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Eagle Mountain - East Trails
Rock-a-Billy, Cow Tracks, Jackrabbit, Roadrunner, Wile E Coyote,
Cropduster, GunslingerThis trail page discusses the
trails on the west-facing slope of northern Lake Mountain within the
extensive Eagle Mountain trail system. A quick description of all trails
can be found on the Eagle Mountain Overview
Page. Some of these trails may also be
found on pages for the northern Eagle
Mountain trails, the Eagle Mountain Race
Loop, the Mountain Ranch Bike Park,
the Treadstone-area (Prayer Flag
hill) trails, and the south Eagle
Mountain trails. Climbing
away from the Hidden Hollow trailhead on Rock-a-Billy. Trail pics and
review based on multiple rides by Bruce
with latest update June 21, 2022. |
| The elevation of these trails ranges from a low of 5000 feet
on the north side to a high of 5600 feet on the south. The area tends to stay dry, so Eagle Mountain can often be
biked in the winter with a standard XC bike. It also dries quickly after
storms, and is the go-to bad-weather ride for Utah County and Salt
Lake County riders.
On the Cropduster Trail, we're climbing the ridgeline
of northern Lake Mountain. To our left we see Mount Timpanogos and Cascade
Mountain above Utah Lake. |
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There's currently around 30 miles of trail at Eagle
Mountain, with more added
yearly. Most trails would be classified intermediate but can be easily
done by
an experienced beginning rider. A few trails have stunts such as ledge
drops, ladders, and gap jumps. (These have ride-arounds.)
There are countless riding options, as the trails branch and cross
over. There's no "best loop" here, although most riders consider
the ride incomplete if they don't hit the prayer flags at the top of the
knoll on Treadstone.
Typical stunt. On Rock-a-Billy, you can launch at
speed to clear the entire downslope of the rock, or at lower speed follow
the rock contour to do a simple drop from the far end. |
| Riders can enter the trail system from the Mountain Ranch
Bike Park, Hidden Canyon trailhead, rockpile (race
loop) trailhead, or from the primitive
roadside parking between the northern ends of Creed and
Nirvana. Most riders
currently park at Hidden Canyon.
"Rockpile" trailhead where a high school
race is being staged. In 2019, access to this trailhead is dicey because
you must drive through an active construction area. |
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The Hidden Canyon trail starts at the northeastern corner of the Hidden
Hollow parking area. It climbs the hill to the area above the Mountain
Ranch bike park, connecting to Rock-a-Billy, Ridgeline/Cow Tracks, and
Golden Eagle. From the trailhead, there's an initial stiff climb, then a
traverse around the north side of Lake Mountain toward the bike park where there are nice
views to the north and east.
Looking northeast from Hidden Canyon. |
| Hidden Canyon is 0.7 miles in length, with 200 feet of
elevation change. There will be a couple of man-made tech features to roll
over (or roll around). The trail has a few rock outcrops, but overall it's
intermediate in tech requirement. The grade on the initial climb is 200
vertical in 0.4 miles, which is very manageable by an intermediate rider.
View from Hidden Canyon as we pass
above the homes of Eagle Mountain.
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Rock-a-Billy forks to the right (south) from Hidden Canyon after 0.2
miles of fairly stiff climbing. It rolls up and down, but generally
climbs, as it traverses the western slope of Lake Mountain. The trail ends
on Cow Tracks just above the Rockpile trail parking area.
Southbound early on Rock-a-Billy. Junipers
occasionally obscure the sight lines, so be cautious about riders coming
the other way! |
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From the Hidden Canyon origin to its end on Cow Tracks,
Rock-a-Billy is 1.1 miles long. From north to south it gains 200 feet
elevation, but with a climbing total of 300 vertical feet. The ride is
easier-intermediate, with nicely banked turns and a few jumps that you can
ride around. There will be nice views in both directions.
View south as little yellow flowers fill the meadows.
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Rock-a-Billy can also be reached from the paved Hidden
Hollow trailhead via a short connector. The connector splits 1/10th mile
uphill from parking. Left takes you northbound toward the Hidden Canyon
trail for a link to the bike park, while the right limb joins Rock-a-Billy
southbound to Cow Tracks.
Looking north on Rock-a-Billy at the connector trail
down to the parking lot (seen at far left).
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When climbing Hidden Canyon, at mile 0.7 you'll cross a doubletrack.
100 feet later take the right fork,
then cross the doubletrack again, going over the wooden entry bridge.
You're now on the combined Ridgeline and Cow Tracks trail. Start climbing southbound, then
after 0.2 miles keep right to stay on Cow
Tracks as Ridgeline climbs uphill. (You can also reach Cow
Tracks from the Mountain
Ranch Bike Park. See the map.)
The entry bridge to Cow Tracks remind
us that there's some slightly more tech riding ahead -- especially if you
decide to do a little lap around the Ridgeline Flow trail. |
| Cow Tracks is 0.8 miles long, contouring the hillside on its
way to the Rockpile parking area. When southbound, the trail will get steep for a while, but it's still a very
ride-able pitch. The rocks ride nicely, so a strong intermediate should
have no problem grinding right up. The trail then levels out and
rolls along the west face of the hill as you head south. It joins Rock-a-Billy
as it descends to the east side of the Rockpile parking area.
The steepest spot is the climb just
before the Ridgeline trail fork. There's both embedded and loose rock, but
it's very do-able.
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From the Rockpile area, Road Runner can be reached by
taking a doubletrack to either end (see the map). Road Runner is 0.8 miles
long, but with only about 60 feet of overall elevation gain. My
description will assume you started the downhill southwestern end, as is
done for the race loop. Head south down the valley from the Rockpile on
dirt road 0.3
miles to turn left on the Road Runner singletrack.
Wile E Coyote will fork to the right (southbound) just
1/10th mile uphill. Further on, Road Runner will cross both Cropduster and
Gunslinger as it heads northbound.
We're passing through a juniper grove
on Road Runner, temporarily northbound. |
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Road Runner will turn back northbound as climbs gently. When it reaches
doubletrack, turn right uphill. As you reach a wide treeless area on the
ridgeline, you'll see the Jackrabbit trail turning back southbound to the
right. Take a detour here to ride forward and enjoy the view, then
backtrack a few feet to Jackrabbit.
We've gone up to the ridgeline to take
in the views. We're looking north, with Traverse Ridge standing in front
of the mountains of the Cottonwood canyons east of the Salt Lake Valley in
the center.
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Jackrabbit starts high on the ridgeline, about 0.3 miles
from the Rockpile and 0.1 mile from the top of Roadrunner. Jackrabbit is
1.4 miles long with almost no overall elevation change, but with a fair
amount of up-and-down. The first portion of Jackrabbit follows (approximately)
the ridgeline ATV route southbound. It's a bit of a maze through the
trees, as every clearing seems to have branching tracks. Just keep heading
south on what appears to be the main path. The interweaving tracks should
rejoin before you hit the singletrack.
Finding our way through the junipers.
The race-day markers won't be there when you ride, so just keep meandering
south. |
| You'll emerge from the trees to cross a doubletrack (FYI,
this is the route to a shuttled run of Flintstone).
Now you're on Jackrabbit proper, a narrow winding non-motorized
singletrack.
The scenery is inspiringly desolate and has its own ugly Great Basin
type of empty beauty. There's plenty of very nice riding surrounded by a
unique landscape. Jackrabbit will cross Cropduster, Gunslinger, then Wile
E Coyote before it connects to Deadwood.
Looking south as we enter Jackrabbit.
The sign says "no motorized vehicles."
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At the southern end, 1.4 miles from the ridgeline,
Jackrabbit drops rapidly through a series of smooth banked turns. Jackrabbit
will cross the Wile E Coyote singletrack shortly before joining a
doubletrack on the edge of the valley.
If you're heading for Deadwood, you
can either turn left onto Wile E Coyote, or drop down to the dirt road. If
you go for the road, keep left and heading south to reach Deadwood. Take a
right on the dirt road at the road fork, then left on singletrack.
View back to the north at the Oquirrh
Mountains.
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As mentioned above, Wile E
Coyote forks away from Roadrunner just 150 yards from its southern end.
From the origin on Roadrunner the
trail runs south 0.9 miles before ending at a dirt-road
fork just across from the southern end of Deadwood. (To connect to
Deadwood, follow the doubletrack around to the right so you're heading
northwest. Spot the singletrack on your left after around 50 yards.)
View back to the north at the Oquirrh Mountains as
Bruce rides Wile E Coyote.
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| When ridden north to south, Wile E Coyote is generally uphill, but has some up-and-down
that make it a bit tougher. It's a much harder bit of riding than the
doubletrack. While it gains only 150 feet in absolute altitude as you
progress south, the rolling hillside makes it seem like more.
A bit of late spring snow persists under the cedars
on Wile E Coyote.
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Cropduster forks away from Backspacer as southbound Backspacer crosses a dirt road. Veer
to the left and turn east along the edge of the ravine. Cropduster will
give you a gentle but sustained climb to the top of the ridge on Lake
Mountain. It's 1.3 miles in length with 300 feet of elevation gain.
Shortly after forking onto Cropduster from Backspacer,
we're heading southeast along the ravine. |
| The trail surface is fairly smooth, but there are a few
jumps built in. Although most riders use Cropduster as a climber, it's a
two-way trail and you can expect to encounter riders going the other way
at high speed. Downhillers, stop and move aside for climbers!
At mile 0.7 from Backspacer, you'll reach a trail fork. Cropduster goes left. The right fork is
Gunslinger.
A gap jump on Cropduster, for riders who are
descending. Note the prominent ride-around.
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Cropduster will cross both Roadrunner and Jackrabbit on its
way to the top. It ends at a dirt road on the ridgeline at around 5450
feet elevation. Across the road is the Shooting Gallery trail, which is
CLOSED. (Unsafe conditions due to poorly-controlled illegal shooting on a
daily basis.)
The Oquirrh Mountains make a beautiful backdrop for
Cropduster. |
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As a downhill, Gunslinger starts right where Cropduster ends. The trail
drops to the west before turning back north to rejoin Cropduster 0.5 miles
later. The vertical drop is 200 feet.
Gunslinger heads west across the ridge at the fork
with Cropduster. |
| Turns are banked and the riding is fairly easy. There are a
few engineered jumps that intermediate riders can simply go around.
While most riders use Gunslinger as a downhill, it's a two-way trail.
So yield to climbers on your way down.
Heading north during the descent.
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Deadwood
Deadwood is discussed on the Eagle
Mountain South Trails page, but is mentioned here
because it connects to the southern end of Wile E Coyote.
Deadwood climbs away from the road heading westbound. After
it skirts the low hill at the southern end of Hidden Valley, it will drop
down and cross a dirt road. It will climb a bit up the opposite hillside
before turn north. Deadwood ends on dirt road across from the southwestern
end of Treadstone (discussed on the Eagle
Mountain Middle Trails page).
Traversing west on the first section
of Deadwood.
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411, Eastwood, and Fistful of Dollars New in 2020
is a cluster of trails at the south end of the Deadwood Trail. It
features a climbing trail called 411 and two flow trails called Eastwood
and Fistful of Dollars. These trails are discussed in detail on the South
Eagle Mountain trail page. 411 begins on the doubletrack that
heads uphill from the south end of Deadwood. Pedal just over 1/10th mile
on the doubletrack then turn right onto the climbing singletrack. You'll
cross Eastwood on the way uphill, then reach the top of Eastwood at mile
0.6. Turn left to drop Eastwood, or continue straight uphill for Fistful
of Dollars. Climbing the hill. |
| NOTE!
East-side Lake Mountain trails are closed... |
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Flintstone Trail. Closed at this time.
(CLOSURE IS ENFORCED!)
Found via a doubletrack spur from Jackrabbit. |
Shooting Gallery. Closed. Found across
the doubletrack from
the top of Cropduster/Gunslinger. |
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Bottom Line
Lots of great riding in this area, good for experienced beginners but
satisfying for experts and hammerheads. Conditions allow riding almost all
year, even when everything else is closed. |
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Getting there:
Take the I-15 Lehi Main Street exit and turn west. Continue west on SR-73,
crossing Redwood Road (11600 West). Continue westbound uphill. Just after
climbing the hill, turn left at the stop light onto The Ranches Parkway.
At Pony Express Parkway, turn right. The road will veer a bit south
(left), then back west (right) as you get one mile from Ranches Parkway.
After you pass a large hill on your left, just before Hidden Hollow
Elementary, take the next left. The paved parking lot is around 1/4 mile
uphill, on your left.
Creed: At 0.25 miles past the elementary school, spot the trail on the hillside to your left
and cross the decorative patch of chunk rock to get there. (Note
construction has blocked this access in 2022!)
MAP VIEW: Bike park and northern trails
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Race Loop (rockpile) Parking:
Note 2019! It is occasionally not possible to drive through
construction area! If so, you must ride from Pony Express, or take the
dirt road (OHV route 1) in from the west. At Hidden
Hollow Elementary, continue past the parking area and drive a mile up the
dirt road, keeping straight at road forks to continue generally
southbound. After you reach the top of a small rise and see another valley
in front of you, there's a big rockpile on the left. The parking is the
primitive open space south of the rockpile.
MAP VIEW: Mid
to southern trails
Bathrooms: None. Porta-Potty at the Mountain Ranch
Bike Park. A
full-service trailhead is planned for Hidden Canyon.
Camping: No developed or designated campgrounds. Flat spots can be
found in the race
staging area near the rockpile.
Bike services: UtahMountainBiking store in Lehi.
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