Mountain Biking Utah & Idaho

The first stop on our 12 day road trip was Schweitzer Mountain Bike Park in Sand Point, Idaho. Schweitzer is home to world class skiing and riding over the winter months, which we got a good taste of this spring after wrapping up the ski season here in Nelson at Whitewater Ski Resort. Already having a good appreciation of Schweitzer’s terrain from our winter laps I was excited by the prospect of riding the lift accessed dirt trails. With only 13 designated bike trails on the mountain proper Schweitzer may not seem like the largest bike park around but add to this their many miles of cross country and recreational trails (a good number of these lift accessible) and you quickly learn that Schweitzer has more to offer than meets the eye.

We spent much of the day sampling trails such as Pinch Flat, Moffits Edge and The Collector, however one of our favourite trails was the Highpoint/Sidewinder combo. Highpoint is accessed by the Great Escape high speed quad that provides access to all the trails on the mountain. Highpoint is a relatively new trail that opened the same week we were riding at Schweitzer so the dirt was still fresh in section but it provided a long flowy decent down the south side of the mountain where it hooks into a series of trails with something for everyone. We chose to ride Sidewinder as we were promised that it was full of burms & bumps, and we were not disappointed. 

Over the course of the day we managed to ride every trail on the mountain, as well as a few—more than once. We only wished that we’d left enough gas in the tank for a second lap of Highpoint/Sidewinder, but this will have to wait until we visit again. 

If you are thinking about visiting Sand Point then do yourself a favour and be sure to bring your bike along. Lift tickets for the day are a steal at only $25 and with 1,700’ of vertical and 13 signed trails to choose from (plus many more linking off of the mountain) you’ll be sure to keep busy. To make your stay even better, consider a night at the Selkirk Lodge which is situated right at the foot of the lift in the base village. The Selkirk Lodge has plenty of rooms and a good sized pool plus three hot tubs… this is how you make a bike trip a vacation!

Location: Sand Point, Idaho
Cost: $25 US
Number of Trails: 13, 4 Green, 4 Blue, 4, Black, 1 Double Black, plus unlimited XC and recreational trails
Total Length of trails: 20 miles
Number of Lifts: 1 high speed quad
Vertical: 518’ / 1,700’
Operation: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm, June 24 - September 5, 2016
Favourite Trail: Pinch Flat to Moffits Edge to The Collector or from the top of the lift to the village via Highpoint to Sidewinder

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The second stop on our road trip was Deer Valley Resort Bike Park which is located a quick 25 minute drive from downtown Salt Lake City. With a base elevation of 7,200’, Deer Valley is much cooler and more hospitable for biking and hiking than the busy city below. With 100’s of miles of trails accessible from Deer Valley and neighbouring Park City it makes for an ideal location for some serious mountain vacation time. 

Deer Valley Ski Resort is know for it’s high end skiing and meticulously groomed ski runs and in summer their dirt trails were no exception. I was told that they rake the rocks off the bike trails regularly and I’d have to agree as the dirt was hard packed and smooth, even though it hadn’t rained in weeks. With two high speed chairs the 2,200’ ascent to the summit of 9,400’ Bald Mountain is incredibly fast. The Silver Lake Express takes you from the base village up to Silver Lake Village which is referred to as mid mountain, from there the Sterling Express Quad gets you the rest of the way up to the very tippy-top of the mountain. The vast majority of trails are located above mid mountain so most of our time was spent riding the Sterling Express to access long flowy trails such as Tidal Wave (my personal favourite), technical trails such as Aspen Slalom and Twist & Shout and long cruisers like NailDriver. When the time came to call it a day, the Dear Crest trail was a super long decent back down to the Lodges At Deer Valley where we stayed the night.

The opulence of riding the trails at Deer Valley is only enhanced by a stay at the equally impressive Lodges at Deer Valley. The rustic elegance of the lobby is carried over to the spacious and well appointed rooms. The hospitality and quality of food served at The Brass Tag restaurant also made our stay a deliciously memorable one. With amenities such as underground parking, a courtyard pool, work out gym and two hot tubs, we were living large after a hard day of riding.

If cross country riding is more your thing then the Mid Mountain Trail might just be for you. It’s 20 mile of single track is not to be missed. It extends from the Silver Lake Village at Deer Valley through the mountains of Park City all the way to Pinecrest. With several trails intersecting it you are able to exit or join the trail at many points along the way. If you want more of an epic ride then the Wasatch Crest Trail maybe calling your name. It extends from Deer Valley right into Mill Creek Canyon on the outskirts of Salt Lake City. For the duration of the Crest Trail you are on a ridge between Park City and Big Cottonwood Canyon so the views extending in every direction are unmatched.

While Deer Valley Resort is one of the pricier Bike Parks, the variety of trails, high speed lifts and overall quality was hard to beat and worth every penny.

Location: Park City, Utah
Cost: $42US
Number of Trails: 33, 2 Green, 17 Blue, 10 Black, 4 Double Black
Total Length of trails: 70 miles
Number of Lifts: 2 high speed quads
Vertical: 670m / 2,200’
Operation: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, June 17 2016 - September 18, 2016
Favourite Trail: Tidal Wave to Deer Crest

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The third and final stop on our southern bike adventure was Silver Mountain Bike Park which is located on the border of Idaho and Montana in the small, quaint mining town of Kellog. Having driven by Silver Mountain Resort on several occasions, I’d always wanted to stop and get the low down on their winter operations since you can’t really see any of the ski terrain from the highway or town. The same is true in summer as all of the bike trails are accessed via a 3.1 mile long gondola that rises an impressive 3,400’. Much to our amazement all of this vertical is bike-able with a few trails going from the summit all the way back down to town. There is however an obligatory 1.5 mile bike along a paved path after your decent in order to get you back to the gondi base, but not to worry it’s super fast and simple.

With the longest vertical of any of the three bike parks we rode (and likely one of the longest anywhere) Silver Mountain was an easy favourite for sheer non-stop biking. Although the sequence of trail names from top to bottom changed frequently the quality of riding didn’t. Whether it was the flowy stunts on ‘Man Child’ or the forested single track of ‘Spooky Woods’, this non stop descent had it all. With a 20min gondola ride up, a 30min decent back down and a 10min ride back to the resort it was easy to lap 3,400’ vert in about an hour. If this vertical is too much for your skill level then Chair 3 on the western flank of the mountain may be more to your liking. While its vertical is less, it still has a good selection of easy to harder trails. ‘Payday’ and ‘Cool Neatness’ were two of our faves and the slower pace of Chair 3 lets you catch your breath on the ride back to the top.

The gondola station is located in the base village at Silver Mountain Resort where you will also find the largest indoor waterpark around. Accommodations there come in several price ranges to suit any budget or group size. We stayed for two nights in one of the many multi-story condo buildings and recouped in the hot tub each night.  

With 35 named trails, Silver Mountain Bike Park has more terrain than you can cover in a weekend. It’s reasonable rate of $35US/day and on site accommodation make it an ideal long weekend get-away with something to keep kids or spouses entertained in case they don’t ride, but why wouldn’t they? Silver Mountain Resort has a big resort vibe but without all the busyness and big city feel of those other mega resorts.

Location: Kellog, Idaho
Cost: $35 US
Number of Trails: 35, 9 Green, 10 Blue, 13 Black, 3 Double Black
Total Length of trails:  miles
Number of Lifts: 1 Gondola, 1 triple chair
Vertical: 1,036m’ / 3,400’
Operation: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm, June 27- September 5, 2016
Favourite Trail: Jackass to Lower Hammer to Old School to Spooky Woods to Wide Open to Man Child