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Brian Head Bike Park
The Brian Head Bike Park is a series of trails served by the
Giant Steps ski lift. The lift takes you uphill to a flat spot just below
the cliffs of Brian Head
Peak. From here, you can take your pick of 16 miles of trails on the main
mountain and 3 miles of trail west of Highway 143 (see map). The
trails vary in length between a mile and four miles from lift-top to base.
Trails change here, including new trails -- and retirement of previous
routes -- in 2018.
View north from the Timberline Trail.
Trails in the Bike Park tend to be fairly open and straight. Photos by
Bruce Argyle, July 28, 2001. Trail map updated July 2018.
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| Note that Brian Head Resort was NOT
affected by the big 2017 fire that closed some nearby trails. All
resort-area trails are open.
Trails vary from
easy to expert in technical difficulty. Although the Park rates
"Timberline" as Advanced and "Z" as Expert, I found
these routes to be relatively cushy. If your idea of downhilling is the
adrenaline rush that comes from riding to the edge of disaster, you'll
find the bike park trails to be distressingly safe and sane.
View up the slopes from the ski lift.
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West of Highway 143, there are three easy and relatively short trails
for beginners and early-intermediates.
Some of the older descending routes on the main mountain spend a fair amount of time traversing across
the ski slopes. Other newer trails plunge fairly straight downhill.
Wildflower and Little Gritty can be considered true black diamonds.
The new Color Flow downhill route is a good place for beginning bikers to cut their teeth on
downhill, or for a group of mixed-ability bikers to spend a few hours on
the same mountain.
Twisting runs in the trees are short
and rare. Most of the downhill is fairly straight traverses on ski slopes.
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| You don't have to purchase a lift pass to use the Bike
Park's trails. The lifts run on weekends only (2018). On weekdays, the
bike shop has a shuttle that can take you to the Brian Head Peak
trailhead. Or you can shuttle yourself to the Brian Head Peak trailhead and
ride Color Country west around the mountain to the park. Or simply suck it up and grind up
the hill to earn your vertical.
View up, looking at the summit of
Brian Head Peak. The peak is formed of volcanic rock from eruptions of the
past few million years. |
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Getting there: Turn off I-15 in Parowan, and head up
the canyon to Brian Head on U-143. Pass a ski lift on your right, then
watch for the next ski lift on your left. Park in front of the Giant Steps
lodge and head up to the third floor of the lodge to buy your lift pass.
Brian Head Peak trailhead: A couple of miles south of Brian Head,
turn east on FR 047 and drive 1.5 miles to the parking area. The Color
Country trail starts on the west side of the parking lot.
West side trails: Use the Town Trail parking, about 1/2 mile north
of the main resort lot. Cross the road and ride about 200 yards southwest
to the base of the trails.
Facilities: Lodge
Camping: Multiple developed and primitive campgrounds on Highway 143
east of Brian Head, Cedar Breaks.
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Copyright 2001 Mad Scientist Software Inc
Trails updated 2018
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