The Willow Hollow trail joins the Salamander Flat trail 150 to the Alpine Loop summit trailhead. The trail is 1.3 miles long with 500 feet of elevation gain. The riding is intermediate overall in technical-skill requirement, with a couple of short rocky challenging spots. The top elevation is 8050 feet.
The riding season is June through October. The Forest Service office for American Fork Canyon usually designates all trails as closed when the winter snow begins to melt, then opens the trails when they are dry enough to ride without damage.
The trail continues directly across the parking zone, 100 yards from where it began on the Salamander Flat trail.
A little bit above the road crossing, the entire trail has been rebuilt on a more sustainable lie. (The old rocky trench -- straight up the fall line -- is gone. The old route went straight up a central meadow. But the alignment eroded into a ditch. The new trail winds back and forth in the trees higher on the hill.)
Horse Flat and Snow Gauging - 10 feet before you hit pavement, turn 90 degrees right (don't be suckered into taking one of the unmarked trails just downhill!)
Deer Creek South Fork and Lame Horse - straight across the parking circle on the east side, the combined trails head east.
Ridge 157 to Pine Hollow etc - turn left as you enter the parking circle. Where the spur from the road enters the parking circle, take the singletrack northbound through the trees, then as you reach the Alpine Loop road, find the continuing trail on the other side.
The loop ride described below is 3.8 miles with 700 vertical feet of climbing. Take Willow Hollow uphill from Salamander Flat. Turn north on Ridge 157 at the summit. Drop down Pine Hollow and turn right on the Salamander Flat trail.
Great trail, useful in a variety of loop rides. The new trail-cut on the upper half makes this a pleasure to climb.
0.0 Willow Hollow uphill from parking N40 26.417 W111 37.649
0.2 Keep straight (L=Connector, R=road) N40 26.433 W111 37.508
0.4 Cross Alpine Loop road N40 26.345 W111 37.318
1.2 Summit trailhead N40 25.844 W111 36.847
R to Ridge 157, cross road
2.1 Fork R (L = Ridge Connector) N40 26.486 W111 37.191
3.1 L on Salamander Flat N40 26.740 W111 37.620
3.6 Cross creek, R uphill N40 26.475 W111 37.642
3.7 L on Willow Hollow N40 26.434 W111 37.700
3.8 Back at parking
Salamander Flat campground trailhead. From I-15, take the
Alpine-Highland exit and drive 7 miles to the mouth of American Fork
Canyon. Pay your $6 fee (as of 2018) there. Five miles later at the fork
in the road, go along the south fork of the river. About 4 miles up,
there's a T intersection in the road. Turn left. Drive uphill past two
trail crossings (Salamander Flat trail and Snow Gauging trail). 0.9 miles
from the stop sign at the T, turn left on a gravel road and drive 100
yards to the parking area.
Alpine Loop summit trailhead. From the T intersection
above, continue all the way uphill to the top of the Alpine Loop. There's a
parking lot on your right just before the top of the ridge. From parking,
find the trail on the west side of the loop (the side that overlooks AF Canyon). Go
about 10 feet down this trail, then keep straight and to the right at any
sucker forks in the first 100 yards.
Bathrooms: Summit and Salamander Flat trailheads.
AF Canyon area topo map: View map
GPS track files (right-click and "save as...")
Loop of Willow Hollow, Ridge, Pine Hollow, Salamander Flat
American Fork Canyon multi-track area file
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to AF Canyon resources
