loop with Spring Canyon trail
The Towhead trail is a four-mile two-way trail that links the Skyline Drive with Huntington Reservoir. Most riders will do it as a loop ride of 12 miles, climbing from the Big Drift trailhead to Skyline Drive, descending Towhead, then climbing Spring Canyon. The link to Spring Canyon is either via ATV Route 12 on the east side of Huntington Reservoir or the new Monarch trail west of the lake. The trails are easy technically, but climbs can feel strenuous because of the elevation -- even when the pitch is gentle.
For the eastern side of a loop ride, you have the option of Spring Canyon or the ATV Route 12. At the time of this review, the Monarch trail connector to Spring Canyon (see map below) had not been completed. But you can now do the entire loop on singletrack. So most riders will be making a loop of Skyline Drive, then Towhead, then Monarch, then Spring Canyon.
While the ATV route can be fun, on weekends you'll share the ATV track with mobs of kids on machines. If you're climbing, you'll be frequently pulling off to the side. Some riders, after completing the singletrack loop, will take an extra mini-lap down Route 12 and back up Monarch and Spring Canyon. The downhill direction is fast, and minimizes your entanglement with ATVs.
You can shuttle the Towhead trail (or Spring Canyon) by leaving a vehicle at the Huntington Reservoir trailhead. To descend Spring Canyon, start at the Big Drift trailhead. To make a DH run down Towhead, continue uphill to the Skyline Drive turnoff, then drive 2.6 miles to the top of Towhead.
Improved campgrounds are found just below Huntington Reservoir, and are connected to the lower trailhead via ATV routes. (A bike-specific trail from the campground is planned for late 2024.) Primitive camping is allowed along the Skyline Drive and at spots along SR 31.
This ride is a good choice for combining camping, fishing, boating, and ATV riding with mountain biking.
From the Wasatch Front, take Highway 6 to Spanish Fork Canyon, then turn south on US-89. Turn left in Fairview and climb to the top of Fairview Canyon. Pass the entry to Skyline Drive at mile 14, then turn to the right to park at the Big Drift trailhead and ATV/snowmobile staging area. ATV Route 12 links the two south corners of the parking lot. The uphill side is the path to the Skyline Drive for your counterclockwise loop ride. The uphill end of the Spring Canyon trail is marked by a metal post just west of the toilet, should you want to ride clockwise.
An alternate route to Fairview Canyon is to turn off I-15 in Nephi, take 132 to Moroni then 116 to Mount Pleasant. Turn left on US-89 and drive 5 miles to Fairview.
Drive to Big Drift as above. Continue downhill on SR 31 for 4 miles, then turn right into the parking area on the edge of the dam. Take the ATV route north uphill for a counterclockwise loop, or cross the dam to reach the bottom of Towhead or the Monarch trail (Spring Canyon connector) to do the all-singletrack version of the loop.
From Price: Take Highway 10 south to Huntington. Turn right on SR 31 and drive around 30 miles uphill to Huntington Reservoir.
Just a reminder: You're 100% sun-exposed at 10,000 feet elevation. If you forget the sunblock, you'll be toast.
The trail begins by traversing below the lip of a glacial cirque. It then drops into a fir forest.
Another note: In early summer biting flies can be a nuisance at this elevation. Add some bug-repellant to your sunblock.
In July 2024, the sun-exposed areas of the lower trail were often crowded with grass and weeks, making the riding line hard to see. I think uphill navigation could be difficult until the trail is compacted.
As you approach the dam, you'll notice a trail on your left going along the western side of the reservoir. This is the Monarch trail -- which was completed after this review. The Monarch trail gives you an ATV-free connector to Spring Canyon. My recommendation is to turn left at the dam and climb Monarch 2.0 miles to Spring Canyon. Turn left uphill at the trail fork with Spring Canyon.
As a climbing route, the pitch is fairly easy but there will be occasional steeper spots. All are rideable -- unless the moon dust and loose debris gets you. On weekends, I don't recommend playing with the plentiful ATVs that you'll find on this path. It's dusty and noisy.
The Spring Canyon trail links the Big Drift parking/staging area to ATV Route 12 just uphill from Huntington Reservoir. About 0.4 miles from the ATV track, the Monarch trail (from the western side of Huntington Reservoir) joins up. The Monarch trail is my recommended route for a loop ride. You'd skip the lower portion of the Spring Canyon trail.
The connection of the bottom of Spring canyon trail to the ATV route is not obvious. At mile 1.3 from the lower trailhead, a couple of parallel doubletracks cross the ATV path. The first is used by primitive campers to turn their trailers around. The second (uphill) path is the dirt road to the Spring Canyon trailhead. About 100 yards downhill on this road, there's a turn-around loop, with the Spring Canyon trail on the far side.
The Spring Canyon trail is 2.6 miles long. It climbs 500 vertical feet, with the top 1/2 mile being very flat. Like the lower portions of Towhead, the Spring Canyon trail needs lots of bike tires to define and compact the riding lines.
If you're taking the Monarch trail as part of your loop, the connection from the reservoir to the Big Drift trailhead will be 4.2 miles.
As Spring Canyon arrives at the snowmobile-riding zone south of Big Drift, it passes through a flat area of stunted grass and low shrubs. Here the path of the trail is outlined by rocks stacked alongside. The surface was bumpy with a combination of embedded rock, elk hoof-prints, and squirrel burrows.
From the Wasatch Front, take Highway 6 to Spanish Fork Canyon, then turn south on US-89. Turn left in Fairview and climb to the top of Fairview Canyon.
From Sanpete, drive north on US-89 to Fairview.
From Price, take SR-10 to Huntington, then turn right on SR-31 and drive 30 miles to the Huntington Reservoir trailhead. Continue uphill for the Big Drift parking area.
At the top of Fairview Canyon, pass the entry to Skyline Drive at mile 14, then turn to the right to park at the Big Drift trailhead and ATV/snowmobile staging area. ATV Route 12 links the two south corners of the parking lot. The uphill side is the path to the Skyline Drive for your counterclockwise loop ride. The uphill end of the Spring Canyon trail is marked by a metal post just west of the toilet, should you want to ride clockwise. (The lower trailhead is another 4 miles downhill on SR 31.)
