The Sneaky Shiz trail lies in the foothills above northern Pleasant
Grove on Forest Service land. It links the northern Pleasant Grove section of the
Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) to the Mahogany Mountain trail higher on
the mountain. Sneaky Shiz is popular with both mountain bikers and trail
runners. It's suitable for strong conditioned intermediate riders.
Looking southeast as we climb Sneaky Shiz.
This review by Bruce on April 25, 2022.
Sneaky Shiz must be reached via other trails at both the
bottom and the top. So while Sneaky Shiz is only 2.1 miles long, a minimum
up-and-back down ride would be around 8 miles. The top elevation is at
5850 feet, for a riding season of mid-April through mid-November.
Thunderdome is a more-difficult ride that continues uphill from the top
of Sneaky Shiz. There's 450 vertical feet of climbing over 0.9 miles. The
viewpoint at the top of Thunderdome is the target destination for many who
climb Sneaky Shiz. But it dramatically increases the work you'll do.
As we look northeast over Utah Valley, Bruce climbs
around a turn on Sneaky Shiz.
Getting to Sneaky Shiz
Canyon Road TH Murdock Canal Trail (Cedar Hills)
The Canyon Road trailhead is located on the uphill
side of Canyon Road where the Murdock
Canal Trail passes
under Highway 146. The connector to The Pit trail of Valley
Vista is about 1/4 mile south
of the trailhead, on the left side of the Murdock Canal trail.
Get onto the doubletrack just uphill
from the paved trail. After about 100 yards on the gravel
doubletrack fork uphill and ride toward the mountain. At the base of the
slope, turn right (the left-hand trail is the one-way return of The Pit).
Looking south in the Canyon Road Murdock trailhead.
Climb The Pit, then Hard Rock, keeping to the right at all
trail intersections. Once you're on Molly's trail, watch for a connector
to the Bench Road on your left about 100 yards later.
Heading south on Hard Rock after climbing The Pit.
Next comes Molly's trail, then the Bench Road.
Get onto the Bench Road southbound, then veer left uphill at the fork.
Climb 0.2 miles. Doesn't matter whether you take the wide old doubletrack
or hit the singletrack alongside. They'll rejoin. At the top, take a hard left on the
BST.
Fork in the road when coming from the top of Hard
Rock and Molly's in Valley Vista (looking south). Go to the left and climb
to the higher level.
Sneaky Shiz begins on the uphill side of the Bonneville
Shoreline Trail (BST), about 0.4 miles north of where you turned 180
degrees from the connector onto the BST/upper Bench Road. So start
pedaling north. After 0.4 miles, fork
right on singletrack and you're on Sneaky Shiz.
One of several critical non-marked forks. Here the
BST is on the right, while the upper PG Bench Road heads north downhill to
rejoin the lower (big) Bench Road. The BST is relatively undeveloped in
this area, still having zero trail markers in April 2022. (They're
coming.)
The Wade Spring trailhead is located on 1100
North at approximately 650 East. The Valley
Vista trail system is reached by pedaling
0.2 miles north on the Murdock
Canal Trail. Veer right and gently uphill
on a gravel doubletrack. A bit over 100 yards uphill, the entry to the
first singletrack loop Soft Rock is on your right.
Wade Springs trailhead in Pleasant Grove, looking
north.
Head uphill, keeping to the right at the trail intersections
until you reach Fault Line. (All lower loops are counter-clockwise, so
staying to the right will keep you on the uphill side of the loops.) At
Fault Line, go left and left so you skip this loop and stay on Cowley's.
Once you reach the Bench Road, stay on it and head north.
At 0.2 miles on Bench Road, fork to the right uphill on the (smaller)
upper Bench Road, which will become the BST. Around mile 0.4, it will
narrow so it seems less like road and more like trail. At mile 0.5, veer
right on the BST as you leave the old upper Bench Road.
Climbing uphill through Valley Vista, aiming for the
Pleasant Grove Bench Road.
Pleasant Grove Bench Road via Grove Creek TH
In Pleasant Grove, drive uphill on 500 North until it becomes
Grove Creek Drive. Follow it up to the paved Grove Creek trail parking area.
On your bike, coast downhill to the steel gate just below the paved Grove
Creek parking lot.
On the north side of the street, find the Canal Road (aka Bench Road) north.
Now pedal a mile north until the Bench Road splits. Take the right
(uphill) fork, which will narrow to trail after 1/4 mile. In another 0.2
miles, the BST forks away on your right, then the Sneaky Shiz trail forks
to the right after another 0.4 miles on the BST.
Here's the Bench Road at Grove Creek, which can take
you north to Sneaky Shiz.
From the Bench Road in Cedar Hills
When riding south on the Cedar Hills Bench Road, the BST forks uphill
on your left. (No trail markings as of April 2022.) This occurs while
you're still riding past homes, 0.2
miles from the northern end of the Valley Vista Molly's Trail. (There's a
second alternate about half-way between.) If you reach Valley Vista, you
missed the BST.
After 0.5 miles climbing the BST, Sneaky Shiz forks left uphill. If you don't know the
area, you may need a navigation app to find your way. The trail forks are
not marked!
This is the BST as viewed looking east
from the Bench Road in Cedar Hills.
Sneaky Shiz Trail
Most riders use Sneaky Shiz as a climbing route. Combined
with a climb up through Valley Vista, it's probably the most pleasant way
to reach the fabulous views on Mahogany Mountain. The overall climbing on
Sneaky Shiz is around 700 vertical feet.
The trail surface is non-technical. But the many turns tend to be a bit
steep and loose, so I recommend this ride for intermediates or better.
Northbound on the lower slopes of Sneaky Shiz.
The terrain is mostly grass with bits of sage and scattered
groves of scrub oak. There are no rock outcrops or tech challenges on
Sneaky Shiz. The area is very sun-exposed and will be hot on summer
afternoons.
Sneaky Shiz is
a narrow hand-dug bench-cut, rather than being simply a co-opted game trail. But
there are no turning banks to hold your tires on the downhill, so you'll
find yourself checking your speed to roll around. On the way down,
particularly as you near the bottom, you'll notice a few older paths
heading more steeply downhill. Do Not ride these.
Looking northwest as a smooth curve of trail
traverses the hillside.
If your target is the viewpoint at the top of Thunderdome (a
popular target for this ride), your ride will require 1700 vertical feet
of overall climbing. The shortest route would use The Pit and Hard Rock of
Valley Vista to the Bench Road for the connection to Sneaky Shiz, and
would be a bit under 10 miles for the out-and-back. See the Valley Vista
and Mahogany Mountain pages for climbing options.
Views are constant. We're looking southwest at Utah
Lake as we climb.
If you're using Sneaky Shiz as a climbing route, I recommend
conserving your energy on the lower turns. While most sections of the
trail are easy cruising, there are a lot of turns on the trail, and those
turns are often long and steep. If you put too much leg into powering
around those turns, you won't have much left when you hit the steeper
slopes of Thunderdome.
The trail is smooth with occasional humps where old
flood channels or 4x4 digger trails cross.
At the top of Sneaky Shiz, you'll hit a flat viewpoint area
and a T intersection with Mahogany Mountain. A left turn takes you to the
Mahogany Mountain downhill route and later the (unrideable) steep slope up
to the viewpoint. If the upper viewpoint is your goal, turn RIGHT (away
from the viewpoint) on Mahogany Mountain, then turn left onto Thunderdome
just 75 yards later.
The most common descending route is Rojo and the Rojo Connector down to
the BST. If that's your goal, turn right on Mahogany Mountain and find the
trail fork on your right after 0.2 miles.
Looking south as we approach the final viewpoint
where Sneaky Shiz ends on the Mahogany Mountain trail.
Sneaky Shiz with Rojo Rolling loop
ride!
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Thunderdome Trail
Thunderdome is 0.9 miles long, with 450 vertical feet of
climbing. It extends from the Mahogany Mountain trail (just 75 yards south
of where Sneaky Shiz ends) to the viewpoint at 6250 feet elevation.
We're on Mahogany Mountain southbound. The trail on
the left is Thunderdome. Thunderdome starts out southbound, but will soon
turn back to the north and begin climbing.
While the trail does have some smooth sections, it's more
narrow, more steep, and more technical than Sneaky Shiz. The gambel oak
sections are tighter and are more likely to scratch if you bobble. Some
embedded limestone boulders require dodging and pedal cautions.
Northbound on a smooth stretch of trail. Note that
the baseline climbing pitch has increased.
While the main trail from Mahogany Mountain to the viewpoint
goes almost straight up the slope, Thunderdome approaches the viewpoint
through a series of traverses to slow the rate of climb.
Looking back south on Thunderdome.
Once you hit the ridgeline at the top, stop and take in the
views. From here, the trail simply heads 50 yards toward the mountain and
joins up with the main trail. (This trail continues uphill, should you
have the leg to go further.)
An e-biker heads out on Thunderdome from the
viewpoint.
So is it worth the extra climbing to add Thunderdome to your
ride on Sneaky Shiz?
I think so. Yes, Thunderdome will seem tougher than all the other
climbing you'll do on this ride combined, but the views at the top are
extraordinary. And a little challenge to your legs and your bike-handling
will do you good.
View northwest. The pink smear on the mountains at
right is the Bingham Canyon mine tailings.
Popular loop return route: Rojo Rolling and
Mahogany Bench Connector to BST
Most riders are riding a clockwise loop. After climbing
Sneaky Shiz the pedal 0.1 miles south and drop onto Rojo Rolling. This
trail dumps onto the Mahogany Bench Connector. At mile 0.7, the trail hits
the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, where you can connect north or south.
Bruce
rockets down Rojo southbound.
Most riders who climbed Sneaky Shiz will opt for the northbound return. It
drops you onto the Bench Road around 1/4 mile from the top of Hard Rock in
the Valley Vista trail system.
Once you're hit the high point on the northbound BST,
the downhill is constant until you hit the old upper Bench Road. Looking
northwest over Utah Valley.
If you're in a hurry to get back to the valley, you can take
the steep main trail down to Mahogany Mountain. It's very steep and loose
for about 0.2 miles. At 0.4 miles after leaving the viewpoint on the
ridge, the Mahogany Mountain downhill section will start on your right.
It's marked by a rockpile.
Here's the trail fork where Mahogany Mountain turns
to descend. The main trail here is the steeper route to the viewpoint (and
to points higher on the hill).
Note that you can also choose to descend Mahogany Mountain
if you return via Thunderdome. Just backtrack onto the main Mahogany
Mountain trail, but ride past the entry to Sneaky Shiz. After 0.3 miles,
the downhill trail will fork away on your left.
Looking uphill on Mahogany Mountain. I don't
recommend climbing this route. It's steep and unrelenting.
Compared to Sneaky Sniz, downhill Mahogany Mountain is
fairly straight and significantly steeper. It's often a little trenched,
but it's not horrible. All-out chunder descenders may enjoy this way down.
I'd only do it again if a thunderstorm were chasing me. After only 0.9
miles the singletrack dumps onto a gravel road, where you can work your
way down to the Bench Road in Cedar Hills.
Heading downhill to the northwest. You can see that
the trail continues straight.
Bottom Line:
One of the better climbs in the Utah County foothills. Great views but not
for beginners or the out-of-shape rider.
See the Valley Vista trail pages for
details on navigating those trails.
See the Mahogany Mountain trail page for trails
east of Sneaky Shiz.
Looking south from the viewpoint at the top of
Thunderdome. The Thunderdome trail crosses the hill just below us.
Note about the map! There are other singletrack trails that are
not are shown here, and some that are shown will
be "retired" by the Forest Service as they develop the trails in
this area.
Getting there:
Canyon Road TH Murdock Canal Trail (Cedar Hills): The Canyon Road trailhead
is located on the uphill
side of Canyon Road where the Murdock
Canal Trail passes
under Highway 146. The connector to The Pit trail of Valley
Vista is about 1/4 mile south
of the trailhead, on the left side of the Murdock Canal trail.
Wade Springs TH Murdock Canal Trail (Pleasant Grove): The Wade
Spring trailhead is located on 1100
North at approximately 650 East. The Valley
Vista trail system is reached by pedaling
0.2 miles north on the Murdock
Canal Trail. Veer right and gently uphill
on a gravel doubletrack.
Grove Creek TH to Pleasant Grove Bench Road: In Pleasant Grove,
drive uphill on 500 North until it becomes
Grove Creek Drive. Follow it up to the paved Grove Creek trail parking area.
On your bike, coast downhill to the steel gate just below the paved Grove
Creek parking lot. On the north side of the street, find the Canal Road (aka Bench Road) north.
