Rabbitbrush Trail
Wormwood and Hobble Creek Bonneville Shoreline
The Rabbitbrush and Wormwood trails -- together with a short segment of the
Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) -- are the first installment of a trail
system at the mouth of Hobble Creek Canyon. The plan is for more difficult
trails higher on the mountain, with connections to the planned Springville
Bike Park in Spring Canyon to the north.
Climbing Rabbitbrush from the Bonneville Shoreline Trail at the
eastern side of the trail system on a counter-clockwise ride. Photos and trail
review by Bruce on April 4, 2022. Updated
September 23, 2022.
Although there isn't a lot of mileage at this time, the
trail layout allows for a wide variety of possible rides. Trails are
generally intermediate in technical requirement, but suitable for
beginners. The riding here will mostly be of interest to bikers who live
in nearby cities who need something quick.
The Wormwood Trail reaches Rabbitbrush. Note the nice
trail markings.
Of the current trails, the Bonneville Shoreline is beginner
level. Rabbitbrush and Wormwood would be considered early-intermediate but
suitable for beginners.
There's very little climbing, so it's not much work. There's around 75
feet of elevation change from the lowest point on Wormwood to the highest
spot on Rabbitbrush.
View south over Mapleton from the BST.
To ride the Rabbitbrush trails, go to 400 South in Springville and
drive east, turning south onto Canyon Road at the roundabout. Once you're
in the canyon, watch for a small reservoir dam on the right side of the road.
On the left side of the road, across from the Hobble
Creek paved pathway and the pond, is a small gravel strip for parking. The BST entry is on the far west (downhill) end of
the parking zone.
You might think you can reach the trail via the BST from Slate Canyon
in Provo or Spring Canyon in Springville. However, there's a subdivision
in the way, and the two connecting trails from Spring Canyon to that
subdivision are posted as closed. (See below.)
Looking east into Hobble Creek Canyon. I'm standing
near the BST trail entry, looking toward the parking strip.
Bonneville Shoreline Trail
Access to Rabbitbrush, Wormwood, and future expansion trails
is through the Bonneville Shoreline (BST) trail. This segment of the BST
is 0.9 miles long. Elevation change is only about 40 feet, most of it
during the first 1/10th mile from the trailhead.
Heading west on the BST.
The BST begins across the road from the small reservoir on
the Hobble Creek Canyon Road. It heads west (away from the canyon) through
a grove of mature trees. After a short twisty climb on tight trail through
the trees, it settles into easy straight singletrack. It falls onto an old
doubletrack after 1/2 mile, running just uphill from the canal.
The trees near the
BST are bigger than the oak brush of the higher hillside.
The Hobble Creek Bonneville Shoreline Trail ends as it hits 800 South.
Despite what you may see as you glance at your navigation app, in 2022
there's no way through to the Springville BST. You may find a trail, but
there will be gates and no trespassing signs. This includes the Canal Trail
(along the paved ditch), and the BST (higher on the mountain) which has construction
completely blocking the former trail.
Riding east on the BST between the ends of
Rabbitbrush.
To reach the northbound Springville and Provo
section of the BST, you'll have to drop down on paved streets to
Canyon Drive, head back toward the city a bit, then turn right on 2080
East. After 1/2 mile, just as the road turns from north to northwest, find
the BST Access on your right at Spring Canyon.
Looking from the circle at the end of 800 South
toward Hobble Creek Canyon. The BST is the smaller trail to the left.
Rabbitbrush Trail
The Rabbitbrush trail is 0.5 miles long, with only around 80
feet of elevation change. The trail can be ridden in either direction. A
lariat loop hitting only half the BST plus Rabbitbrush would be exactly
one mile.
The terrain is typical Wasatch foothill stuff. The trail winds through
groves of scrub oak, with some meanders onto open grass-covered
hillside.
On the clockwise ride, we're heading uphill to the east as the
trail meanders uphill through oak and grass.
The eastern side of the Rabbitbrush trail begins by forking right uphill from
the BST 1/10th mile from the roadside parking strip. The western end then reconnects to
the BST about 1/2 mile from the trailhead. Most riders will chose to do a
loop of Rabbitbrush and the BST.
The central portion of Rabbitbrush traverses an old
corridor. We're looking east into Hobble Creek Canyon on a
counter-clockwise ride.
If you want to do the loop clockwise, fork left at the
first trail intersection to stay on the BST. Ride the BST for 1/2 mile
until you reach the western end of the trail (as shown in the photo) then
fork right uphill to loop around.
Wormwood forks away from Rabbitbrush at mile 0.1 on the
eastern side (counterclockwise ride) and at mile 0.2 from the western end
(clockwise ride). This layout offers fun variations on the loop ride.
Most of the BST follows an old doubletrack just above
the homes in Hobble Creek Canyon. Here we've reached the trail fork where
the western end of Rabbitbrush forks to the right uphill.
Rabbitbrush is a hand-cut trail with a fairly narrow track. Overall the riding on Rabbitbrush feels "old
fashioned."
Turns are generous in radius and sight lines are long. Many turns have
modestly sized berms.
The
trail surface is smooth dirt with no rocks or roots or technical stuff at
this time. The alignment tends to run between clumps of brush rather than
through the brambles, so there's plenty of elbow room.
Riding
downhill on Rabbitbrush in September.
At the ride's highest elevation, it falls onto an old
bench-cut for a bit. This is the straight spot you can see on the map. At
the eastern end of this straight area, Rabbitbrush turns downhill, while
the faint uphill path is the location of a future expert line higher on
the mountain, to be called Katseye. (Don't go there now.)
Heading into Hobble Creek Canyon on a ride in early
April.
Wormwood Trail
Wormwood is 0.5 miles in length. Both ends of the Wormwood trail are high on the hillside on
the Rabbitbrush trail. The eastern end comes 0.1 miles uphill on
Rabbitbrush, while the western end is found 0.2 miles uphill when going
the opposite direction on Rabbitbrush.
Between those ends, Wormwood drops down across the BST
and traverses the lowest part of the hill before climbing back up to
Rabbitbrush. See the map. Because Wormwood crosses the BST twice, you can
use the BST to ride any piece of the Wormwood trail -- one end and/or
the middle.
View downhill to the west as we descend the eastern
side of Wormwood. Note the wooden ramp for a jump ahead.
The climb uphill on Wormwood -- on either end -- is a bit
steeper than Rabbitbrush. But it doesn't last long. Many riders like to use both ends of Wormwood as a downhill.
After doing the traversing portion below the BST, they take the BST out to
the end of Rabbitbrush for a mellower climb.
Heading down the eastern side of Wormwood.
The Wormwood trail can be done in either direction. There's a steep
dip on the western end, though, which presents itself as a wall when doing
Wormwood uphill (going east to west). Things get ugly if you don't have enough momentum to rocket all the way
up. (It's too steep and loose to safely stop.) So my guess is that riders who
intend to ride all of Wormwood in one piece will prefer to go west to east.
Climbing up the bald hillside on the western side of
Wormwood.
Like Rabbitbrush, Wormwood is a hand-built trail that
follows natural lines as it twists through groves of oak. It's a bit
tighter in the trees and a little more twisty than Rabbitbrush. I thought
Wormwood was
a lot of fun!
It's easy to find a combination of trails that matches your fitness and
ability level. The trail system is small enough that you can do everything
in both directions.
Handlebar view of the narrow trail in the central
section of Wormwood.
Bottom Line:
Good start for a trail system. With only three trails totaling under two
miles at this time,
you'll want to do laps or reverse directions or make various combinations
of trail segments to keep it fresh.
So the
trails will be of interest mainly to those who are looking for a short, easy and
nearby system for beginners and kids. And local riders who'll squeeze in a
few laps after work.
A tour of the trail system in 2022...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Here's why you shouldn't plan to just keep riding toward
Slate Canyon on the
Bonneville Shoreline Trail from the subdivision north of Rabbitbrush.
Hopefully, a permanent trail alignment for the BST will be designated here
in the future!
This used to be the Bonneville Shoreline
Trail. You could pass
through the the subdivision to the BST at the north end.
The BST has another closure sign just before Spring Canyon.
This is the canal trail, which is an
alternate route for
connecting
through the subdivision to reach Spring Canyon.
This sign
specified "No Bikes."
Getting there: Take the 400 South Springville
exit (260) from I-15, turning east on U-77. Go straight through
Springville. As you begin to climb the foothills, you'll come to a 4-way
stop. Turn right (southward) towards Hobble Creek Canyon. The road will
begin to veer back to the east. As it turns eastward, a road comes in from
the right (south side), and you'll notice that the sidewalk on your right
has become a wide paved path. This is the Hobble Creek paved trail.
Continue up the road 1/2 mile until you pass a earthen dam with a small
reservoir. The gravel parking strip is on the left (uphill) side of the
road across from the pond. The BST trail entry is at the far west end of
the parking area, marked by a carsonite post. There's no bathroom or other
services at the trailhead itself, but there's a picnic area on the other
side of the reservoir.
