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Timpanogos Wildlife Management Area
Area OverviewOn the southwest slope of Mount Timpanogos is a bench
area at around 6000 feet elevation. Through the years, horsemen and trail
hikers have created many "social trails" winding between the
groves of oak and maple. Local mountain bikers discovered these trails and
began riding them, although trail runners are the most frequent users.
This page is a general description of the area. To find individual trail
pages for this area, scroll down to the page-listing below. View
from the south shows the bench area where the trails are located. The
mid-height hill is Little Baldy. The big mountain is Timpanogos. |
Note! These trails are on Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
land, purchased with sportsmen dollars and set aside as the Orem Bench
Wildlife Management Area specifically to protect Utah's native animals.
Mountain Biking is allowed, but only insofar as it is not harmful to
wildlife. To insure continued access please be respectful to the
landowner by following proper trail etiquette and obeying all posted
rules. Specifically:
1. Do not ride these trails during the winter. Deer will not
survive the winter if frequently disturbed.
2. Unauthorized trail-building is strictly prohibited!
3. To reduce erosion and prevent "trenching" of trails,
do not ride trails when muddy.
4. Avoid disturbing wildlife, and do not allow your dog to chase
animals.
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| The riding season is April 16th through November 30. This area is
a wildlife management region, so it is CLOSED to cycling during the winter when it will
stress the deer.
The slopes face south. In summer, these trails will be quite hot in the
afternoon.
Most of the trails are intermediate in technical requirement. But there
can be some sustained steepish climbing that taxes your leg stamina.
Looking north in the Orem Bonneville Shoreline
parking lot.
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In 2019, a formal trail system was designated for the
Timpanogos WMA by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in partnership
with the Utah Valley Trails Alliance. The best trails were preserved and
duplicate routes were elimated, reducing the number of trails by about
half. Trail signs were placed, although unfortunately many of these were
burned by the fire in October 2020. In August 2021, the trails have been
renamed and are again open for riding.
Typical appearance for the area trails, which tend to
go through grassy areas between the stands of oak. |
| Please help keep this area open to mountain bikers by
staying strictly on designated trails! The primary purpose of this land is
to provide critical winter habitat for wildlife. Mountain bikers are
guests here, and we could lose the privilege of riding in this area.
Example of trail proliferation. The arrows are all
southbound trails within 100 yards of each other.
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Typical for "social trails" created by horses and
hikers, many segments of these trails do not have a sustainable alignment. When the trail becomes an unpleasant trench, the traffic
often moves to one side and a new trail begins. The trails that were
selected for the system are those that are pleasant to ride and more
likely to stay that way.
A "Fall Line" trail's evolution. The old
trail has become difficult for either hiking or biking due to the deep
sides and rounded bottom. So a new trail has sprung up alongside. |
| In October 2020, a fire burned through this area. Some bits
of forest were spared, but most of the Timp WMA area was destroyed. In
August 2021, the trails have reopened. Work is still ongoing to replace
burned trail signs and to repair erosion damage. The trails you ride may
not look like the photos from 2016.
Rolling south on Wild Turkey in August 2021, with
smoke from other western wildfires filling Utah Valley. Note how high the
oak brush has grown in less than a year!
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Pages featuring rides within the Timpanogos Wildlife
Management Area
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Rattlesnake (historical name Betty)
With Mouse
and lower Gopher Snake.
The ride on this page uses Canyon View as the entry to the trail
system. It climbs up through the Race Loop and continues uphill on
Rattlesnake. The descending route uses Mouse and lower Gopher Snake.
[ Rattlesnake Trail page ] |
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Lazuli (historical name Ireland)
upper Gopher Snake to Cottontail Loop
Ride introduces you to the north-south trails on the Orem Bench (Timpanogos
Foothills). The featured ride climbs Lazuli, traverses east on Gopher
Snake, then descends Cottontail back to the bench road.
[ Lazuli Trail page ]
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Swift Ridge (historical names
Shooter and Hyde)
includes Black Bear, Mouse, Cottontail
From the BST Orem trailhead, climb via Swift Ridge. Pick a level at which to connect to trails to the east. This
page has information to help you plan a custom loop route with your
desired amount of climbing. Featured ride climbs to Black Bear, descends Mouse and
Cottontail.
[ Swift Ridge trail page ] |
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Provo Canyon Race Loop
with Aquila (Cliff) and Zorro Trail access information
The race loop lies between Canyon View Park and the Orem Bench Road (BST).
Short but fun. Also provides a route from the park to the upper mountain
via the access trails.
[ Race Loop Trail page ]
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Dry Canyon 51 Loop (Kris' Loop)
Rattlesnake, Lament, Trail 51, Dry Canyon and the BST
This page describes a loop ride climbing Rattlesnake and Lament to
Trail 51, then descending the nicer lower portion of Dry Canyon and
returning via the Bonneville Shoreline.
[ Dry Canyon 51 Trail page ] |
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Bonneville Shoreline (BST)
Orem Bench Road and Dragon's Back Trail
The Orem Bench Road is the BST route for three miles, then it descends
the Great Western Trail on the Dragon's Back area to Canyon Glen Park.
[ Orem Bench - Provo Canyon North BST page
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NOTE! These trails are closed from December 1st
through April 15th for the benefit of the winter deer herd.
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Getting there, Orem Bench BST Trailhead:
Exit I-15 on Orem's 800 North
and drive straight towards the mountains. At 800 East, turn left and drive north about 1
mile. Immediately past the fence at the uphill end of the cemetery, turn right (east) on Cascade Drive.
Drive 1/2 mile then fork uphill before you approach the water treatment plant.
Take two switchbacks up, passing the lower overflow parking, to the paved
parking area with the bathroom. Your trail is right across from where the
road entered the parking lot.
Timpanogos Park: Exit I-15 on Orem's 800 North and drive straight towards the mountains.
Keep left to enter Provo Canyon. After 1 mile, you'll pass the entrance to
Canyon View Park on your left. About 100 yards later, there's a diversion
dam, then a bridge over the river. Drive over the bridge to Timpanogos
Park and park in the
lot. Ride to the northwest corner of the parking area. Begin your ride by pedaling up the gravel
road. Keep straight at the road fork at mile 0.3 if you're heading
for the Bottom Access trail (recommended), or fork R uphill for the Ravine
or East Access trails. Ride through the race loop and take the Upper
Access trail to the BST to connect to uphill trails.
Bathroom: Orem BST TH, Dry Canyon TH, Canyon View
Park, Canyon Glen Park, Nunn's Park
Water: Canyon View Park, Canyon Glen Park, Nunn's Park
Camping: Nunn's Park
Historical pre-2019 map with traditional names: View |
Dry Canyon Trailhead: Turn
east off State Street (Highway 89) at 200 South in Lindon, which also
happens to be 2000 North for Orem. Keep straight as you approach the
mountains. When the road begins to turn right (south), turn left onto Dry
Canyon Drive heading northeast. Now keep straight uphill until the road
turns into the trailhead. To reach the Shooter uphill route, go south on
the BST to the Orem trailhead.
Canyon Glen: Use this trailhead if you plan to ride
counter-clockwise or out-and-back. Note that if you ride this direction
there are some granny-gear climbs that are a bit loose. Exit I-15 on
Orem's 800 North and drive straight towards the mountains. Keep left to
enter Provo Canyon. About 3 miles later, you'll see the parking area for
Canyon Glen on your left. Go across the bridge to the Parkway. Turn right,
and find the GWT on your left about 200 feet later, forking uphill just
before the paved parkway curves around a rock outcrop.
Nunn's Park: This makes the ride about a mile longer, but at the
expense of a rather ugly short section of trail from Nunn's park up to the
aqueduct. Going up-canyon, turn right 4 miles up the canyon, then left
under 89. Go into Nunn's Park. On your bike, come back through the park
entrance, then turn left on a broken-up roadway just before the road goes
under 89. Turn left at the fence and follow the fence uphill. This section
is a hike-a-bike uphill. As the singletrack reaches the top, go left (west).
Zorro (1560 East Trailhead): Take 800 North in Orem
toward the mountains. Just as the road starts to descend into the canyon,
turn left on 1560 East. Go to the end of the pavement and park on the
right. The ugly jeep road switchbacks east of the trailhead take you
uphill -- 0.4 miles with 200 vertical -- to the Zorro singletrack. Zorro
will add another 300 vertical and 0.6 miles. (Don't fork onto the steeper
Bramber DH. You'll know it as you pass it.) When Zorro hits doubletrack,
head a bit further uphill to the Bench Road for uphill connections.
Canyon Mouth Provo River Parkway: There's a parking area on
Orem's 800 North Street just before you enter Provo canyon. It's just east
of the gas station. GPS N 40° 18.840' W 111° 39.472'. To get to
the parkway, go east over the river and through the fence. Go uphill to
the Canyon View Park, Canyon Glen, or Nunn's park for uphill singletrack
connections to the Bench Road. |
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