Valley Vista Trail System
Soft Rock, Rose, Gamble, Fault Line and Cowley's Curse loops
Foothill, Molly's, Cowley's Cure, Hard Rock and The Pit trails
The Valley Vista trail system is in the foothills of
Pleasant Grove between the Murdock Canal Trail and the Bench Road. It's a network of interconnected loops for riders of
all abilities, completed in September 2016 with 6 miles of trail. Expansions in 2019
and 2021 added 5 more miles of trail north of the original trail system.
Little Rocky is enjoying a cruise around the Soft
Rock loop. Original photos and ride description June 30, 2016 by Bruce.
Latest update July 8, 2019.
Trailheads - Wade Spring trailhead in Pleasant Grove
The trails can be reached via the paved Murdock
Canal Trail. The closest trailhead to the main trails is Wade Spring, located on 1100
North at approximately 650 East. The trailhead includes bathroom, shaded
picnic area, and water. The trails most suitable for beginning riders --
Soft Rock, Rose, and Gambel -- are just north of the Wade Springs trailhead.
Looking north near the trailhead entry.
From Wade Springs, the 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 and the Foothill trail
is straight ahead.
Your target is the gap between the trees at the top
of this little hill. Just veer to the right and head uphill on the
doubletrack to the kiosk. We're riding north in this photo.
Cedar Hills Canyon Road trailhead
You can also ride from the Canyon Road trailhead (located on the uphill
side of Canyon Road just south of where the Murdock Canal trail passes
under the highway). The connector to The Pit loop is about 1/4 mile south
of the trailhead, on the left side of the Murdock Canal trail.
The Foothill singletrack trail is further down the Murdock Canal Trail
at around mile 0.8, about half-way between the two Murdock
Canal trailheads. It winds quickly uphill, then contours the
hill southbound until it reaches the trail kiosk at the bottom of the Soft
Rock loop.
The Cedar Hills Murdock Canal Trail trailhead,
looking south.
To reach The Pit loop, 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).
Heading south on the doubletrack connector. Just
ahead, we'll veer to the left uphill.
Valley Vista 2017 video...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Trail organization at Valley Vista
The easiest trails are located on the lower slopes. In general, the
trails are built as "stacked loops" that ride one direction. On
each loop, you can either continue uphill by transferring to the
next-higher loop as you reach the loop's high point, or you can roll on
around and downhill to complete the loop. Individual trails are
described below.
Just getting started. Bruce rides through the first
turn on Soft Rock after leaving the trailhead kiosk.
I recommend that beginners start from the Wade Springs
trailhead and ride the Soft Rock loop. From Soft Rock, you can progress to
the Rose loop, then the longer Gambel loop. These loops are "stacked" one above
the other. Each loop is a bit larger than the one just below it. See the maps
near the bottom of this page.
Hitting a turn on Rose as we climb through the trees
of Valley Vista. The lower three loops are fairly heavily forested.
Above the Gambel loop is Cowley's Curse, a larger
intermediate-level loop. Cowley's is the largest of the loops at 2.3
miles, and takes you all the way uphill to the gravel Bench Road. (From
here, you can connect to Forest Service trails above the road such as the
Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Or you can head north on the Bench Road to the
newer parts of the trail system.)
Climbing Cowley's Curse. Nice views up here.
Near the top of Cowley's Curse, the Fault Line loop forks
away to the south, then rejoins just a few feet further up the hill.
Cowley's traverses the hillside, then descends back down to the Gambel
loop.
There are two alternate paths while descending Cowley's: the Viking Run
and Tufa trails.
At the top of Cowley's Curse, or at a connector a couple of turns
downhill, you can connect to the Bench
Road northbound. The Bench Road will take you to the northern trail
options: Cowley's Cure, Molly's, The Pit and Hard Rock loops.
Descending Cowley's Curse.
Molly's trail is your route to the northern trails, and it
can only be reached via the Bench Road.
Cowley's Cure, which forks away from Molly's trail, returns back to the
middle of the downhill portion of the Gambel loop.
Most of the trees on the upper slope are gambel oak.
At the far northern end of the riding area are two more
stacked loops, occupying the space between the Murdock Canal trail and the
Bench Road. These are the Hard Rock loop which forks away from the far
northern end of Molly's trail, and The Pit loop below Hard Rock. The
bottom of The Pit connects to the Murdock Canal trail just south of the
Cedar Hills trailhead.
The lower southern portions of the riding area are
dense with trees, while the northern and higher slopes are mostly open
grass and sage.
Individual Valley Vista trails
Listed bottom to top on a
counterclockwise ride The trails below are listed in the order you'd encounter them during a
counterclockwise ride from the Soft Rock trail kiosk up to the Bench Road and then north and downhill. The
trail system is marked
with carsonite trail posts, so you'll always know where you are.
Foothill Trail
The Foothill trail is one of the few Valley Vista trails that doesn't
form a singletrack loop. But it does form a loop ride when combined with
the paved Murdock Canal trail.
Foothill runs along the hillside from the main trail kiosk to the
Murdock Canal trail. It's 0.8 miles long with only about 70 feet of
elevation change. The trail is very easy technically except for a series
of S turns at the north end. Beginners will find these turns hard to ride,
but it's a very short section and is easily walked.
Looking northwest over Utah Valley. The trail is a
meandering bench-cuton the hillside above the Murdock Canal trail.
Foothill starts at the main trail kiosk, heading straight
north parallel to the Murdock Canal trail.
As you approach the kiosk when arriving at the kiosk from the Wade Springs
trailhead, keep to the left
and northbound and you're on Foothill. Cruise down and through the gate,
where you'll notice a connector to the paved canal trail.
At mile 0.8, the trail descends quickly through banked turns. At the
Murdock Canal trail, turn left to return to the Valley Vista trailhead. Or
do the Foothill trail as an out-and-back.
Bruce heads back into the trailhead area from
Foothill.
The north end of Foothill can be reached directly via the Murdock Canal
Trail. When riding from the north, it's on the left (uphill) side 0.9
miles from the Murdock Canal Canyon Road trailhead (just southeast of
where the paved trail
passes under the canyon road). To reach the north end of Foothill from
Wade Springs via the Murdock Canal trail, go one mile north on the paved trail.
The twisty turns at the north end. Not tricky,
but hard for a brand-new beginner to hold the proper riding line.
Soft Rock Loop
The Soft Rock loop is 0.4 miles. Ride it
counterclockwise. The
trail lies in an area of mixed second-growth forest and is mostly shaded.
Yes, it will get toasty warm in the summer afternoons. But it's easy work,
with a whopping 40 feet of elevation gain from the canal trail to the top
of the loop.
A couple of unusual rocks -- appearing to be tufa, a
type of concretion formed in water similar to travertine -- line the lower
part of the loop.
The trail surface is firm and smooth as silk. I ride a lot
of brand-new trail, so this one was a pleasant surprise. No hateful
bump-rock-and-root-fest while trying to envision what the trail may one
day become. This trail is already superb. Thoroughly packed, buffed, and
bermed with excellent riding lines.
A couple of bermed wiggles in tall oak brush as the
trail descends through a turn.
Rose Loop
The Rose loop begins in the middle of
upper Soft Rock, with a trail connector for both directions. All of the
loops are designed to ride in the counterclockwise direction --
starting southbound as you enter the loop.
Rose is firm and twisty with a character similar to Soft
Rock, but shorter at only 0.3 miles.
Southbound in the morning shadows on Rose.
Gambel Loop
At the upper north corner of Rose, Gambel connects
on the uphill side. The Gambel loop is a mile long, and requires a bit
more ability to ride. I'd call it solid-to-upper intermediate.
Gambel
will cross over the horse route (Giddy Up) a few times as it winds back
and forth on the southern side. As with the other loops, Gambel is built
to ride counterclockwise, so you'll ride up the southern side and descend
on the north.
On
the upper north corner of Gambel, we get this view of the valley to the
northwest as we approach a speed turn.
The north (downhill) side of the Gambel Loop is
significantly more technical than anything you'll encounter on Soft Rock
or Rose. But there's nothing too treacherous. Just keep straight as
Cowley's Cure joins on your right, watching out for merging riders.
A ride that hits the lower three loops
(turning back downhill at the top of Gambel, without any duplication of
loops)
will be 1.7 miles with 150 vertical feet of climbing. If you continue further uphill from Gambel, you'll more than double your distance
and climbing.
Typical trail on a meander of Gambel, northbound. In
case you're wondering, the trail name comes from "gambel oak,"
not gambling.
Cowley's Curse Loop
Cowley's Curse is the longest section of the trail system
at 2.3 miles. It starts counterclockwise at the far southeast (uphill)
corner of the Gambel Loop. You'll climb 200 vertical feet over the first
0.8 miles to reach the top point of the trail system. Cowley's is
intermediate in technical difficulty.
Turning onto Cowley's Curse from the upper corner of
Gambel.
At the southeast corner of Cowley's Curse, the Fault Line
trail heads south -- and then rejoins the Cowley loop just a few feet
uphill around the turn -- as Cowley's turns to the north. The trail will
join the Bench Road for a short distance before descending.
The descent isn't continuous, as you'll have to climb
occasionally. Enjoy the views of the valley on those spots where the tech
factor eases and the slope eases. I found Cowley's significantly easier than Gambel on the
downhill.
Cowley's is more exposed
than the lower trails. The terrain is mostly grass with scattered sage
brush. While there are occasional groves of trees, this part of the hill
will be toasty in the afternoon.
Looking south as we
coast into a turn while descending.
On the downhill side, you'll pass the entry to two downhill
trails, Viking Run and Tufa. These rejoin Cowley's a little lower on the
mountain. Save these for your second lap around.
There are also a couple of short alternate lines that are slightly more
technical. All of these intersections are well marked with carsonite
posts.
Short tricky spot as the trail hits some nasty rocks
in a stand of large oak.
Fault Line Loop
The Fault Line loop forks away from Cowley's Curse as the
loop turns north just below the Bench Road. It rejoins just 20 feet
uphill. This meander is 0.7 miles long. You'll descend about 50 vertical
feet as you head south, then climb back to rejoin Cowley's.
Looking
south as we reach the Fault Line fork. Cowley's (on the left) turns 180
degrees here. The Fault Line outgoing trail is just a few feet downhill
from the returning trail.
A loop that includes Soft Rock, Rose, Gambel, Cowley's, and Fault Line
(starting from the Murdock trailhead and bypassing the DH options) will be
5.1 miles with 500 vertical feet of overall climbing. See the GPX track
link below.
Back northbound on Fault Line.
Viking Run DH route
Two meanders downhill from the top of Cowley's Curse, the
Viking Run DH option forks to the right downhill. It bypasses a bit of
Cowley's, rejoining it further downhill. Although labeled as an expert
route, it's more of an upper-intermediate. At least, in September 2016.
View southwest at the top of Viking Run.
Viking Run is only 1/10th mile long, dropping 50 vertical
feet. After the initial plunge, there are some speed turns, then a
traverse to rejoin Cowley's.
Some dippity-turns as Viking Run drops away from an
old quarry.
Tufa DH route
The Tufa downhill route starts just 1/10th mile downhill
from the bottom of Viking Run, as a right fork off Cowley's. This option is also signed as expert but is
more of an experienced intermediate ride. There are a couple of plunges,
but they're not that steep and not very long.
Tufa
swoops and curves as we look back uphill to the northeast.
The Tufa trail is 0.3 miles long, dropping about 80 vertical
feet before rejoining Cowley's Curse. It bypasses a 0.6-mile meander of
Cowley's loop.
The Rocky Mountain rests on a chunk of Tufa, just
before Tufa rejoins Cowley's Curse.
Molly's Trail
Molly's trail runs high on the hillside parallel to the old Bench Road
north of the main Valley Vista trails. It's one mile long, with only
trivial elevation change. Molly's is an easy trail, suitable for
beginners.
Molly's trail can be hard to find if you don't know exactly where it
is. And if you don't find Molly's, you also won't find the top of Cowley's
Cure. To reach Molly's you MUST go onto the Bench Road.
View south as Molly's leaves the Bench Road from
Cedar Hills.
From Cedar Hills: Get on the Bench Road and pedal
south. Just after you pass the last home, veer to the right onto the
singletrack. Keep uphill as the Hard Rock loop forks away downhhill to
your right.
Upper Bench Road: Follow the road downhill 0.4 miles from the top
of Cowley's Curse, around the gully and up the hill. Find Molly's on your
left.
From Cowley's Curse: Stay on Cowley's Curse as it touches
the Bench Road and descend 1.1 miles from the Bench Road through a few
long meanders (past Viking Run and Tufa). As you enter a 180-degree turn,
note the connecting spur to the Bench Road on your right. Go to the road,
keeping straight, and pedal around the gully and up the little hill. At
the top, Molly's forks away to your left.
Typical terrain on Molly's. Not as pretty.
When northbound on Molly's (coming from Cowley's Curse in the main Valley
Vista loop system), the trail fork for Cowley's Cure is 1/4 mile north of
the spot where Molly's forked away from the Bench Road. Turn to the left
downhill to begin Cowley's Cure.
If you keep to the right, Molly's will take you north and join the
Bench Road for a cruise to Cedar Hills.
Looking south over the intersection between Molly's
and Cowley's Cure.
Cowley's Cure
Cowley's Cure is an expert-level one-way downhill trail, 1.1
miles long with 150 feet of elevation change. The top is on Molly's Trail
north of the main loop system. (See the instructions above! You won't find
Cowley's Cure unless you know exactly how to get to Molly's.)
Noah hits a bump as we roll into Cowley's Cure. There
are a few of these "speed bumps" at the first of the trail --
some of them basically rockpiles -- which serve notice that you're not on
a beginner trail any more.
Cowley's Cure descends gently northbound for a bit, rolling over a couple
of rockpiles and bumps. At mile 0.2 from Molly's, Cowley's Cure hits a a
series of hugely banked S turns. There are even some air opportunities.
Some fun here! Cowley's loses most of its elevation just in this one short
section.
Bruce rolls out of the final corner on the
multi-S-turns.
Cowley's Cure now begins a long gently-descending traverse
southbound on the hillside. You'll probably need to pedal occasionally to
keep your speed up.
Cowley's Cure ends on the second-to-last turn of the north (downhill)
side of Gambel. Keep right as you join Gambel, and descend down to the
Gambel-Rose intersection to decide on your next move.
View to the west over Utah Lake and Lake Mountain
from upper Cowley's Cure.
Hard Rock loop
The Hard Rock loop lies at the far north end of the Valley Vista
riding area, sitting between The Pit loop and the Bench Road. Hard Rock is
a directional trail, ridden counterclockwise. You climb the southern side
and descend on the north. It's 0.8 miles around the loop. (Most riders
arrive at Hard Rock via Molly's. If you're climbing The Pit to reach Hard
Rock, it might make more sense to read that section first. The description
of The Pit is just below.)
Beginning the climb counter-clockwise up Hard Rock as
we reach the loop from the connector trail at the bottom.
Hard Rock uses a portion of Molly's trail as the upper
traverse of the loop. After descending from Molly's -- on the
northern side of bottom traverse -- there's a short connector downhill to
The Pit loop. This is your route to the bottom and the Murdock Canal
trail.
Another connecting trail brings uphill traffic from the southern side
of The Pit loop into Hard Rock. You'll use this trail in coming up The Pit
to reach Hard Rock. (See the map.)
Bruce dips through an armored creek-crossing in one
of the rare groves of large trees on Hard Rock.
Hard Rock is an easier-intermediate trail. There's around 100 vertical feet
of climbing as you ascend the 0.3 miles of southern side of the loop between
the connector and Molly's. The terrain is mostly grass and sage, with a
couple of groves of trees. There are views of the valley to the west as you
climb. As you reach Molly's trail, turn left onto Molly's to
continue the loop. If you're heading for Cowley's Cure or the stacked loops
of the main Valley Vista riding area, go to the right on Molly's.
View southwest at Utah Lake in the middle of the climb
up Hard Rock.
You'll ride north on Molly's for 0.2 miles as you traverse
the hillside just below the gravel Bench Road. As you're approaching the
homes of Cedar Hills, Hard Rock forks away downhill on your left. (Molly's
joins the Bench Road about 50 feet later. This is your connection to the
trails uphill on Forest Service land.)
Reaching the trail fork at the north end. Here
Molly's continues to the Bench Road on the right, while Hard Rock forks to
the left downhill.
The highest point on Hard Rock is just over 5100 feet elevation. From here
you'll drop through banked turns for about 1/10th mile. As you descend
southbound above the old open-pit mine, a connector to The Pit forks away on
your right. Keep left to continue the loop.
Bruce rolls the turns on the downhill section of Hard
Rock. Pretty smooth stuff, but a little steep for a beginner.
At the loop's lowest elevation, the connector trail from The
Pit will join you on the right. Remember these are directional trails.
There's no turning around or heading back downhill now. If your target is
The Pit and the Murdock Canal trail, you'll need to ride almost all the
way around the loop again before you hit the one-way trip to the bottom.
Looking west as we descend Hard Rock.
Loop of The Pit and Hard Rock!
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
The Pit loop
The Pit is the lower of two stacked loops, lying between
the Murdock Canal trail and the Hard Rock loop. From the Murdock Canal
trail, it's reached via a gravel doubletrack. As the doubletrack hits the
slope, keep to the right. The singletrack on the left is the one-way
return route from The Pit. For a short distance, The Pit shares a common
doubletrack trail with the Hoof and Boot (non-biking) trail. Veer to the
right when the trails split.
The Pit singletrack forks
away from the common trail (shared with hikers and horsemen) just uphill
from the start of the loop.
The Pit is 0.9 miles around the loop, with 150 vertical feet of climbing on
the southern side of the loop as you ride counter-clockwise. The rate of
climb is fairly mellow, with an occasional downhill coast in the middle of
climbing. The surface is smooth and suitable for experienced beginners.
Climbing west through a grove of gambel oak.
The climbing portion of The Pit is 0.5 miles. At mile 0.4,
a connector trail to the Hard Rock loop forks away to the right. (See
above for a description of Hard Rock.) After this point, if you head left
on The Pit you're committed to completing the loop. You'll need to go all
the way around the loop and climb back uphill if you intend to hit Hard
Rock.
There are several spots where you'll lose a tiny
bit of elevation during the climb.
At the trail fork at mile 0.4, keep left and climb on above the old open-pit
mine. Near the ride's highest point at mile 0.5, a one-way connector from
uphill joins on the right. Keep straight and drop into the mine area.
Looking southwest downhill from a meander in the climb.
Most turns are adequately wide and easy to roll, but there are a couple that
might be tricky for beginners.
There are two alternate lines within the mine, marked by
carsonite posts. Each of these short alternates rejoins after around 200
feet. The alternates are designed to be a little more difficult than the
main route, but there's nothing spooky or tricky here.
Bruce
cruises past an outcrop of tufa -- a sedimentary rock laid down in old
Lake Bonneville.
The mine was a source of clay during pioneer times, used for construction in
the valley below.
At the bottom of the loop, keep left to head back uphill, or veer right
onto the doubletrack to head down to the Murdock Canal trail.
Heading down into the Pit. The post in the middle of
the photo marks an alternate line that drops to a table jump.
Bottom line:
Excellent trail system. Well-designed and well-built, nicely marked. Can
be a destination ride, or a route to trails higher on the mountain such as
Mahogany Mountain.
Closeup of tufa. This rock formed at the bottom of
prehistoric Lake Bonneville. It's a mash-up of mud, lime, and bits of
critters. Note the worm burrows.
Valley Vista 2019 video...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Map shows phase 1 trails (2016) only
Getting there:
From the Canyon Road (100 East Street) in Pleasant Grove, turn east --
towards the mountains -- on 1100 North. When you pass 600 East, watch for
the entry to the Wade Spring Murdock Canal
Trailhead on your left, just before the paved trail crosses the road. To
start the ride, you can exit the parking area on the north by the big
white pipe.
GPS Track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
Loop ride hitting all five main loops: Download
track
Area file, with each trail as individual track: Download
Bathroom: Wade Spring trailhead
Water: All Murdock trailheads
Camping: No
Bike services: UtahMountainBiking in Lehi.
Phase 2 (2019 expansion) trails!
The Foothill trail is easily found. It starts at the main trail kiosk.
As you approach the kiosk from the Murdock Canal trail, keep to the left
and northbound and you're on Foothill.
The north end of Foothill can be reached directly via the Murdock Canal
Trail. When riding from the north, it's on the left (uphill) side 0.9
miles from the Murdock Canal Canal Road (highway 146) trailhead. To reach the north end of Foothill from
Wade Springs via Murdock, go one mile north on the paved trail.
Molly's trail is reached via the gravel bench road. You can take the
bench road south from Cedar Hills and veer right onto Molly's as you pass the
last home. Or, from the Grove Creek trailhead, you can take the bench road
north. Pass the Cowley's Curse entry at mile 0.5. Now keep left downhill
as the road splits and descends. A spur joins on your left, going to
Cowley's Curse, but stay on the road. Go around the ravine and climb
uphill. At the top, Molly's forks away to the right.Cowley's Cure is 1/4
mile north on Molly's. (See above for information on connecting to Molly's
within the trail system.)
Valley Vista Phase 3 trails (2021)
The access trail to the Pit Loop and Hard Rock Loop is located 1/4 mile
southeast of the Murdock Canal Canyon Road trailhead. Take the broad
doubletrack gravel trail that leaves the paved path to the left, then
after 1/10th mile turn left uphill. At the base of the hill, keep right to
enter the one-way loop trail The Pit.
To reach these trails from the main Valley Vista area, climb to the top
of Cowley's Curse, then catch the Bench Road northbound. Divert onto
Molly's singletrack after going around the big gulch. Pass Cowley's Cure
by keeping right and uphill. When Hard Rock joins on the left, stay on
Molly's (Hard Rock is one-way), then when you reach the north end of the
Hard Rock loop, drop downhill to the left just before Molly's ends on the
Bench Road.
