 |
Bob's Basin DH Trails with
24-7
Includes Dropout, Ant Farm, Crazy 8's and Team Cutthroat DH trails.
Fink Again, Stealth, and 24-7 trails
Stealth and 24-7 should
actually be considered as one continuous trail. This is a nice ride by
itself, used frequently by locals. The trail delivers Jeremy Ranch riders to the Glenwild Loop, or
Park City bikers to Moose Hollow. 24-7 also is the starting point for the
Bob's Basin freeride trails, discussed below.
24-7 is also the route to the western side of Flying Dog, a popular
loop ride.
On 24-7, we're looking northeast. Most
of the riding is sage and brush as shown, so it can get warmer than most
other Park City trails on a mid-summers day. Original review and photos by Bruce, May 16,
2006. Updated September 8, 2016. |
| 24-7 has a low of 6250 feet at East Canyon Road (northeast
end) in Jeremy Ranch. Elevation change is 600 feet, but you'll lose and
regain some altitude as you drop to cross the road in Jeremy Ranch. When
riding out-and-back, you'll do 1300 feet of climbing. The trail is 6.5
miles in length.
At the midpoint of the Glenwild to East Canyon route, the Bad Apple
trail combines with Fink Again to reach 24-7 from the Bad Apple trailhead.
Many riders ride a loop of Stealth, 24-7 to Fink Again, then Bad Apple
downhill to the paved trail along the frontage road, which returns them to
the Glenwild trailhead.
There is some shaded riding in the
middle of the trail as it courses east of Jeremy Ranch. |
|
 |
There are views of the Olympic Sports Park, Park City, the
I-80 corridor up to Parley's, and Jeremy Ranch. Most of the riding will be
in low sage and brush. There is some shady aspen, maple, and oak forest
for about a mile above Jeremy Ranch. During the summer, this will be one
of the warmest rides in the Park City area.
The trail clears of snow relatively early, and is ready to ride by
mid-May. The trail surface is fairly wide, buff and non-technical.
View south. The Dropout and Team
Cutthroat downhill trails can barely be made out on the sidehill in the
middle of the picture. |
Riding notes on Stealth and 24-7 from
Glenwild
0.0 Leave parking, cross creek
Drop left onto singletrack
(Stealth Trail)
1.9 Fork, go L (R = Glenwild Loop)
Trail is now named 24-7
2.1 Dropout (top of trail, DH only)
2.2 Team Cutthroat (top of trail, DH only)
(These trails merge into Fink
Again at
bottom of hill. Option of
bailout on Graduate)
3.4 Keep straight (L = Crazy 8s)
Fink Again joins trail on L (keep R uphill)
4.0 Cross paved road
4.8 Bailout to Jeremy Ranch (keep straight uphill)
6.9 East Canyon Road
View north as the trail descends
through a valley between Dropout and Fink Again.
|
|
 |
Getting there, Glenwild Trailhead: At the I-80 Park City exit, go
north (left from the exit if you're coming from SLC) to the frontage road.
Turn right. About 1/4 mile later at the second road on your left, turn
left. Find the trail parking area just before the northbound road crosses
the creek. (You'll see the
trail map kiosk and bathroom). GPS N 40° 43.662' W 111° 32.051'. Head up the road to
start your ride. Just past the bridge, turn right on singletrack and
you're on the Stealth Trail.
East Canyon Road: Just after Parley's Summit, take the Jeremy
Ranch exit and turn north (left) under the freeway. Turn left at the first
stop sign, then take the next right (Jeremy Ranch Drive). Continue until
the road turns sharply around to the right, where you'll see the dirt East
Canyon Road branching off to the left. Park and climb the ST on the east
side of the road (the direction your car was facing as you came around the
paved turn).
Graduate trailhead: At the I-80 Park City
exit, go north (left from the exit if you're coming from SLC) to the
frontage road. Turn left on the frontage road. Next turn left again toward
the school. As you pass the school, there's parking on the left. Just past
the school, there's a fenced area with a shed on the right, and a gravel
roadway on the far side. About 100 yards down this gravel path, at the end
of a broad gravel area (don't park here), there's a wooden bridge. That's
your trail. At the first fork, keep R. At the 2nd fork (Fink Again), go L.
Bad Apple trailhead: See below.
|
Bob's Basin Freeride Trails |
 |
You can reach the Bob's Basin DH trails from East Canyon or
Glenwild, but most riders will take the more direct route uphill from the
Bad Apple trailhead. Look for the sign on the frontage road, at the east of
the shopping complex. Parking is in the far northeast corner just above
the creek. The Bad Apple trail will descend and cross the creek, then climb
0.5 miles to the
intersection of Fink Again. Keep left. The trail to your right is Dropout,
the combined return from the DH trails. Looking
northwest from the beginning of the Bad Apple trail at the parking lot. |
| Keep straight (right) and uphill as Graduate turns left
downhill. Fink Again will climb 1.1 miles uphill through a series of switchbacks to
reach 24-7, with an altitude gain of 300 vertical feet from the bottom of
Dropout.
Looking west, Fink Again is climbing
up to join 24-7. Fink Again starts down near the brown stripe, at the
bottom of Dropout and Team Cutthroat. |
|
 |
Turn to the right (east) on 24-7. Now decide on your
downhill route. About 100 feet away is the top of Crazy 8's, which is the
easiest way back down.
Across the little valley are Ant Farm, Team Cutthroat, and Dropout.
You'll have to descend and climb back uphill 150 vertical feet on 24-7 to
reach them. It's 1.3 miles from the top of Fink Again to the top of
Dropout, with 150 vertical feet of climbing.
On 24-7, we're approaching the top of
Ant Farm, the first trail across the valley. |
| Crazy 8's
Crazy 8's starts on 24-7, 100 feet east of the top of Fink Again. It
descends 175 vertical feet over 0.5 miles before joining Ant Farm. From
there, the combined trail descends another 100 vertical feet over 0.3
miles -- joining Dropout for the last 0.1 mile to Fink Again. Technically,
this is the easiest route down (with the exception of descending Fink
Again).
A loop using Crazy 8's is 2.0 miles with 300 vertical feet of climbing.
Crazy 8's descends from Fink Again,
looking southeast.
|
|
 |
Ant Farm
Ant Farm is 1.2 miles from the top of Fink Again, requiring a descent
(and climb) through the shallow valley. From the bottom of Dropout, it's a
total of 2.3 miles and 400 vertical feet of climbing to the top of Ant
Farm. From there, it's 0.9 miles to the bottom, as you join Crazy 8's then
Dropout along the way. Ant Farm is upper-intermediate in tech requirement.
A loop using Ant Farm is 3.2 miles with 400 vertical feet of climbing.
A high-speed turn on Ant Farm.
|
| Team Cutthroat
Team Cutthroat starts just a few feet past the entry to Ant Farm. This
is the most technical way down. There are some mean rocks and a few
stunts. Even the ride-arounds can be tough. The trail descends 200
vertical feet in 0.4 miles, then joins Dropout for another 0.3 miles. So
you're doing the same 300 descent, but in 1/4 mile less distance.
A loop using Team Cutthroat is 3.0 miles with 400 vertical
feet of climbing.
Looking back uphill at a series of
rock drops on Team Cutthroat.
|
|
 |
Dropout
The top of Dropout is 1.3 miles from the top of Fink Again. Dropout is
a broad and smooth descent with banked turns. Riders who are looking for a
cushy way down should take Dropout. Dropout is just over 0.8 miles long.
A loop using Dropout is 3.2 miles with 400 vertical feet of climbing.
Looking back up a high-speed bermed
turn on Dropout.
|
| You pick a trail to drop, losing 300 feet. Then you climb back to 24-7 via Fink Again over
1.1 miles. If you take all four DH trails after climbing up from the Bad
Apple trailhead, your day will be 12.4 miles with 1600 vertical feet of
climbing overall. That's do-able. A couple of man-made fun spots. This
is just after Dropout and Team Cutthroat merge, but before starting
the climb back up. (The goal here, for my fellow non-BMX types, is to
ramp-up into the air, fly over the flat part, and touch down on the
down-slope.) Note 2016: this particular feature is gone, replaced by a
lower-height ramp. |
|
 |
Of the three trails, Team Cutthroat is the hardest. I'm
giving it an expert rating. While there are ride-arounds, there are also
some mean rock gardens. I'd suggest that intermediates skip this one.
For the rest, an early-intermediate rider can just
cruise the thing, top to bottom. Roll over the milder stunts, and take a
"cheater" route around the ones that make you nervous. (If there
isn't an established secondary "B-line," get off your bike and
walk around the stunt!)
My Rocky Mountain sits next to a ramp
drop on Team Cutthroat.
|
|
Looks like a diving board, but there's an
angled ramp at
the end of this jump, so you can simply roll over it if you
don't know how to launch the bike. |
Some features are armored to prevent
erosion and to
keep a solid surface for tires to grip. A "kicker" assures
that you won't fishtail in loose dirt as you make the move. |
 |
The DH trails have plenty of stunts and fun stuff. Most
jumps have cheater routes around them. I found the turns to be
butter-smooth and bermed for high-G speeds. The approaches and landings
from the jumps were also silky-slick and easy. You don't need a DH bike --
you can do the stunts on just about any XC bike.
A typical jump. Note smooth approach,
broad track, and flat lip. Most jumps have a long easy run-out area. Note
the secondary route for non-jumping bikers. This is on Dropout. |
Bottom Line:
A lot of fun packed into a small area. The south-facing slopes will clear
of snow faster than most Park City area rides, so you'll enjoy an extended
season.
Note that tech features will change due to erosion and rotting of
timber. In the 10 years from my first ride at Bob's Basin, a lot of
man-made stunts have required replacement. So you may not see the exact
features in the photos above.
Descending back toward East Canyon
Creek on the Bad Apple trail. |
|
 |
Getting there, Bad Apple trailhead:
Exit I-80 at Jeremy Ranch. Go north on Homestead Road to the 4-way stop
just past the on-off ramp. Turn right onto Rasmussen Road. Go 1/3 mile. At
the far end of the shopping complex, turn left and drive until you're
forced to turn right as you reach the edge of the ravine. Find a parking
spot. The trail is at the far (east) end of the parking strip.
Water: none at trailhead
Bathrooms: none at trailhead
|
|
