a little more twisty
than Rabbitbrush. I
thought Wormwood was a lot of fun!
It's easy to find a combination of trails that matches your fitness and ability level. The trail system is small enough that you can do everything in both directions.
Handlebar view of the narrow trail in the central section of Wormwood.
Deadman's Point option
Looking from the BST up the small canyon where we'll climb to Deadman's Point.
Deadman's Point is a steep trail that goes up to a viewpoint over the valley. It also connects
to the Deadman's Pass trail, which climbs very very steeply up and around
a hill to descend
into Spring Canyon. Full disclosure, in 2021 I decided the hike-a-bike
up to Deadman's was
not worthy of your consideration. But now it's on Trailforks, so I've
added it to this info
page.
The trail forks away from the uphill side of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail just before it
ends on pavement on 800 South. The trail is faint, as it doesn't see a
lot of traffic. It heads
at a mellow pace for 100 feet, then begins a very steep and loose climb
up narrow trail clinging
to the side-slope of the ravine.
Looking down the ravine on the way back.
The final stretch on the ridgeline up to the viewpoint.
You'll gain almost 200 feet of elevation just getting to the first trail fork just 0.2 miles
from the BST. Most of that climb is so steep and loose that you'll walk.
And it's not easy
walking, either. The obligatory push-a-bike goes for 700 feet.
At mile 0.2 you'll reach a fork. You're at a spot where you can pedal your bike again. Hard left traverses around the hill where you can look over the valley and come back, if you want a little more pedaling now that you're up here.
Continuing uphill at the trail fork, the pitch becomes a bit less insane and you can actually
pedal. The trail will curve around left and climb to another ridge where
you'll find another
trail fork. Go to the left to climb along the ridge to the viewpoint.
(The trail to your right
at this fork is Deadman's Pass, which is insanely steep and goes on forever.
Seriously, I don't
recommend it.)
Now drop your seat and start the downhill. When you hit the lower trail fork, it gets dicey, with loose stuff on a skinny 30% down-sloping trail. Stopping is not going to happen, so slide on down.
And here's a tiny piece of the view. It goes 360 degrees!
View south from the Rabbitbrush Trail.
Bottom Line!
Good start for a trail system. With only three trails totaling under two miles at this time, you'll want to do laps or reverse directions or make various combinations of trail segments to keep it fresh. So the trails will be of interest mainly to those who are looking for a short, easy and nearby system for beginners and kids. And local riders who'll squeeze in a few laps after work.
Good start for a trail system. With only three trails totaling under two miles at this time, you'll want to do laps or reverse directions or make various combinations of trail segments to keep it fresh. So the trails will be of interest mainly to those who are looking for a short, easy and nearby system for beginners and kids. And local riders who'll squeeze in a few laps after work.
Deadman's Point is a great view, and worth doing once. But it's insanely loose and steep.
Connecting further north on the Bonneville Shoreline:
Things get pretty frustrating when you try to find your way north on the
Bonneville Shoreline Trail. It can be done, but you'll need to ignore some
ominous signs. Take the canal trail north. If you want, you can watch for
a singletrack cutting uphill to the BST. Keep north, going around gates
and ignoring signs, until you hit a fork where you can take singletrack up
to the Spring Canyon bike park. Get on the doubletrack climbing trail, but
as you climb, find a trail on the left going uphill. You'll find the
continuing BST across the Spring Canyon doubletrack trail.
This used to be the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. You could pass through the the subdivision to the BST at the north end. The BST has another closure sign just before Spring Canyon.
This is the canal trail, which is an alternate route for connecting through the subdivision to reach Spring Canyon. This sign specified "No Bikes."
Getting there: Take the 400 South Springville
exit (260) from I-15, turning east on U-77. Go straight through
Springville. As you begin to climb the foothills, you'll come to a 4-way
stop. Turn right (southward) towards Hobble Creek Canyon. The road will
begin to veer back to the east. As it turns eastward, a road comes in from
the right (south side), and you'll notice that the sidewalk on your right
has become a wide paved path. This is the Hobble Creek paved trail.
Continue up the road 1/2 mile until you pass a earthen dam with a small
reservoir. The gravel parking strip is on the left (uphill) side of the
road across from the pond. The BST trail entry is at the far west end of
the parking area, marked by a carsonite post. There's no bathroom or other
services at the trailhead itself, but there's a picnic area on the other
side of the reservoir.
GPS track files (right-click a file and select
"save as..."):
Area GPX multi-track file
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Utah county resources
Area GPX multi-track file
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Utah county resources
