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Jacobs Ladder
Jacobs Ladder is a unique downhill trail above Corner Canyon, dropping
800 vertical in 1.3 miles. In 2022, an agreement between the Forest
Service and Draper City made the lower portion of Jacob's Ladder (below
the Peak View connector) a one-way bikes-only trail. Riders should use the new Peak View
trail (from the Peak View trailhead at the top of
Traverse Ridge) as the uphill to create a loop ride. Hikers must use Peak
View for both climbing and descending.
The loop up Peak View and down Jacob's is 4.3 miles with
800 feet of climbing. Then add whatever distance and elevation you rode to get
to Jacobs Ladder. Below, I describe a 10.6-mile ride that ends with 4 miles of
2000-vertical downhill. More on that later.
View northwest downhill. The trail
slices down the top of a ridge, dropping 800 vertical. |
| From the top, the trail rolls and plunges down the top of a sharp ridge,
passing over rock outcrops while also offering whoop-de-doos on trail
sidewalls. Lower down, switchbacks lengthen the ride and decrease the
slope as you fly through scrub oak forest. Jacobs Ladder connects to the Upper
Ghost Falls trail at the Corner Canyon Road for a continuous downhill
romp. Or you can loop around for another go. |
| First, you need to decide how you'll get to Jacobs Ladder.
Most Salt Lake riders start in the valley and ride up on singletrack. The
two most popular routes are Clarks from the
Coyote Hollow trailhead (7 miles), Canyon
Hollow, (8 miles) or Ghost Falls from
the Equestrian Center (10 miles). You can connect to these trails via the Bonneville
Shoreline from either north or west.
Derek (in the UtahMountainBiking.com
race team colors) and Mike head uphill on Upper Ghost Falls. Photos by
Bruce, September 25, 2008. |
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| Or if you're not in the mood for extra climbing, you can drive your
car to the Peak View trailhead. Now connect to the Peak
View trail and pedal uphill to the spot where the Jacob's access
doubletrack forks away from the Three Falls
trail. |
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Utah County riders can climb Longview
or grind up Hog Hollow
to the Porcupine Trail, then turn onto the Peak View trail to get onto the loop.
As the Salt Lake Valley falls away in
the background, Mike cranks around a switchback on the newer Jacobs Ladder
trail section. |
| The upper portion of the DH trail runs down the top of a
fin. The surface is often chunky and loose. Average grade here is 15%. The
very bottom section of Jacob's Ladder was re-cut in 2008, with switchbacks
calming the old plunge. The grade on this new lower section is around 8%,
for 300 feet elevation loss over a relatively mild 0.7 mile.
The fin you ride down seems to be an "intrusion
dike" where magma found a fault line in the limestone and welled upward
into it. Rock alternates between granite and unusual-looking melted
mineralized limestone.
Looking back east uphill as we near
the end of the fin. You'll ride over rock outcrops, skitter in pea-gravel,
and hit sidewall whoop-de-doos. At the top of the photo, that's Box Elder
Peak. |
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The ride from the Equestrian Center gives you 4 miles of
downhill and 2000 feet of elevation loss as you fly down Jacobs Ladder then continue on to Upper Ghost
Falls, Ghost Falls North, and Lower Corner Canyon. The ride will around 11
miles.
Derek takes a little downhill near
Ghost Falls. |
|
View south where the uphill DT loops
into the DH ST. Timpanogos looms above the Wasatch Front, with the entry
to American Fork Canyon just left of center. |
|
| Although Jacobs Ladder is known for the downhill, there are
impressive views from the ridgeline. Stop and look around a little. |
 |
View uphill with Lone Peak in the
center and Ram's Horn at far right. We're not to far from the wilderness
border here. |
| Getting there, Equestrian TH: Leave I-15 at the
Bluffdale exit and go east on Highland Drive. Stay on Highland until you
reach the parking area for the Lynn Ballard ball park on your left. To
find the trail, go to the west end of the parking area near the trail
kiosk. Drop down the hill and turn left into the tunnel under the road.
After climbing out of the tunnel, turn left and climb back up. Or cross
the street to the ST at the sidewalk. The uphill trail is directly across
from the entrance into the parking area. |
Peak View trailhead: On Suncrest Drive,
turn onto Canyon Pointe Drive. Keep straight until you find yourself on
the narrower paved trailhead road. It's 0.7 miles from Suncrest Drive to
Peak View. This trailhead has bathrooms, water, and repair facilities.
Coyote Hollow TH: Take the
Bluffdale exit from I-15 and turn east towards the mountains. Climb the
hill as above, but turn right at the light on Traverse Mountain Road.
After one mile, turn into Mike Weir Drive on your left. Pass the Mike Weir
trailhead 1/2 mile later and continue another half mile until the road
veers left downhill. Take the next right turn, turn right again, then
left. You should now be on Gray Fox Drive. Take the next right into Coyote
Hollow Court. The parking is on the right at the end of the pavement.
Corner Canyon Road Jacob's TH: The Corner Canyon Road is found
by taking Draper Blvd (123rd South) to 13th East, turning right down the hill, then
east (left)
at the traffic roundabout onto Pioneer Road. Go towards the mountains to 20th East, then turn
right. When the road turns to dirt, keep heading uphill. About two miles up
the road, spot a log-fenced parking spot on the right, with a gate on the
main road about 100 yards uphill.
Angel Gate at Spring Hollow (upper Hog Hollow and top of Hog Hollow
Creek): On Westfield Road, turn uphill (north) on Beacon Hill Blvd.
Drive 0.5 miles, then as Beacon Hill turns to the right (east), turn left
on Lighthouse Drive to continue straight north uphill. Lighthouse will
become Angel Gate. Keep straight until you pass the irrigation facility,
then park. At the northeast corner of the fence, a doubletrack descends
east across the hollow. Immediately after crossing the creek, turn left on
Hog Hollow. |
Riding resources for this trail:
GPS track file (right-click and "Save as..."):
GPX Peak View and Jacobs
High-res topo (about 370K): View
Corner Canyon area trail
overview page
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to southern SLC resources
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Facilities: There's a toilet at the Peak View trailhead,
at Jacob's trailhead (where Jacobs Ladder meets the Corner Canyon road), at
the Corner Canyon BST trailhead and at the
Equestrian Center parking. Water is available at the Equestrian Center and
Peak View.
Copyright 2008 Mad Scientist Software Inc
Updated 2022 |
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