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Rodeo DH trails at Blackridge
One-way trails for beginners and kids
The Rodeo DH trails are located in Herriman, just 1/2 mile uphill from
the popular Blackridge Pond recreation site. These two short and easy
trails are intended for children and true beginners. With the information
on this page, parents may find it easier to decide on this activity. For
details about the connected trails, see the pages on lower
Blackridge and the upper Blackridge
trails.
View southwest as the Mutton Bustin' and Buckaroo
trails rejoin at the bottom. Photos and review by Bruce
on June 25, 2021.
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| The trails are reached via the Blackridge trail, which
starts at the far northwest corner of the parking area at Blackridge Pond.
There are several parking spots on the west end reserved for trail users.
The pond features a small playground, covered picnic area, and bathroom.
The trail area is 100% sun-exposed and will get warm on summer
afternoons. The trails dry quickly after rain. The usual riding season
will be mid-April through November, but the trails may occasionally be
clear for standard bike traffic in winter.
Looking southwest at Blackridge Pond from the
Blackridge trail.
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To reach the Rodeo DH trails, pedal up the Blackridge trail.
The trail is broad and smooth at this point, with a gradual uphill slope.
There will be 100 vertical feet of climbing over the 0.7 miles to the
Rodeo DH entry (around 1.5% average slope).
On the way uphill at mile 0.4, you'll first pass the trail fork to Sidewinder.
Keep left. Next comes the exit from the Rodeo DH trails. Keep left on the
hairpin turn. The trail sign here could be a bit more clear. Even the
"No Uphill Riding" part can be easily overlooked, or
misunderstood because the trail is fairly flat at this point and newbs to
the system may not know which end goes "uphill." This trail exit
needs a dedicated sign that says Do Not Enter. Maybe it will have one by
the time you ride.
Climbing Blackridge. The trail was rebuilt in 2020
for a more meandering but less erosion-prone layout and an easier climb
for the kids. |
| At mile 0.7 of easy uphill pedaling, you'll reach the entry
to Rodeo DH on your right. Meanwhile, the Blackridge trail continues
uphill and becomes a bumpier and steeper ride before it ends at the
junction of Eric's trail and Diamondback.
The Rodeo DH entry immediately splits into two trails called Buckaroo
and Mutton Bustin'. The trail on the right, Mutton Bustin', is shorter and
significantly easier. I suggest it be the first trip down the mountain for
your kids.
We're at the entry to Rodeo DH! Mutton Bustin' on the
right; Buckaroo on the left.
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Mutton Bustin'
The Mutton Bustin' trail is 0.2 miles long. It has a steady and gentle
rate of descent as it winds back and forth across the hillside. At this
time, any embedded rocks are small and don't require that a child stand on
the pedals to bump over them.
Mutton Bustin' rejoins Buckaroo just before the trails exit onto
Blackridge. The climb back uphill to the top of Rodeo DH is 0.3 miles with
less than 50 feet of total climbing.
Mutton Bustin' is less than 1/4 mile long. |
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For those of you whose culture hasn't educated you to the
nature of "Mutton Busting" it's time for a teaching moment.
Mutton Bustin' is a rodeo event featuring young children and sheep. Your tender four-year
old child is lifted onto the back of a terrified ewe and told to hold onto
the wool of the sheep's back. When the ewe is released and bolts away, any
child who doesn't immediately fall over backwards is scraped off on the
fencing of the arena as the panicked sheep tries to find a way out. Or the
kid tumbles sideways into the manure when the ewe's turning speed
generates sufficient G-forces. Many children actually survive this without
a concussion or
broken arm. And the watching adults have a good laugh. Ah, good times.
Near the bottom of Mutton Bustin'.
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Buckaroo
Buckaroo is the left-hand choice. It is 0.3 miles long, with the same
50 feet of vertical descent over its length. There are some flattish
sections that will require pedaling.
Buckaroo starts out with a northbound traverse before
turning around the tree. |
| While it's an easy trail to ride, Buckaroo is significantly
more challenging to kids than Mutton Bustin'. There are some humps
engineered into the trail, and the turns are tighter and a little steeper.
Each lap around the system is around 1/2 mile. Two times down each
trail would make a good day for most kids. The open terrain lets you keep
an eye on multiple children who are riding at their own pace.
A bumpy section of Buckaroo.
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Here's the trail layout in a close-up. Older kids and teens
can do the loop of Sidewinder to Diamondback
to Blackridge while the young ones stay on the Rodeo DH trails. Unattached
adults can tackle the expert trails
reached by climbing Eric's trail. (See the wider-area map below.)
Bathrooms, water, playground and shaded picnic facilities are at
Blackridge Pond. There are several parking spots at the far (uphill) end
of the parking strip that are reserved for trail users. |
| Bottom Line:
Good choice for an introduction to dirt. And Blackridge Pond offers fun
after-ride activity for the family.
A tighter turn with more down-slope on Buckaroo.
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Blackridge trailhead: From the Bangerter
Highway, turn west onto 13400 South and drive 2/3 mile. Turn left (south) at the Mountain
View Corridor and drive about a mile. At the traffic light, turn right onto Rosecrest Road.
After 1/2 mile, turn left onto Juniper Crest. (Watch out! From Rosecrest, the street signs
to your right give the northbound continuation of Juniper Crest another name!)
As you
see that you're leaving the dense homes and are approaching a bridge across a
ravine, turn right onto Ambermont Drive. (Again, caution. The continuation
of Ambermont east of Juniper Crest has a different name.) Over the next
half-mile, Ambermont goes
southwest, then west, then turns to northwest. Now fork left on Aurora
Vista. Quickly turn right onto Esher Street, then left at Ashland Ridge
and enter the parking area for Blackridge Pond. (If you reach a
"do-not-enter" exit from Blackridge Pond on the right and a
"bozos-stay-out" sign for a private neighborhood straight ahead, you went too far on Aurora
Vista. Turn around and go back to Esher Street.) The
trail starts at the far end of the parking strip. |
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