The Bunker Creek Trail is an epic downhill at Brian
Head. The trail begins atop Brian Head Peak at 11,300 feet, and heads east
to Panguitch Lake 3000 feet below. The trail can be done by intermediate
riders with a shuttle for the return trip.
View from the ridgeline, about 3 miles
down from Brian Head Peak. Review ride July 19, 2001 by Bruce
Argyle. Page most recently updated on September 2, 2022.
In 2017, a massive fire hit the area east of Brian Head.
The burned area includes the last 1/2 mile of Sidney Peaks trail and over 90%
of the Bunker Creek trails. Both the right and left forks of the Bunker
Creek ride required rebuilding because of flooding following the fire.
Four new miles of singletrack
was added below the spot where the two forks of Bunker Creek rejoin in 2019, bypassing the dirt road that was
formerly the last 5 miles of the ride.
Bruce rides
through burned
trees on Sidney Peaks.
As of my latest update ride, the Bunker Creek ride still
suffers from the aftermath of the 2017 fire. Heavy rainstorms continue to
damage the trail as water runs off the burn scar. The skeletons of trees
are interesting, but they're no substitute for the lush forest that used
to be here. So this famous classic trail is seeing fewer riders these
days.
Descending Bunker Creek in September 2022.
A note: Be prepared for cold. On my July 19 2001 ride, the 10 a.m. temperature at
the trailhead was 52 degrees F with a 20 mph wind, even though the sky was
clear and sunny. On July 30 2018, a toasty warm day turned to low-60s with wind and
cold rain by 4 pm. Thunderstorms can pop up quickly at Brian Head, and they're very ugly at this
altitude. Bring a rain jacket. I suggest full-fingered gloves. Also come
prepared for some serious sun exposure. Use a potent sunscreen and
UV-protective sunglasses.
Penstemmon blooms in one of countless
small meadows alongside the trail.
Ride Overview
The singletrack trail is 11.6 miles long, and is best done with a shuttle vehicle. The
bike shops in Brian Head provide shuttle service for (2018 rate) $25 per
rider, which includes the trip up to the trailhead on Brian Head peak, then
a pick-up at Panguitch
Lake after the ride.
If you're morally opposed to shuttling, you can loop via Highway 143, a 28-mile sufferfest with 3400 feet of
climbing. Been there, done that. I've even ridden the whole singletrack as
an out-and-back. It's a 22-mile round trip up and back down, with around
3300 feet of climbing overall. About half-way up, you'll note that grunting uphill at this
altitude is brutal.
You can also drive Sidney Peaks road to the viewpoint,
then do North Fork and Bunker Creek as a 7.2-mile loop ride with 1500
vertical feet of climbing.
View over the parking area on Brian
Head Peak, looking northeast.
Sidney Peaks trail section
The first couple of miles are actually the best part of
this ride, because it was spared from the fire. Brian Head Peak is formed of a light-colored soft volcanic rock, deposited
during last 20 million years. The bright pink cliffs of Cedar Breaks are formed
of Claron-formation limestone from about 40 million years ago during the
Tertiary Era. This limestone was deposited at the bottom of a large fresh-water
lake, before the plateau area was uplifted away from the valleys of the Great
Basin.
Threading the needle through volcanic tuff.
Occasionally, there's a little bit of gentle climbing to
roll over a small ridge, but in general it's a downhill cruise that's fast and fairly straight. Technically, it's not tough, but there
are a couple of sections where there are loose and slightly rough downhill
steeps.
View to the north at 11,000
feet, heading east along the high ridge.
The first few miles on ridgeline, coming down from Brian
Head Peak, is unlike any other ride. You're cruising through a world of
odd rocks, tiny flowering alpine phlox, mosses, and stunted spruce trees. There are some fun rock rollovers and drops
on the edge of the trail, if you look for them.
The
first fork you'll encounter is at 1.5 miles, where the Dark
Hollow trail forks left and Lowder Ponds
forks right. As you drop off the ridge, wide meadows alternate with dense spruce
forest.
Heading towards the Lowder Ponds fork. The dead trees
are courtesy of a bark beetle. (Stay tuned for the fire scar!)
At mile 4.3, you'll skirt a large cindered parking area for the Sidney Valley
viewpoint. Just after you cross the dirt road, the trail splits.
Both routes were rebuilt after the fire and flooding, and they are now
easier to ride.
Looking south as we cross a meadow approaching the
Sidney Valley road area.
On your the left is Bunker Creek's North Fork (also confusingly called
the Right Fork -- because it was on the right as pioneers climbed uphill).
It's 3.4 miles to where the trails rejoin. At this time, the North Fork is
the more popular route.
The fork to the right is the rebuilt Left Fork, now just called Bunker
Creek. It's a little longer at 3.6 miles. It's less popular as a downhill
option, but it's the easier route if you're riding uphill.
At the trail fork. To the left is the North Fork (old
Right Fork) and to the right is Bunker Creek (old Left Fork). Take your
pick.
North Fork (historic Right Fork) Bunker Creek
The North Fork trail is 3.5 miles long from the Sidney Peaks viewpoint
parking area down to the junction with Bunker Creek. In this distance, it
will drop just under 1500 vertical feet. Almost everyone does this section
as a descent. If you're doing the two limbs of the trail as a loop ride from
Sidney Peaks parking, most riders would recommend climbing Bunker Creek and
descending North Fork.
A
carpet of little aspen trees has sprung from the ground among the
skeletons of the former forest.
The trail is a bench-cut with a fairly constant rate of
descent. Most of the descent will be in regrowing burned forest, but
there's undamaged forest for the last half-mile.
Looking
east downhill.
The historic Right Fork ride ended on the dirt Bunker Creek Road.
Just 0.1 miles before the North Fork trail ends on dirt road, you'll find a
trail fork on the right. This is the new 2019 singletrack, and it will take
you across the North Fork creek to join the main Bunker Creek trail..
On a non-burned area of the Right Fork, we're
approaching the fence that starts the doubletrack.
About 1/10th mile from the trail fork you'll merge with
Bunker Creek at an unmarked (as of 2022) intersection. From there, the
continuing singletrack will take you
downhill 4 miles before it joins the dirt road about a mile before the
highway. (Note: on my last ride in September 2019, at the top of the new
singletrack, the
bridge across both the Right Fork and Left Fork were not yet completed. I
expect that now you won't need to get a shoe wet.)
Bunker Creek and North Fork merge, as seen from
downhill. That's Bunker Creek on the left, and North Fork on the right.
A video of the trip down Bunker Creek in
2018...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Bunker Creek main trail (historic Left Fork Bunker Creek)
The Bunker Creek trail is the trail to the right as you
leave the parking area for the Sidney Peaks viewpoint. It's a less-popular
option than the North Fork, possibly because it was rebuilt two years
later and riders aren't aware that it's open.
This section of the trail is 3.6 miles long and has the same
1500 vertical feet of elevation change as North Fork.
Bruce rolls down Bunker Creek shortly after the North
Fork trail fork.
Almost all of Bunker Creek was severely burned. You'll reach
undamaged forest only in the last 1/2 mile before the North Fork and
Bunker Creek merge.
North Fork will join on your left, then when you dip through Bunker
Creek, you're on the way down the final stretch.
Looking uphill on Bunker Creek. As you see, it's not
bad as a climbing route.
While most riders do Bunker Creek as a shuttled downhill,
some will climb it. You can do a loop of North Fork and Bunker Creek by
parking at Sidney Peaks viewpoint parking.
Heading toward the fork where we'll join North Fork.
The
Bunker Creek (historic Right Fork) trail in 2022...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Lower Bunker Creek
Lower Bunker Creek has 4.2 miles of singletrack. It's much
less steep here. The trail will drop only 650 feet in elevation.
Splashing through Bunker Creek.
As you head down, the air will get
warmer, and the ecosystem will change to larger pines. The temperature at
Panguitch Lake may be 30 degrees warmer than it was at the top at Brian
Head Peak.
A log ride alongside the new lower Bunker Creek
singletrack extension in 2019.
The new lower portion of Bunker Creek makes a nice loop
ride. You can crank up the dirt road -- starting from a parking spot on
the dirt road 0.15 miles past
the forest-boundary cattleguard -- then turn onto the lower Bunker Creek about 0.2 miles
uphill on the Right Fork trail. The loop is 8.3 miles with 1100 feet of
climbing, top elevation 9300 feet. This portion of the trail may be
snow-free a month or two before the full shuttled ride can be done.
Some fun twisty berm work as I approach the end of 12
miles of singletrack.
Loop ride on the new lower
Bunker Creek trail (2019)...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Bottom Line:
A classic ride. Do it. Bunker Creek is still very much worth doing despite the burn
damage, and the new 4 miles at the bottom make it even better! Where else
are you going to find 11 miles of continuous downhill singletrack?
Rolling through partially-burned forest.
Trail notes, starting at Brian Head Peak (11,300 feet
elevation)
0.5 turn left uphill on singletrack across from parking lot
1.5 intersection with Dark Hollow (4-way), continue straight on Sidney
Peaks Trail
4.3 cross Sidney Valley Road loop
4.4 trail fork: north or south forks, they'll rejoin in 3.5 miles
7.3 fork right onto lower Bunker Creek ST
11.3 R onto dirt road
11.6 parking spot for loop ride or up-and-down
12.6 dirt road reaches highway, L for Panguitch Lake
Jackie takes a breather near a cluster
of Colorado Columbine in 2001.
Getting there, Brian Head Peak trailhead: On U-143, head up the canyon
from Brian Head to the summit. Just 1/4 mile past the summit sign, turn
left on a gravel road (GPS N 37° 40.136' W 112° 50.350'). Drive 2.5
miles to the peak of the mountain to start your ride. (Note the parking
area to your left at 1.8 miles. Once you start riding, you'll turn onto
the singletrack across the road.) Sidney Peaks Viewpoint trailhead: On Highway 143 south of the
entry to Cedar Breaks National Monument, turn to the east toward Panguitch.
Descend 4.8 miles. Turn left on Sidney Peaks Road #1. (There are no signs
along the highway to mark this road in 2022. If you find a kiosk 1/10th
mile up the road and the designation "#1" on carsonite posts,
you're on the right road.) Drive 4.5 miles to the Sidney Peaks viewpoint
parking.
