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South Maple Hollow
The South Maple Hollow trail lies on the southern side of Traverse
Mountain in Draper. This trail is usually done as part of a larger ride,
rather than being a destination trail in its own right.
The trail is easier-intermediate in technical requirement. As a
climbing route, the pitch will be somewhat strenuous for newer riders but
easy for conditioned climbers. As a downhill route, it's easily done by
experienced beginning bikers.
View southeast on upper South Maple Hollow back in
2013. This review, new photos, and ride description by Bruce
on September 20, 2016 with update November 12, 2016.
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| The riding season for South Maple Hollow is May through
November. The south-facing slope means there may be opportunities to ride
during winter. The location and terrain may allow the trail to be packed
down by fat bikes in
winter, and an early-morning "suncrust" ride should be possible
during February. Check the Draper
trail website for up-to-date closure information. 2019
trailhead in Maple Hollow on Brookside Drive. Running water, bathroom,
shaded picnic pavilion.
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South Maple Hollow is 1.7 miles long. From the lower trailhead on
Brookside Drive it climbs 550 vertical feet, reaching a top altitude of 6100
feet at the Maple Hollow trailhead on Traverse Mountain in Suncrest. Most
riders will be using this trail as a climbing route, either to the Eagle
Crest trail (connecting to Vertigo and Levitate,
Woods Hollow and Rattle and Hum or Mercer Hollow
to the east), or to Ann's Connector or the
Maple Hollow DH at the ridgeline trailhead.
As you might guess from the name, South Maple Hollow is forested with a mix of oak brush and maple.
Often the
gambel oak is short enough to see over, so there are nice views of Utah
Valley to the south. Utah Lake is to the southwest, and the multiple
mountains of the Wasatch form a line along the entire eastern side of the
valley.
On newly widened trail descending through the oak
brush on the eastern side of the Hollow.
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For clarity...
The little canyon called Maple Hollow is found on both sides of Traverse Mountain in Draper.
To prevent confusion I will refer to the part in Utah County as South Maple Hollow. The
area on the north side of Traverse Mountain, home of the Maple
Hollow DH trail, I will call simply Maple Hollow.
The trail system was re-worked in 2016. The upper 0.5
miles of South Maple Hollow, and the 0.3 miles of the connector (see map), were
formerly part of Eagle Crest but were
bypassed by the 2016 new Eagle Crest trail-cut. Those former Eagle Crest
pieces have been smoothed and widened. The western side is now part of
South Maple Hollow, and the eastern side is the Eagle Crest to South Maple
Hollow Connector Trail.
In the lower half of South Maple Hollow, new trail was cut down the
eastern side of the hollow. This replaces the old creekside South Maple
Hollow trail for cyclists -- with the old route being designated a hiking
route -- and replaces the old doubletrack from the catch-basin down to the
subdivision. If you're a rider who's done this area in the past, don't
sweat the changes. Navigation is simple once your tires are on the dirt.
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| South Maple Hollow is the climbing route for a short loop
that descends the new Vertigo or Levitate
trails. Take the Connector (see below) to eastbound Eagle Crest, then
drop down Vertigo or Levitate to the trailhead. The Vertigo loop is 3.7 miles, with most
riders doing multiple laps. Another option that climbs South Maple Hollow is the Traverse Mountain south-side loop.
This loop traverses Eagle
Crest eastbound, descends Mercer Hollow,
then uses one mile of road (Suncrest and Brookside Drives) to connect to
the South Maple Hollow lower trailhead.
Pedaling through stout maples. The gambel oak remains
green for about a month after the maples turn red, creating a pretty
contrast for early-fall rides.
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At the top of South Maple Hollow (at the Maple Hollow trailhead) there
are
connections to the Maple Hollow DH and to Ann's
Connector down to Ann's Trail. A great
ride for strong cyclists is to make a big loop of Ann's Trail and the Bonneville
Shoreline trail (BST), with Canyon Hollow
linking the BST to Ann's at the eastern end. (Clark's,
Rush, or Ghost Falls /
Rattler can be substituted at the east end
depending on which direction you're riding the loop.) A
portion of the new lower trail hangs on the side of a mean
side-slope, but the excavation base is broad, so no worries. Heading
south-southwest down to Brookside. |
| Start from the end of Brookside Drive (about 0.4 miles from
Suncrest Drive, the main road over Traverse Ridge on the south side of the
mountain). You can park at roadside, or you may have pedaled here on
pavement from the bottom of Mercer Hollow.
The singletrack is on the left side of the road as you face uphill. To
your right is the return path of the combined Vertigo
and Levitate trails, which are one-way downhill-only
Heading uphill on brand new trail.
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It's a gentle rolling 0.7 miles of singletrack from Brookside
Drive to the first
trail fork. Here the left fork descends to the doubletrack at the
catch-basin dam. (Remember that the old trail, heading uphill from the
west side of the pond, is now hiking-only. So there's no real reason to
take the left fork.) Stay to the right and uphill. At the next fork 0.4 miles later, make a hard right turn. (Left is the old descending
trail down to the catch-basin pond. Again, this old trail is now signed as
a hiking trail.)
Looking north uphill at the mountaintop homes of
Suncrest near the Maple Hollow trailhead. |
| A bit over 0.1 miles further uphill is the fork with the
Eagle Crest Connector trail. There are two reasons to take the Connector.
(1) If you're looking for the shortest route to eastbound Eagle Crest
to reach Zooropa, Vertigo
or Levitate or Woods Hollow and Rattle and
Hum, you'll save 0.7
miles and avoid a bit of redundant extra climbing. (2) If you want the
mellowest climbing route to the Maple Hollow trailhead, the combination of
the connector and westbound Eagle Crest is 0.2 miles longer than staying
on South Maple Hollow -- 0.7 miles vs 0.5 miles for the same 200 vertical
feet of climbing. So it's not quite as hard of a grunt for
less-conditioned climbers.
And here's the other way down into South Maple Hollow. This is the Connector, located 1/2 mile east of the Maple Hollow
trailhead on Eagle Crest.
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Assuming you forked to the left to stay on South Maple
Hollow, you'll arrive at the next trail fork in another 0.3 miles. The
left fork is a hiking-only trail, so veer to the right and keep climbing.
In another 0.2 miles, you'll arrive at the base of the big overpass. To
your right is the eastbound Eagle Crest
trail. This is your route to the Connector, to Vertigo
or Levitate, to Mercer Hollow, or to the Peak View
Trailhead at the top of Canyon Hollow and Rush.
(Note fall 2016! Construction has temporarily interrupted passage to Peak
View through
the area east of Suncrest Drive!)
Straight ahead (through the tunnel) the trail climbs another 0.1 mile
to the Maple Hollow Trailhead. At the trailhead, you can connect to Ann's
Connector (and on to Ann's Trail for a
big ride) or to the Maple Hollow DH route.
The trail makes multiple meanders in deep forest of
large maples. Well, big by Utah "scrub maple" standards. |
| You'll arrive at the Maple Hollow trailhead either by car on
Deer Ridge Drive, or by pedaling uphill from Ann's
Trail via the Ann's Connector. South
Maple Hollow starts as a broad cindered path heading southbound toward the
road overpass.
Go through the tunnel under the road. At the trail fork immediately
after exiting the tunnel, the trail to the left is Eagle Crest.
Keep straight and southbound for South Maple Hollow.
My Rocky Mountain Element is waiting at the trail
sign, ready for some nice downhill. That's Timpanogos behind the
forest-fire haze. |
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After 0.2 miles, veer left as the hiking trail forks away
uphill to the right. (When heading downhill you may not notice the hiking
trail.) Descend another 0.3 miles and fork hard right downhill as the
Connector trail joins from Eagle Crest uphill.
Flying south. The old trail has been widened and
smoothed on this upper section. |
| Descend another 0.1 mile to the next trail fork. Make a hard
left turn -- the trail straight ahead is the old route, which is now a
hiking trail.
After 0.4 miles, pass the connector to the doubletrack and catch-basin
dam by staying straight and left. Now roll 0.7 miles down to the trailhead at Brookside
Drive.
Curving east as we approach Brookside Drive, with
Timpanogos on the right.
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Bottom Line:
A former short "MEH" route, now made worthy by re-routes and new
trail construction. Within weeks of completion, the new South Maple Hollow
is already one of the more popular trails in Draper's system.
As the climbing route for the 7.5 mile south side loop ride (see the Mercer
Hollow page for the ride description) or the Vertigo/Levitate
trail loop, South Maple Hollow is definitely worth your
attention.
Looking south downhill on the new lower trail. |
Sample 12-mile figure-eight ride from the lower South Maple Hollow trailhead
Here's a two-hour ride for experienced and strong intermediate riders. It
makes a figure eight with one loop on each side of Traverse Mountain.
Start at the Brookside Drive trailhead at the bottom of South Maple
Hollow. Climb to the Maple Hollow trailhead, then take Ann's Connector to
Ann's Trail. Turn right and pedal down to the underpass by Potato Hill. As
you exit the tunnel, turn left toward the trailhead. Pass the Potato Hill
trailhead to take Red Potato down to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Turn
left (west) on the BST. At the tunnel go left under Traverse Ridge Road
and head uphill on Ann's back to the Connector. Back at the Maple Hollow
trailhead, take Eagle Crest east to Vertigo and drop back to your car. |
Riding notes, 12.6-mile figure-8 to the
BST:
0.0 Brookside Dr, L on S Maple Hollow
N40 27.717 W111 50.209
0.7 Keep R (L = down to DT)
N40 28.041 W111 50.587
1.1 Hard R (L = foot trail down)
N40 28.286 W111 50.756
1.2 Hard L (R = to Eagle Crest)
N40 28.359 W111 50.714
1.6 Straight into tunnel (R = Eagle Crest)
N40 28.491 W111 50.996
1.7 TH, L on Ann's Connector
N40 28.536 W111 51.067
2.8 R on Ann's
N40 28.499 W111 51.579
3.2 Maple Hollow DH crosses, keep level
N40 28.643 W111 51.342
4.2 Keep R (L=Little Valley)
N40 29.061 W111 50.916
4.5 Keep R (L=Little Valley)
N40 29.172 W111 50.814
4.6 Under tunnel, then L (R=Ann's)
N40 29.273 W111 50.841
50 ft then keep L (R=Potato
Hill)
4.7 Pass Potato Hill TH
N40 29.311 W111 50.932
Straight onto Red Potato |
5.5 L on BST
N40 29.341 W111 51.165
5.7 Keep straight past Red Rock TH
N40 29.296 W111 51.340
6.0 Cross road N40 29.164 W111 51.648
6.9 L under tunnel (R=Oak Hollow)
N40 29.080 W111 51.988
7.3 L on Ann's (R=BST)
N40 28.873 W111 52.038
Uphill and cross road
8.9 R on Ann's Connector
N40 28.536 W111 51.067
10.0 Maple Hollow TH, R downhill
N40 28.536 W111 51.067
10.1 After underpass, L on Eagle Crest
N40 28.491 W111 50.996
10.2 Keep straight (L = to road)
N40 28.529 W111 50.833
10.5 Keep L (R=connector to SMH)
N40 28.396 W111 50.720
11.0 DT, trail on R is Vertigo
N40 28.353 W111 50.250
12.6 Back at parking |
Vertigo Loop from the lower South Maple Hollow trailhead
This is a 3.7 mile loop that drops down Vertigo. Navigation is pretty
simple -- just go right at every trail fork. Four loops would be about a
2-hour ride for a conditioned intermediate, with about 2200 feet of
climbing. |
Riding notes, Vertigo Loop:
0.0 Brookside Dr, L on S Maple Hollow
N40 27.717 W111 50.209
0.7 Keep R (L = down to DT)
N40 28.041 W111 50.587
1.1 Hard R (L = foot trail down)
N40 28.286 W111 50.756
1.2 Keep R to Connector (L = S Maple)
N40 28.359 W111 50.714 |
1.5 Hard R on Eagle Crest
N40 28.397 W111 50.706
2.0 Doubletrack, take trail on R
descend Vertigo
N40 28.353 W111 50.250
3.7 Back at Brookside |
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Getting there: From I-15
in Salt Lake City, take the Bluffdale exit and head east on Highland Drive
toward the mountains. As you reach the traffic light at the top of the
hill, about 3/4 mile after leaving the freeway, turn right on Traverse
Ridge Road. Drive about two miles up to the top of the mountain to the
stop sign.
From Utah County, get on the Timpanogos Highway. At the Lehi-Highland
border, go north on Highland Blvd at the big stop light east of Smiths.
This will become Suncrest Drive as it enters Draper. Climb to the stop
sign at the top of the hill.
Deer Ridge (Maple Hollow) trailhead: At the
stop sign in Suncrest, get on Deer Ridge Drive (right turn from SLC,
straight from Utah Co). Go 0.9 miles.
Just before the road crosses a bridge, turn right onto Elk Glen Drive and
immediately turn left to park at the small picnic area.
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Brookside Drive Trailhead (South Maple Hollow): Brookside Drive
turns to the west off Suncrest Drive, just uphill from the Maple Hollow subdivision.
This is about a mile uphill from Utah Valley. Drive past the homes and
uphill to the end of the road to the trailhead parking. The South Maple Hollow trail is on the west
side of the road at the turn-around. (To the east of the trailhead is
Woods Hollow and the return path from Vertigo and Levitate.) Bathrooms,
water, shaded picnic area.
Eagle Crest trailhead: From the hill-top stop sign in Suncrest, go
south on Traverse Ridge Road (straight from SLC, left turn from Utah Co).
To to the end of the road and park. This is your best spot if you're
starting Vertigo or Levitate loops from the top.
Bottom of Mercer Hollow: There's room for 3 or 4 cars at the
bottom of the doubletrack portion of Mercer Hollow on Suncrest Drive.
Riders park here if they're planning to make a loop of South Maple Hollow,
Eagle Crest, and Mercer Hollow.
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