Jackie crosses Willow Creek. Photos and ride description August 17, 2009 by Bruce.
Willow Creek Trail (#001)The Willow Creek trail is a fun singletrack trail in the area just east of Daniel's Summit
(northwest of Strawberry Reservoir). This trail is suitable for beginners
but satisfying for
skilled riders. Slopes are gentle and non-technical. The ride can be done
as a simple 4-mile
(round trip) out-and-back, or as part of a longer ride.
The route I describe here is 14 miles. It loops through scenic Bjorkman Hollow on doubletrack
and does a singletrack "victory lap" around a side canyon so you get a
lot more of the fun
stuff. The longer ride has 900 feet of elevation gain; out-and-back has
only 300. Peak altitude
is about 8400 feet.
View north in Bjorkman Hollow, heading gently uphill.
Typical beaver pond along the ATV trail in Bjorkman Hollow.
For those riding the trail out-and-back, there's parking right at the start of the singletrack,
with room for about 4 vehicles. On weekends, you may have to look for
roadside parking downhill
from the trailhead.
The out-and-back climb up Willow Creek is gentle with multiple creek crossings. Plan to get
your feet wet. Navigation for the out-and-back is easy -- just stay with
the creek, keeping
left on the uphill at the two trail forks. An option on the out-and-back
is to use the side-canyon
alternate trail for some variety (see map). There are no creek crossings
on the more-technical
alternate route, so if you're water-phobic you can eliminate all but three
crossings.
At the top of Bjorkman Hollow, we leave the creek and climb over a low rise in aspen forest.
We've reached the top of the Willow Creek Trail. This is the trailhead.
The longer (but still easy) ride starts at the main parking area at the beginning of the gravel
Strawberry River Road, just off US-40. This loop has 3.6 miles on Strawberry
road, a broad
dirt/gravel road with occasional vehicle traffic. Then there's about three
miles on the Bjorkman
ATV route, which is actually a smooth but narrow road suitable for passenger
cars. The pretty
scenery prevents boredom here.
Once you hit the Willow Creek singletrack, you can crank at warp speed along smooth trail with
an almost imperceptible downhill slope (150 feet per mile). Sight lines
are long, so you can
easily spot horse riders in the distance and arrange safe passing.
The trail crashes through the creek quite a few times. Most crossings are rocky slippery fun,
easily done by an intermediate rider. Attempts to keep your feet dry are
pointless, as the
crossings get deeper. Two crossings had a bit of mud on one side, but
not deep enough to bog
down.
After 7 miles, it's time for Jackie's drink at the first creek crossing.
Beaver pond. We're looking east. You can make out a trail on the sidehill at the left of the photo -- this is the return trail for the "victory lap," which allows us to hit the fun stuff twice.
At the second creek crossing (heading downhill), you'll notice a trail fork. The Willow Creek
trail is to the right, across the creek. Remember this spot. We'll use
that left fork as a
return route when we come up the alternate trail for another go at the
Willow Creek trail downhill.
The trail rips through willows and grass in a small valley between two forested ridges. There
are many little ponds, courtesy of the local beavers.
View down the canyon as we approach an upended rock layer.
The rock "fence" as we pass.
1.2 miles downhill from that 2nd creek crossing (remember?), you'll see another trail fork,
also just before a creek crossing. If you're "done," right goes down to
the trailhead. We'll
fork left and climb the side canyon to do a "victory lap".
The alternate trail is narrower, winding and undulating, so I don't recommend this side-route
for beginners. This section is intermediate in tech requirement. The trail
climbs up a parallel
canyon then over a rise to rejoin the Willow Creek trail at the second
creek crossing. Doing
this lap adds 3 miles of singletrack to your ride. There aren't any creek
crossings on the
side canyon trail.
Beaver house.
A horizontal rainbow, or more accurately, a sun bow.
Yes, there are fish in the creek. Check regulations, as fishing is prohibited during the spawning
run.
Bottom Line:
The Willow Creek trail is scenic, fun, and non-threatening. Kids will love it. If you have
children or beginners in tow, I suggest you go a little later in the year
(August) when the
stream flow is lower and the trail is more worked-in. If you're starting
from the bottom, the
first creek crossing is the deepest and widest. If you can ride that one,
you're good for the
rest.
Map of a loop with Willow Creek
Riding notes, 14-mile loop ride with
"lap" via side canyon:
0.0 From parking, north (left) on gravel road
N40 16.791 W111 13.132
1.1 Keep straight on main road (R = return)
N40 17.756 W111 13.243
3.6 R to Bjorkman Hollow ATV route
N40 19.837 W111 13.718
6.2 Highest point of ride (8400 ft)
6.6 R (south) off DT to ST at log fence
N40 20.028 W111 12.032
7.2 2nd creek crossing N40 19.514 W111 11.935
R for Willow Creek (L=alternate
return)
8.4 L on alternate (R=continue down canyon)
N40 19.514 W111 11.935
Slow climb up and around to
rejoin trail
10.1 L across creek and rejoin Willow Crk downhill
11.4 At fork, go R across creek this time
11.8 Trailhead, downhill on DT N40 18.329 W111 12.609
12.7 Strawberry Road, go L
13.8 Back at parking
Getting there: Take US-40 southbound from
Heber and drive up Daniel's Canyon 17 miles from the US40-US189 junction. After passing the summit,
continue another 2.5 miles to the Strawberry River. Shortly after crossing
the river, turn left on the Strawberry River Road, about mile 2.8 after
the summit. Immediately turn left into the parking area.
To reach the Willow Creek trailhead, drive 1.1 miles up the Strawberry
road then fork right at the Willow Creek sign and drive up dirt road 0.6
miles.
Facilities: Toilets at the main parking area along
Strawberry road.
Singletrack closed to ATVs and motorcycles. Trail is popular with horse
riders.
