Cyn City is a downhill-only bikes-only trail located high on the
mountain above Park City, new in 2022. Riding Cyn City means additional intermediate-skills trails
to get to the top and to ride back from the bottom. Therefore Cyn City is recommended for
intermediate or better riders, even though very experienced beginners
could manage this trail by itself.
Bruce rolls down Cyn City. Trail review and photos
July 19, 2022.
The Cyn City trail is 2.7 miles long with 700 feet of
elevation loss. It begins on Charlie's 9K trail 1.7 miles west of Empire
Pass and ends on the Midmountain Trail 3.4 miles west of the Deer Valley
resort. The trail can be done as a shuttled ride with various downhill
destinations, or as a loop ride with several options for the climb uphill.
A rare breakout from the dense forest with a view
down to the ski lift area.
This is a ride that you do for the riding itself. 99% of the
trail is in deep tall forest. But there will be plenty of views from
Charlie's 9K trail on your way there.
Most riders are starting at Bonanza Flat parking and riding a
reverse-profile loop. Riders who want to get the climbing done first can
park at the Midmountain parking strip on the Empire Pass paved road.
Getting to the trail
Note that all access routes will use Charlie's 9K trail
to reach Cyn City.
Empire Pass TH
The Empire Pass parking area is the most direct route. This is also the
drop-off if you're shuttling. From Empire Pass, a short connector takes
you to the 9K trail, where you'll pedal 1.7 miles to the combined top of
Black Forest and Cyn City at the gravel McConkey Road. The Empire Pass
parking lot will usually be full on weekends, and I suggest you save it
for the hikers anyway.
Hitting the 9K trail from Empire Pass.
Bonanza Flat TH
The Bonanza Flat trailhead is the preferred parking lot. The trail is next
to the bathroom. Cross the road to the connector trail and pedal gently
uphill until you cross a doubletrack hiking trail to continue on the
singletrack Charlie's 9K. It's 2.0 miles from
Bonanza Flat parking to the top of Cyn
City/Black Forest.
Midmountain Trail Parking, Empire Pass Road
There's a strip of roadside parking where the Midmountain Trail crosses
the Empire Pass road. This is a good option for doing a loop ride with the
climbing first.
On the 9K trail westbound toward the top of Cyn City.
Climbing routes for loop options:
Tour des Suds. Upper Tour des Suds is a climbing route to the 9K trail. Find it on the
Midmountain Trail 100 feet east of the Empire Pass paved road, combined
with the Boulder trail. Turn right on Tour des Suds and climb to the
doubletrack and turn left. Connect to Moosebones. When you hit the paved
road, climb uphill to Empire Pass.
Boulder. Connect to Boulder from Midmountain as above. After crossing the gravel
road, turn left on Moosebones and climb to Empire pass as above.
Corvair. Located just west of the Empire Pass paved road.
Links to TG, then Upper Corvair to reach 9K at Empire Pass.
Looking uphill on Tour des Suds.
Team Big Bear. Team Big Bear heads uphill from Midmountain about 1/3 mile east of the
Empire Pass Road. When you reach a doubletrack, turn right off Big Bear
and connect to Moosebones.
McConkey's Road. To the north on Midmountain. Fastest way
back up. But, yeah, it's a dirt road.
Shadow Lake area. This is a longer tougher loop option for conditioned skilled riders. From
Midmountain north of the bottom of Cyn City (in the PCMR area) catch
Tommy's Two Step uphill to the Yurt, then cross the roads to Three
Candles. Take Keystone to the Shadow Lake trail. When Shadow Lake ends on
old doubletrack, turn 180 degrees left onto Blazing Saddles. Fork left
downhill when you reach the fork for the 9K trail and follow it a few
miles to the top of Cyn City.
Arriving at the top of Cyn City when riding from
Shadow Lake, looking east.
Cyn City trail
Cyn City is an intermediate-level downhill-only flow trail.
It's restricted to bikes. The trail begins at a bit over 9000 feet
elevation and lies on a north-facing slope, for an expected riding season
of late June through early October.
Bruce rolls into a banked turn on upper Cyn City.
Every turn flows nicely. The trail can be a great confidence-builder for
an early intermediate rider.
The trail begins on Charlie's 9K, 1.7 miles from Empire
Pass. It will drop 700 vertical feet through a series of traverses,
reaching the Midmountain Trail after 2.7 miles.
Another right-handed turn, this time viewed from the
handlebars. The riding feels very natural and lines flow well. This trail
was expertly built.
The first 1/4 mile will be combined with the Black Forest
trail. (This section is technically two-way trail, although nobody will be
expecting a rider coming uphill from Black Forest.) This first bit is
straight and fairly flat. When you hit a meadow, Black Forest keeps
straight while Cyn City forks away hard to the left.
Just getting started. This is a view down the
combined Black Forest and Cyn City shortly after leaving the 9K trail at
McConkey Road.
Cyn City is machine cut and is heavily engineered. The
traversing sections have almost constant dips and humps. The turns are
highly banked and designed to be rolled with speed. The excavated platform
for the trail is wide, allowing for a very forgiving riding surface.
At the bottom of a turn, the continued berm herds
riders onto the traversing trail.
The trail lies in a mature fir forest with
occasional aspen.
Most of the ride will be in the shade.
There will be one breakout view on your
way down.
Take a minute to look around before resuming the plunge.
This ride is a lot of fun. The trail is constantly in
motion, even on the traversing sections. It's either rolling up and down
or swooping side to side. Or both. The trail is expertly constructed for a
natural feeling flow.
In July 2022, the trail signs aren't yet complete. So unless you're
riding with an experienced group, I suggest you use a navigation app to
confirm where you are when you hit a trail fork.
Another handlebar view of a turn.
View down the trail as it twists and dips.
The rate of
descent is always gentle and controlled.
Bruce rolls around a turn. Some turns are
tighter and highly
banked while most are swooping curves.
When you burst out of the forest onto a ski slope, the Link
trail is to your right. This trail will descend and cross Midmountain to
hit John's 99, Little Chief, and
Speedbag. Note that Little Chief can take
you down to Sam's, which connects to Empire Link for a continued descent.
In the middle of the ski slope at the bottom of Cyn
City, we're one set of turns down the mountain from the Link trail fork.
The trail will go to the right here, and will connect to the Midmountain
Trail in another 1/10th mile.
After winding around a couple of turns on the ski slope, the
trail enters an old road-cut northbound, then turns hard right to descend
to the Midmountain Trail. At the T intersection, a right turn will take
you toward Deer Valley. On the way, you have options to connect further
downhill via Link, Little Chief/Sam's, and the TDS Ontario Bypass.
Heading northeast on an old road-cut. In just a
little bit, we'll turn hard right downhill and drop to the Midmountain
Trail.
With a right turn, your uphill connection options for a loop
ride include Corvair (mostly used as a downhill but I like it for
climbing), Tour des Suds, Boulder, and Team Big Bear. These last three
options all link to Moosebones, which takes you to the Empire Pass paved
road just below the summit, where you can either climb uphill on pavement,
or go down and across the road to Upper Corvair for the trip uphill to 9K.
Most riders are turning to the right on Midmountain, either returning
to Deer Valley resort or climbing one of the two-way trails near the
Empire Pass paved road.
Midmountain Trail, northbound.
A left turn will take you northbound on the Midmountain
Trail, where there are multiple possible destinations. From northbound
Midmountain, your first options are Empire Link for a descent to town,
then Tommy's Two Step to start the climb back uphill to 9K. Note that the
loop of Tommy's with Three Candles, Keystone, and Shadow Lake to Blazing
Saddles will create a 16.5-mile ride with 2000 vertical feet of climbing,
and will expose you to the more technical (rocky) stretch of Charlie's 9K.
At the Keystone trail after climbing Tommy's and
Three Candles. Keystone will take us to Shadow Lake and Blazing Saddles,
where we'll connect to 9K.
If you're headed back to town, Empire Link is a good choice.
This trail forks away from Midmountain 1/4 mile north of the bottom of Cyn
City (left turn when you hit the bottom). At the bottom of Empire Link,
take Ontario Bypass either direction, depending on where you want to hit
the pavement. See the Park City trail map or Trailforks for options here,
as the trail system is fairly complex as you approach town.
On Empire Link for a descent back to town.
Video of a Cyn City ride...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Empire Pass: As you enter Park City, follow the signs for Deer
Valley and Guardsman Road. Get on Bonanza Drive heading south uphill. At
the roundabout, turn toward Empire Canyon (SR 224). Stay on that road for
about 3.5 miles. Go through the roundabout in front of Empire Canyon Lodge
and head uphill on 224. Just after the turn to the right, there's parking
on the left side of the road. Park here if you'll start your ride on the
Midmountain Trail (back downhill just above the turn). For Empire Pass
(direct access to 9K) continue to the top of the mountain to the parking
area.
Pine Creek/Bonanza Flat trailhead: On the Guardsman Road about
1/2 mile west of Empire Pass, turn downhill into the trailhead. The
connector to the 9K trail is across the road from parking.
There are toilets at the Empire Pass and Bonanza Flat trailheads.
Midmountain Parking, Empire Pass Road: As you enter Park City, follow the signs for Deer Valley and Guardsman
Road. Get on Bonanza Drive heading south uphill. At the roundabout, turn
toward Empire Canyon (SR 224). Stay on that road for about 3.5 miles. Go
through the roundabout in front of Empire Canyon Lodge and head uphill on
224. Just after the turn to the right, park on the left side of the road.
The Midmountain Trail is back downhill just above the turn. For Corvair,
head left (west) on Midmountain as you coast down to the trail. For Tour
des Suds, Boulder, or Team Big Bear, go right (east).
