The Beaver Mountain ski area is at the top of Logan Canyon. Because
it's just up the canyon from Bear Lake, many riders interrupt their water
sports at the lake to head uphill for a bike ride. The elevation is 7200
feet at the parking area. The riding season is late June through
September.
Riding through mixed aspen and fir forest on the
Bjorr loop. Photos and ride review by Bruce
on July 18, 2018.
There are two riding loops: Bjorr is an easy 1.9 mile
ride with minimal climbing. The upper loop is an upper-intermediate 3
miles. At this time (July 2018) the last quarter-mile of the upper loop isn't
finished. But you can ride it clockwise all the way around to the dirt road by the tent camping
area to complete a full circuit of 3 miles
Looking from the trail to the mountains in the east.
To find the loops, continue to drive straight from the road past the lodge.
(The paved parking is a summer
RV camp area. What appear to be big parking places are actually RV sites.)
As you reach the end of the pavement and are forced to turn left, note the chairlift
straight ahead. That's your bike's destionation. Now turn your car left to the gravel parking area south of the RV
camping strip and find a spot along the edge.
The upper loop rolls up and down as it contours the
ski slopes. We're looking south.
Pedal southwest uphill along the edge of the parking lot,
aiming for the chair lift. Now ride past the Beaver Face chairlift on the
left (downhill) side. Follow the doubletrack 0.1 miles as it curves around
to the left and begins to drop a bit downhill. When a singletrack trail
crosses, go left for a clockwise Bjorr loop or right to get to the upper
loop.
This is the path to the trail, as of 2018.
Bjorr Loop
The Bjorr loop is 1.9 miles long. The trail was completed in
2017. It twists through a forest of aspen and fir. It's a technically easy
ride, although the frequent turns may be hard for true beginners. There's
200 vertical feet of climbing over the course of the loop.
Drone view of the trail.
When ridden clockwise, the trail heads generally northeast,
twisting around in the forest just below the entry road to Beaver
Mountain. Then it turns to the south and crosses a wide meadow of Mules
Ear.
Riding through a huge meadow of Mules Ear at the
northeast corner of the Bjorr trail.
The trail then begins climbing back to the southwest. The
terrain changes from dense forest to meadows and ski slopes with little
groves of trees.
Heading uphill on a clockwise ride.
As the trail approaches the ski area base, the trail to the
upper loop forks away to the left. Keep right, and in about 100 feet
you'll cross the doubletrack trail you rode to get to Bjorr.
Almost back to the resort base.
Cottonwood Loop
The upper loop forks uphill away from Bjorr about 100 feet
south of where the trail crosses the doubletrack from the ski lift. It
immediately begins climbing, and continues uphill for the next 1.3 miles.
As you reach the top of the ski lift, your elevation gain will be around
250 vertical feet. The total climbing for the whole loop is around 400
feet.
Climbing away from the Bjorr trail.
On the way uphill, the aspen and fir briefly give way to big
pines and mountain mahogany. There's a bit of sage flat on the ridge, then
back to aspen and fir. Cross the ridge to the meadow of the ski slopes.
After dropping away from the ski lift, the trail meanders up
and down on the hillside as it tracks northwest. There will be little
groves of trees, with somewhat more-techy riding than on the Bjorr loop.
Looking back downhill as we climb clockwise.
After a hard right turn onto a service road for 100 feet, the route again
splits off onto singletrack for the descent. In July 2018, the trail is
still under construction on the final bit of forest down through the tent
camping zone. You can (carefully) ride the flag line -- which
has been partially cleared -- down to the dirt campground road. Take the
dirt road down to the upper parking area, then connect south to lower
parking.
The terrain is a mix of meadow, ski slope, and groves of pine and
aspen.
The flags indicate that the future trail will go south from
the campground road, then turn
and descend to the Beaver Face lift. The trail should be finished during
2018.
Heading to the north on brand-new trail.
Bottom Line:
The Bjorr loop is a friendly ride for mixed-ability groups and
experienced beginners. Not a lot of trail at
this time, just 5 miles total. So hard-core riders will want to combine these trails
with other riding in the area such as Stump
Hollow. But if you're already in the area, for example in Logan or on a Bear Lake
vacation, it's worth the trip up the mountain.
Looking
down at the resort base as we contour the hillside heading north.
Around
Bjorr and up to the top
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Getting there: In Logan, turn east at 400 North on US-89
towards Logan Canyon (about 2 miles). After you enter the canyon, drive
24.5 miles, almost to the top. Turn left toward Beaver Mountain Ski Area
on Highway 243. The road will turn from northbound to southwest. After 1.5
miles from US-89, keep straight and drive past the lodge, then turn left in front of
the ski lift and find a parking spot in the gravel south of the RV camp
area.
Note the green area on this map is flagged but has NO trail in July 2018. For now,
ride down the doubletrack through the camping area when you reach the end
of the trail. The full loop should be ready to ride in 2019.
