 |
Bonneville Shoreline Trail
Provo to Springville Section
The Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) is a series of trails running
the length of the Wasatch Front, roughly following the shoreline of
prehistoric Lake Bonneville. Each city develops its own section as it sees
fit. Provo's section is a broad all-weather track that can be tackled in
rain or snow, and it's close to the city for an after-work or noonie bike
ride.
View west from the trail, with West Mountain on the
left above Utah Lake. Photos and ride review
by Bruce on October 16, 2001.
|
| This is one of the easiest -- or most boring, depending on
your attitude -- sections of the Bonneville Shoreline. While most of the trail is suitable for beginners, there are some
steep loose sections where good balance and brake control are required. As
a 6.8 mile out-and-back from Rock Canyon to Slate Canyon, it's a nice
workout. That's the good news.
View up Rock Canyon at the trailhead.
|
|
 |
The bad news: Provo's version is -- except for a teensy
stretch out of Rock Canyon -- an up-and-down jeep road. Much of the trail
has been improved with a deep deposit of cinders, perfect for downhill
bike-surfing and uphill trench-digging tire spinning. There are nice views
over Provo, but the terrain around you is mostly grass with an occasional
sagebrush or bit of scrub oak. So if you're looking for exciting bike
riding, go somewhere else.
Here's the one bit of trail that's actually
singletrack. Heading south from the Rock Canyon trailhead, looking over
the Jekyll's handlebar.
|
| In
mid-summer, you should ride the trail very early, as the hillside is
blistering hot by 10 am. Bikers who have done forested technical
singletrack versions of the Bonneville Shoreline elsewhere will be disappointed in
Provo's offering. Bottom line: Ride it if you're a beginner, or when the snow closes out
your favorite riding routes.
This is typical for most of the trail -- broad
cindered conversion of a jeep road to a trail. We're northbound toward
Mount Timpangos here.
|
|
 |
The trail begins at the Nature Center in Rock Canyon at
altitude 5200. The singletrack is lined with rocks. Head towards the
canyon, then follow the right fork around and cross the road. The trail
becomes narrow singletrack for about 100 yards as it curves out of the
canyon. Becoming gravel doubletrack, the trail gradually climbs about 250
feet in elevation.
Looking northwest over Provo. The buildings of Brigham
Young University are in the middle of the photo.
|
| At 1.65 miles, it joins pavement briefly to reach the
"Y" trailhead at mile 1.75. At 3.4 miles, it drops down into Slate Canyon, losing 500 feet. (Out-and-back, you'll do about
1000 total vertical.)
Heading back to Rock Canyon.
|
|
 |
To continue on
to the Springville section, follow the
doubletrack around, through the creek, then fork right downhill. Ignore
the tempting uphill tracks on your left.
Instead, roll all the way down to the power lines. Keep left at the
parking lot and take the sidewalk down to the picnic pavilion at the lower
parking lot. Head south toward Hobble Creek
Canyon, 8 miles that-a-way. (Note 2022: the BST has been cut off between
Spring Canyon and Hobble Creek.)
The trail alternates between old doubletrack and bits
of singletrack. Most of the trail follows old bench roads. |
| For the Slate Canyon trailhead, find your way to 300 South
in Provo, headed eastbound. This will be marked as US-89. Around 800 East,
US-89 will turn to the south at a traffic light. Keep straight here --
leaving Highway 89 -- on 300 South. Also keep straight east at the
roundabout. You'll now find yourself on Slate Canyon Drive. The road will
turn south. Now watch for a small paved road uphill on your left. Drive up
that road 1/4 mile. Park in the upper lot for the northbound BST. (The
southbound BST is the trail near the pavilion at the southwest corner of
the lower (The northbound BST is just above the upper parking lot.)
View into Slate Canyon. As the cindered trail splits,
take the left fork for the BST. The trail straight uphill is the Slate
Canyon trail.
|
|
|
Bottom Line:
Not a lot of excitement here, but great views to the west over the valley.
Relatively sun-exposed and blazing hot on summer afternoons. Surprising
for a trail so close to major civilization, but the Provo BST isn't used
by a ton of riders. It's mainly a hiking and running trail for locals.
Mountain mahogany turns red in the
October sunshine. |
 |
Getting there: Take the Orem 12th South or
Center Street exit and drive east to Provo's University Avenue. (If you're
on University Parkway, turn left -- north. If you took Center Street, turn
right -- south.) At 2330 North, turn east towards the mountain. When the
street starts turning right (south) about 0.6 miles from University,
immediately turn left on 2300 North, which becomes North Temple. When this
street also starts to turn right (south), go straight up into the Rock
Canyon parking area. The trail starts as singletrack at the gate, GPS N
40° 15.882' W 111° 37.787'.
Note: At the time of this trail review, there is no direction
connection to the Provo Canyon Bonneville Shoreline
Trail. My understanding is that private property issues have prevented
extension of the Provo Section north to Indian Hills.
Printable
single-page trail guide
GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
GPX
High-res topo for printing: View
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Provo
area resources
|
Copyright 2002 Mad Scientist Software Inc
|
