Bruce climbs the Bottom Trail -- at this point the main Left Hand Fork trail -- approaching Bear Trap Pass. Photos and trail tracks July 13, 2018 by Bruce.
Tooele's Settlement Canyon
Left Hand ForkSettlement Canyon lies at the southeast corner of Tooele, right at the
edge of town. It's surprisingly pretty, well-forested, and dramatically
cooler than Tooele. The
Right Hand Fork
has
the easy Dark Trail, while the Left Hand Fork's bike trails are for
upper-intermediate riders.
The trail system starts at the Left Hand Fork trailhead at Spring Flats. You'll need to pay
an entry fee to the canyon if you park and start your ride here. That's
a good option if your
group is doing a picnic or hanging out in the canyon after the ride.
Most riders begin riding from the large parking area just before the fee station (see the "Getting
there" instruction below). At this time (July 2018), there's no charge
to bike or walk into
the canyon.
The beginning of the Left Hand Fork trail system on the paved Right Hand Fork Road, across from the parking area.
A view down the Muddy Trail, with nice singletrack hugging the sideslope under a canopy of tall maples.
There are about 9 miles of trail in the Left Hand Fork, with a wide variety of possible riding
combinations. For riders who are new to the area, I'm going to suggest
that you start with
a climb on the doubletrack along the Camp Wapiti fence, then take the
Bottom Trail uphill.
This can deliver you to all the other ride possibilities.
From the entry gate to Bear Trap Pass...
Climbing uphill through a forest of maple and oak.
Getting to the Left Hand Fork trailAs you coast downhill on the paved road, the first trail you see is the
Dark Trail
on your right at mile 0.1 from
the fee station. Keep going. At 1/2 mile, the Camp Wapiti road forks left.
Many riders choose to simply pedal up that road. But keep right and ride
a
little further. Across from the parking entry to Spring Flats, there's
a trail
on the uphill
(left) side of the road. That's the Left Hand Fork Trail.
Getting to Camp WapitiPedal up the broad path. At mile 0.2 from the road, there's a signed route heading steeply
uphill on your right. This trail connects to the Muddy Trail. Keep straight.
At mile 0.4, there's a trail fork as you approach the Camp Wapiti road. The Left Hand Fork
trail goes to the left across the road. (To the right takes you up to
the Muddy Trail.) Cross
the road. After 100 feet the singletrack will merge with doubletrack along
the side of the
paved road as it approaches Camp Wapiti.
We've arrived at the Camp Wapiti road. Across from us, this sign marks the continuing trail uphill. Or, we could just pedal up the road.
Near the fence of Camp Wapiti, on the left side of the parking area, this singletrack is the link to both Bottom and Bench.
Finding the doubletrack to the Bottom TrailAs you approach the gates of Camp Wapiti, the Left Hand Fork trail is the singletrack on your
left. Go there. An immediate trail fork divides the route into the Bench
Trail (left) and the
connector to the Bottom Trail. Go right, and you'll arrive at a gravel
road just outside the
Camp Wapiti fence. This doubletrack is the easy way uphill, leading directly
to the singletrack
of the Bottom Trail.
Uphill on the Bottom TrailYou'll spend 0.7 miles on the doubletrack climbing steadily. As the gravel road ends at an
enclosure, go to the right of the fence and find the singletrack. As you
hit the bump of the
buried water line, the trail will fork. Keep left to stay on the Bottom
Trail (the easiest
way uphill). The trail to the right is a connector over to Muddy.
We're near the bottom of the Bottom Trail, heading uphill. The forest is tall old maples and fir.
The Bottom trail takes a detour around deadfall.
Bottom, as the name implies, stays in the bottom of the draw, all the way up to Bear Trap Pass.
After 0.4 miles on the Bottom singletrack, you'll reach the main connector
to the Muddy trail,
forking sharply away on your right. A few feet uphill, a connector to
the Bench Trail forks
away on your left. (In July 2018, each of these trails was marked with
a ribbon tied around
a tree but no trail sign.)
It will take another mile of climbing on Bottom to reach Bear Trap Pass. The total climbing
on the 1.4 miles of singletrack is 850 vertical feet, a do-able but taxing
rate of ascent.
For the most part, the trail is smooth and tech-free. But there will be
spots where you must
follow a trailbreak route around a fallen tree or bump over a small log.
Bruce cranks uphill. Almost to the top, as the maple forest gives way to aspen.
Entering the meadow at Bear Trap Pass. From here, the Bench trail is to our left, around the middle of the meadow. The Ridge trail is in the right, just after the meadow ends.
You'll know you're at Bear Trap Pass when you can see something besides trees. There's a little
meadow with a view to the southeast. Continue through the meadow until
you approach a fence
at the top of the saddle.
Descending from Bear Trap Pass...
Handlebar view as we descend the Bottom trail.
Now you'll need to decide on the next part of your ride. Among your options are: (1) backtrack
exactly as you came up. (2) start back down on Bottom, transferring over
to Muddy or Bench
after one mile. (3) immediately take the Bench Trail for a loop ride.
(4) take the Ridge trail
around to Muddy for a more-techy loop. (5) go straight onto the Bear Trap
Pass trail for a
loop that puts your downhill on the Dark Trail.
The remainder of the page will discuss the other trails in the Left Hand Fork, both as climbers
and descenders. Pick your route.
The downhill is very nice! Bottom is easy; Muddy is intermediate; Bench is narrow and gets techy at the end; Ridge is kinda mean.
Typical view on the Bottom trail.
The Bottom trail is 1.4 miles of singletrack and 0.7 miles of graveled doubletrack. This route
extends from the gate at Camp Wapiti to Bear Trap Pass.
You can do the Bottom Trail as a true out-and-back, as it rides well in either direction. From
the entry gatehouse, this ride is 6.4 miles round trip with 1500 vertical
feet of climbing.
From the middle of the route, you can transfer to the Bench Trail or the Muddy Trail in Crossing
Hollow. This is an attractive option when descending, because it avoids
the gravel road on
the lower 0.7 miles of Bottom. After descending one mile from Bear Trap
Pass, find the connector
trails. The connection to Bench is on the right, and the connector to
Muddy is about 50 feet
down the Bottom trail on your left.
From uphill, looking at the tail fork. Behind me is the connector to Bench. To the left is Muddy and on the right, Bottom.
The forest is a varied mix of maple, oak, aspen, and fir.
These trail options are for upper-intermediate riders or better. They offer a longer ride but
have some technical sections.
At Bear Trap Pass, this gate will take you to a steep descent down to the Right Hand Fork.
The Bear Trap Pass trail drops 900 vertical feet from Bear Trap Pass, arriving at the Right
Hand Fork dirt road after 1.4 miles. While some of the trail can be ridden
uphill, long sections
are too steep and loose. Consider it a one-way downhill.
The trail was graded for vehicles in the past. You'll notice a prominent hump of material along
the sides of the trail, but it rarely provides a turning berm. Some sections
of the downhill
are plush and easy, other stretches are steep and loose. Where horses
have been struggling
uphill, you can expect loose rock.
Descending from Bear Trap Pass.
Views are few, because the route is heavily forested. Here's a look at Rocky Peak to the east.
Upper-intermediates may enjoy using this trail for a loop ride. In my opinion, it scrubs away
too much vertical too quickly -- a waste of a climb -- then plops you
onto a beginner-level
trail for the rest of the descent. The downhill routes in the Left Hand
Fork (Bottom, Muddy,
Bench) are more fun.
At the bottom of Bear Trap, turn right downhill on the doubletrack. About 1/10th mile later,
watch carefully for a singletrack on the left, which is the
Upper Dark (Right Hand Fork) trail.
.
Because the route has been bulldozed, the path down the mountain is broad and fast
The Bench trail hugs the sideslope as we traverse to the east.
The Bench trail is 3.2 miles long, with 1200 vertical feet of elevation change. The bottom
of the trail is just north of the Camp Wapiti entry gate, and the top
is about 150 feet downhill
from the fence at Bear Trap Pass.
The Bench Trail has a steep slope at the western (downhill) end, which makes it better as a
descender. But if you don't mind pushing your bike uphill for about 1/2
mile, you can quickly
gain some altitude then contour the hillside for a fun ride up to Bear
Trap Pass.
As an uphill, the Bench Trail begins with a grunt climb. Because the trail is used by horses,
the tread will be loose and rocky in the steep sections. You'll walk.
Even if you've got the
leg, you won't find the traction. In 0.6 miles, the trail climbs 450 vertical
feet -- an average
15% slope.
There are some competing trails as you get higher up. Stay on what looks like the main path,
and it will turn 90 degrees to the right. You can take a spur uphill to
take in the view. Find
your ongoing trail, then settle in for some very fun riding.
Looking west at the Tooele Valley from Bench.
Trail view on Bench. Narrow, smaller trees, and rockier than the trails in the bottom.
At mile 2.1 from Wapiti, a connector forks away downhill to the right. This trail takes you
down to Crossing Hollow and the Bottom Trail. (Just downhill from where
this connector joins
Bottom, the Muddy trail heads up the opposite side of the small canyon.
This offers a loop
ride that's significantly shorter.)
At mile 3.2, Bench reaches the meadow at Bear Trap Pass.
As a downhill, the challenge here is finding the Bench trail. I didn't see the trail in the
big meadow at Bear Trap Pass. Then I noticed a small sign nailed to an
oak tree on the edge
of the meadow. It said "Corner Mountain Pass 1.5 mi." So if you don't
see a path, look toward
the edge of the meadow for a sign.
Keep straight at the fork 1.1 miles from the top, and at mile 2.5, turn downhill just before
the power poles and descend steeply to Camp Wapiti.
Riding west on the downhill.
Muddy is narrower than Bottom and more twisty.
The Muddy trail is 1.3 miles long, extending from the middle of the Bottom Trail to the lower
Left Hand Fork trail. It's fun as a descender, but can be climbed by a
determined rider with
some skill.The Muddy trail forks away from the Bottom Trail in Crossing
Hollow, one mile from the Pass.
After skirting a small rise, it falls into a shallow canyon along a creek.
It then runs parallel
to the lower Bottom Trail, separated by a small ridge.
The canyon runs northwest as you coast downhill, and at first the trail stays close along the
creek. Expect some muddy spots, as the trail is affected by seeps. There
will be some apparent
trail forks with small paths heading uphill from the bottom of the ravine.
Some of these are
official trails, such as a connector across the little ridge to lower
Bottom. Others go who
knows where.
The trail rolls around, and then through, a seep.
As we approach the end of the ridge, a field of dead Mules Ear awaits.
As Muddy continues downhill, it will rise above the ravine and onto a ridgeline. As you approach
the end of a long meadow of Mules Ear, you'll reach a trail fork. To the
left is the apparent
"official" Muddy, which descends to the Left Hand Fork trail at 0.2 miles
from its bottom on
the road. The lower part of this trail is steep, loose, and narrow.
The trail to the right is more fun, twisting through the maple forest. This trail has its steep
spots, too, but I found it more ride-able and much more fun. This trail
ends at the spot where
the Left Hand Fork trail crosses the Camp Wapiti road, 0.4 miles uphill
from the Left Hand
Fork trailhead.
Final plunge down to the Left Hand Fork trail.
Climbing around the hill away from Bear Trap Pass. Note the narrow barely-perceptible trail.
The Ridge Trail starts at Bear Trap Pass and circles around on the ridgeline between the Left
Hand Fork and Right Hand Fork. Both the upper and lower ends can be a
bit hard to see. When
heading uphill about 50 feet before the gate (entry to the Bear Trap Pass
trail), find a narrow
singletrack heading through the scrub on your right. It will climb for
a little bit, then wind
around the hill to the opposite side. Then it runs northwest downhill
along the ridge.
After a mile and a half, the trail turns into the canyon and begins a narrow, steep and techy
plunge down to Muddy. It reaches that trail at the Bottom-to-Muddy connector.
Turn left downhill
to finish a loop; right uphill to head back to the top, or cross Muddy
to the connector trail
if you're headed for Bottom.
Mules ear and oak brush line the trail as we turn toward a ravine that will drop down to Muddy.
Riding notes, Bottom up then Muddy down
0.0 Paved road from fee station N40 30.419 W112 17.594
0.5 Keep R at road fork N40 30.103 W112 17.268
0.6 Trailhead, L on Left Hand Fork N40 30.035 W112 17.240
0.8 Keep straight (R = to Muddy) N40 30.040 W112 16.973
1.0 L across road (R = to Muddy) N40 30.035 W112 16.817
1.1 Ride gravel path along paved road to camp gates
1.2 L on ST N40 30.038 W112 16.672
Immediate R back to gravel
road
1.9 Veer R onto ST N40 29.726 W112 15.967
150 feet, L on Bottom (R =
to
Muddy)
N40 29.686 W112 15.918
2.3 Keep straight (R = to Muddy, L = to Bench)
N40 29.418 W112 15.749
3.3 At Bear Trap Pass, backtrack N40 28.830 W112 15.115
4.3 L to Muddy N40 29.418 W112 15.749
4.6 Keep straight (L = to Bottom, R = Ridge)
N40 29.581 W112 15.985
5.4 R (L also goes to Left Hand Fork)
N40 29.987 W112 16.683
5.6 L on Left Hand Fork N40 30.035 W112 16.817
6.0 R on paved road
6.5 Back at parking
Map of Settlement Canyon
Getting there:
From Salt Lake Valley, take I-80 westbound. Exit on Highway 36 and
drive south through Tooele. Right at the southern edge of town, look for a
"Camp Wapiti" sign and turn left onto the Settlement Canyon
Road. (Note: there's a street called "Canyon Road" about 1/10th
mile before Settlement Canyon. It's NOT the canyon road that you
want.)
From Utah County, take Highway 73 westbound through Five Mile Pass.
Turn right (north) on Highway 36. As you hit the edge of Tooele, watch for
a small "Camp Wapiti" sign and turn right on Settlement Canyon
Road.
Drive uphill 0.8 miles to a large parking area and fee station. If you
plan to picnic, camp, or just park within the canyon, pay your fee at the
station. If you're biking in, find a parking spot here.
Canyon Road parking (for Dark Trail): For bike-in riders,
there's parking on the right side of the road, just before the fee
station.
Spring Flats (Left Hand Fork trailhead): From the fee
station, drive 1/2 mile on the canyon road. Keep right as the Camp Wapiti
road forks uphill to the left. Drive 1/10th mile further and turn right
into the trailhead parking. The Left Hand Fork trail is across the road
from the parking entrance. The Dark Trail can be reached via a connector
at the back of the northernmost picnic parking spot.
Camp Wapiti parking: Drive 0.5 miles from the fee station,
then turn left on the Camp Wapiti road. Go 0.4 miles uphill and park in
front of the camp gates. The trail is to the left of the camp gates, and
within a few feet forks into the Bench Trail (left) and a connector to the
doubletrack to Bottom (right).
