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Summit Park Trails
Road to WOS, Short Stack, Short Ribs, No Worries
The Summit Park trails offer well-designed fun singletrack in cool fir
forest. Your likely target for the ride will be the Road To WOS loop on the upper
mountain. Road To WOS can be reached via Short Stack, the lower Road To
WOS, or No Worries. Distance and climbing will vary depending on which
route you take to the loop.
Westbound as we hit a small break in
the trees Road to WOS. Original ride review and photos by Bruce
on July 18, 2015, with latest trail update July 8, 2022.
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| The riding in this area starts at 6800 to 7200 feet
elevation. You'll climb via your
choice of three access paths to an undulating loop on the upper mountain
with a top elevation of 7900. Because the riding is on a north-facing slope, the
expected riding season is late-June through mid-October.
Looking west uphill as we climb No Worries to the
Road to WOS loop.
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You can do a lariat ride from any trailhead. After
climbing uphill on either Short Stack or Road to WOS, you'll ride a
stretched-out loop that combines upper Road to WOS with Short Ribs.
The lariat from Short Stack is almost a mile longer but has the same
amount of climbing as the lariat from the Road to WOS (Summit Park Peak) trailhead.
Starting at Toll Canyon or Discovery Ridge makes
an even longer ride. Details below.
There are occasional views downhill. Here we're
looking north toward I-80 at a short break in the trees. |
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Summit Park Peak (Road to WOS) trailhead
This is the main trailhead for Road to WOS. There's paved parking at the
top of Parkview Drive in Summit Park. A short doubletrack heads uphill to
the switchback portion at the bottom of Road to WOS. This trailhead will have a few more hikers and hounds.Toll Canyon Road (No Worries)
When climbing Parkview Drive, turn left on St Morritz Strasse. Follow it
through two right-hand road forks, then turn left on St Morritz Terrace.
There's room for two or three cars on the right side of the road just before the
gate. Take the paved road down to the No Worries singletrack, on your
right after descending 0.2 miles.
Entry to Toll Canyon from St Morritz Terrace.
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Short Stack
The Short Stack sorta-trailhead is reached by turning to the right after leaving I-80 at Parley's Summit.
Take Maple uphill until it becomes Innsbruck Strasse. It's the easiest
navigation, and is a good choice if you're doing the loop ride. You'll see
the trail on your right as you drive uphill, shortly after the road turns
to gravel.Discovery Ridge trailhead
The trailhead for Gorgoza Park offers a longer ride with more climbing.
You'll take A Toll New World to Toll Canyon Road, then climb No Worries.
This trailhead is reached by taking Kilby Road east from the Summit Park
exit, then turning right on Discovery Way. This trailhead has bathrooms
and running water, and is my recommendation if you can handle a longer
ride.
Discovery Ridge trailhead, looking west. |
Short Stack and Short Rib |
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Short Stack starts on Innsbruck Strasse, on the right side
of the road as you drive uphill. There's a bit of roadside parking near
the trail. Short Stack is 1.2 miles long, with 350 feet of climbing as you
head up to the Road to WOS loop trail.
Short Rib connects the top of Short Stack (where it turns
into the western
end of Road to WOS) to the lower portion of Road to WOS a few switchbacks
above the Summit Park Peak trailhead. It is 0.4 miles long, and is the
piece that creates a loop out of Road to WOS. There's 100 feet of
elevation change over the trail from west to east.
Climbing up Short Stack through shady
fir forest. |
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Both Short Stack and Short Rib are easier-intermediate
rides and can
be handled by experienced beginners. The sustained climbing during the
first part of Short Stack puts this trail outside the capabilities of most
young children, but strong pre-teens will do fine. For less-strong riders,
I'd suggest skipping Short Stack and entering Road to WOS directly from
the Summit Park Peak trailhead.
Oak forest northbound on the upper
portion of Short Stack near Road to WOS. |
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The Road to WOS trail is 3.0 miles long from the Summit Park
Peak trailhead to the top of Short Stack. There's 400 vertical feet of
climbing over the length of the trail (assuming you're starting from the
Summit Park trailhead, rather than simply riding the loop with Short Rib
after reaching Road to WOS from another trail). |
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The trail base is broad and 90% of the surface is smooth as silk. Some
short stretches have a little limestone chunk, just enough to make noise under the tires, but there are no ledges or rock gardens or
spooky side-slopes. Turns are nicely bermed with a comfortable turning
radius. This is a ride where you just enjoy whooshing through the trees.
On the lower Road to WOS, we're riding
through a jungle as we cross a drainage. |
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One nice riding option is a loop ride that uses the doubletrack
through the preserve to join the Short Stack and Summit Park Peak trailheads. (This gravel connector is a continuation of
Innsbruck Strasse, which is the road leading up to the Short Stack trail.
Gates keep the doubletrack closed to vehicle traffic. On the east end, it
begins as paved road passing about three homes before turning to
gravel.)
This loop is 5 miles with 750 total feet of climbing. While you're on
the mountain top I'd suggest you do a loop-around: Instead of
descending, use Short Ribs to connect back for another run around the
upper mountain. This adds 2.6 miles and 300 feet of climbing to your ride.
The entry into the dirt portion of Innsbruck Strasse.
When the loop is done
counterclockwise, the doubletrack connector starts out as pavement before
turning to gravel. |
| Most of the terrain is shaded fir forest. On occasion you'll
ride sun-exposed east-facing slopes with a canopy of oak trees.
Wildflowers can be found here and there where enough light gets through
the forest.
Desert trumpet (scarlet gilia) blooms
on a rare sun-splashed section of trail. |
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All trail forks are marked with carsonite posts. Navigation is easy.
There are multiple spots where narrow steep hiking trails cut across the
bike route. These intersections show the little hiker symbol as well as
the trail name. It should be obvious that these are foot-traffic only. Sample turn on lower Road to
WOS. Huge berm, wide radius, smooth track. |
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Viewpoints are rare -- mostly a partial glimpse to the north through
the trees. You'll want to stop on the far east corner of the loop for the
ride's best views. On the edge of the ridgeline, you'll be able to see
many miles to the north and east.
\View to the east with receding
mountain ridges of the Uintah Mountains in the distance.
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At a turn on the lower eastern side of the Road to WOS loop,
the newer No Worries trail joins. Make the hard turn if you're continuing
the Road to WOS loop. Typical trail, with undulating
smooth dirt ribbon in a forest of tall fir. |
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The No Worries trail offers another route for riding Road to
WOS. It links the Toll Canyon Road (the gated continuation of St Morritz
Terrace) to the lower eastern side of the Road to WOS loop. In turn, the Toll Canyon Road links to the
A Toll New World trail, which can take you
to the Gorgoza Park trail system.
The entry to the bottom of No Worries from the Toll
Canyon Road.
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| From the Toll Canyon Road, No Worries climbs through a lot
of switchback turns. It's 2.1 miles long, with 800 vertical feet of
climbing. While most of the trail is smooth dirt, there are jagged bits of
embedded limestone rock in some of the switchback turns that require a bit
more skill and strength to clear when riding uphill.
Climbing uphill through fir forest at a pleasant
pace.
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The terrain is heavily forested, with only a couple of
narrow breakout views. The trees are mostly mature fir but there are some
stretches of maple, and an aspen here and there. The understory is
generally lush where light can reach the ground. The north-facing slope
and tall trees keep this trail cool until afternoon.
A grove of maple fills a space in the dense conifer
forest.
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| When you reach Road to WOS, go right downhill to head for
the bottom of the loop and the Summit Park Peak trailhead, or left uphill
to climb to the top of the loop at 7900 feet. Most riders will loop around
Road to WOS before backtracking on No Worries -- which makes a very nice
downhill romp.
We'll cross this thin strip of meadow on our way
uphill. |
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My ride recommendation for stronger riders would be to
start at the Discovery Ridge trailhead in the Gorgoza
area. Drop back to
the Millenium paved trail and link to the Gorgoza Park trail for more
miles. Make a couple of laps around the Gorgoza DH trail
system. Climb A
Toll New World to the Toll Canyon Road, link to No Worries, and climb up
and around Road to WOS.
About half of the switchback turns are butter-smooth
dirt with a tall bank. But others have little peaks of rough limestone
protruding through, giving this trail an intermediate technical rating. |
| This ride will be around 20 miles (if you start by doing the
Gorgoza Park trail then do a couple of loops on the DH trails) with 3000
feet of climbing.
If you have the time and the endurance to add No Worries to your Road
to WOS ride, I highly recommend it. A simple lariat from Discovery Ridge
to WOS and back will be around 16 miles with 2600 feet of climbing.
A rare breakout meadow on No Worries as we get closer
to the top. |
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Toll Canyon Road
The Toll Canyon Road links the southern end of the Sunridge Perimeter
(a PRIVATE trail for homeowners; don't go there) and the south end of A
Toll New World (public trail) to the bottom of No Worries to form a
continuous ride from the Gorgoza area uphill to Road to WOS. Toll Canyon
Road is part pavement
and part dirt doubletrack. It's 0.5 miles from the top of A Toll New World
to No Worries, with 150 feet of elevation loss.
The western end of Toll Canyon is an alternate trailhead with room for
only a couple of cars on the side of the road.
Looking south downhill after joining Toll Canyon Road
from A Toll New World.
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Spare Change
This doubletrack will probably be of no interest to you. It's
0.4 miles long with 125 feet of elevation change. This trail is used by
locals to reach the Toll Canyon Road and link to No Worries or A Toll New
World. There's NO parking at the bottom, and the only reason you'd ever
use this trail is as an emergency bailout route downhill.
Heading south uphill on Spare Change.
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A Toll New World A Toll New World links the eastern
side of the Toll Canyon Road to the bottom of the Gorgoza DH loops (just a
bit uphill from the Discovery Ridge trailhead). The trail is mostly
forested with a gentle climbing pace on the uphill and smooth flowing
downhill. A Toll New World is 1.5 miles long with 400 feet of climbing
from Discovery Ridge to Toll Canyon. Climbing toward
Toll Canyon in a mixed forest of aspen, fir, maple, and elderberry. |
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Gorgoza DH loops This is the famous "Arcylon"
loop, but with new DH routes added (an easy option and a technical
option). The new Discovery Ridge trailhead is just downhill, offering
quick access. A Toll New World heads west from the bottom, and Gorgoza
Park forks away from the middle of the Up trail. |
Bottom Line:
Very fun ride with swooping trail in cool forest. Suitable for strong
beginners, but fun for advanced riders as well. Road to WOS is a short route by
hammerhead standards, but the addition of the newer trails No Worries and
A Toll New World offers the opportunity for much longer rides. It's
definitely worth the trip!
Climbing uphill through forest of maple and fir on
the No Worries trail. |
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Loop (plus a loop) from Short Stack:
0.0 Park on Innsbruck Strasse
N40 44.467 W111 37.052
Climb Short Stack singletrack
1.2 Keep L uphill (R = Short Ribs)
Road to WOS N40 44.191 W111 37.228
1.5 Keep L uphill N40 43.998 W111 37.325
3.4 L straight onto Short Ribs
N40 43.990 W111 37.017 |
3.8 Hard L on Road to WOS
N40 44.191 W111 37.228
6.0 Back at fork, R downhill
N40 43.990 W111 37.017
6.8 Pavement at TH, go L uphill
N40 44.115 W111 36.976
Pavement turns into gravel DT
7.6 Back at car at Short Stack |
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Getting there:
Road to WOS (Summit Park Peak) trailhead. Get onto Aspen/Maple Drive as above
and follow it to Crestview Drive. Take the left fork where Crestview turns
eastward. As you reach a Y intersection, go right on Parkview Drive. Now
stay on Parkview until you hit the T intersection with Matterhorn Drive.
Cross the road to find a spot to park. The trailhead is just a bit east of
the intersection on the south side of the road. It starts as a gravel
doubletrack for around 100 yards before becoming dirt singletrack.
Note: You can't drive the doubletrack Innsbruck Strasse between Short Stack and Road
to WOS. There are two ride-around gates. |
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Short Stack trailhead. At the top of Parley's Canyon, take the
Parley's Summit exit from I-80. Turn south (right if you're exiting after
climbing from Salt Lake City). Immediately turn to the right to head west
along the freeway on Aspen Drive, which becomes Maple Drive. Keep to the
right at all road intersections. Follow the main road as it turns left
uphill and becomes Crestview Drive. Again keep right as Crestview veers
left, and you'll be on Innsbruck Strasse. The pavement will turn to dirt.
A bit further uphill, you'll see the trail on the right side of the road.
Now find a place to park.
Toll Canyon.
When climbing Parkview Drive, turn left on St Morritz Strasse. Follow it
through two right-hand road forks, then turn left on St Morritz Terrace.
There's room for two or three cars on the right side of the road just before the
gate. Take the paved road down to the No Worries singletrack, on your
right after descending 0.2 miles.
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| Discovery Ridge trailhead. Exit I-80's Summit Park
exit at the top of Parley's and turn east on Kilby Road. Drive 1.1 miles, then
turn right on Discovery Way. Discovery Way will dip through the shallow
valley and climb to three trailhead parking lots. The upper lot has
bathrooms and running water. This trailhead is my recommendation if you
can handle a longer ride. |
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