Wasatch Crest Trail
The legendary high-alpine Wasatch ridgeline ride — a 13-mile shuttle along the crest at 9,000–10,000 feet, over the exposed 'Spine' and down into Mill Creek Canyon.
The Wasatch Crest Trail is the legendary high-alpine ridgeline mountain-bike ride of the central Wasatch — a roughly 13-mile point-to-point shuttle that rides the spine of the range at 9,000–10,000 feet with near-continuous 360-degree views. The standard line starts near the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon at Guardsman Pass / Scott Hill (most riders park up the road at the Bloods Lake trailhead, since the pass itself has no parking), climbs over 'Puke Hill' to gain the crest, and traverses the famous rocky 'Spine' — a narrow, exposed ledge above Desolation Lake that most riders walk. From there it turns into a long, flowing descent into upper Mill Creek Canyon, finishing at the Big Water trailhead. The route is roughly 90% singletrack, rated intermediate-to-advanced (blue/black) with sizable rock and root sections and one short walkable extreme-technical pitch. Net elevation is sharply downhill: about 1,000 feet of climbing against roughly 2,600 feet of descent. Two hard logistical constraints govern the ride — mountain bikes are permitted on the upper Mill Creek trails on EVEN-numbered days only, and the entire Big Cottonwood watershed prohibits dogs (the lower Mill Creek finish has its own odd/even dog-leash rules). The season runs roughly July through September, with snow lingering on the crest into early summer.
- Difficulty
- Challenging