Achtung Baby in Hog Hollow

Rolling Achtung Baby through maple and oak. Photos and ride review by Bruce on June 3, 2018. Updated July 8, 2019.

Achtung Baby DH Trail
Achtung Baby is a two-mile intermediate-level downhill flow trail on the southern side of Traverse Mountain in Draper. The trail has features that can be considered expert, with multiple jumps including doubles. But intermediates will enjoy this trail -- they simply need to slow down enough to keep the tires on the dirt.

There's 650 vertical feet of elevation loss, for a average grade of under 6%. The trail's intermediate rating is not due to steepness or technical difficulty. It's because countless jumps have been engineered into the trail. You don't need to know how to jump -- but you do need the skill to stand on the pedals while the bike bucks underneath you.

Southbound in this drone shot.

Handlebar view shows engineered berms and jumps ahead.

The trail lies on the west side of the Hog Hollow canyon, in an area of dense gambel oak and maple. The expected riding season is May through November.
The trail can be shuttled by linking the parking lot of Alpine's Beacon Hill park to the Two Hollows trailhead on the ridge. After completing Achtung Baby, continue downhill on Hog Hollow, then link to the Hog Hollow Creek trail and continue descending to Beacon Hill.

Getting to the trail

The Achtung Baby trail forks to the right from the Two Hollows trail just as it exits the underpass on Canyon Pointe Road.
A second entry point is 0.5 miles downhill on Two Hollows. At this spot Achtung Baby crosses over Two Hollows. This entry is located 100 yards downhill from the split of Hog Hollow from the Two Hollows trail.

Looking west, just after passing under the tunnel. This is the entrance to upper Achtung Baby.

Both the Porcupine connector and the Two Hollows cross-over hook around to hit Two Hollows aiming uphill. I presume this is to force riders to slow. This is the Porcupine exit.

To reach Achtung Baby from the Peak View trailhead, climb the Peak View trail then descend Porcupine to Two Hollows. Do not enter the "exit" from Achtung Baby directly across from you. Instead, turn right and climb 0.3 miles uphill on Two Hollows. As you approach the underpass, keep straight (left) to enter Achtung Baby.

If you're coming from Porcupine, you can also turn downhill on Two Hollows for a shorter ride. Keeping right as Hog Hollow forks away, then veer left onto Achtung Baby where it crosses Two Hollows.

Looking west. I've just entered the lower 3/4 of Achtung Baby. The drone is positioned right over the Hog Hollow trail, as Achtung Baby splits the hillside between Two Hollows and Hog Hollow during its first 1/2 mile.

Climbing Hog Hollow. I'm passing the exit from Achtung Baby, seen on the right side of this photo.

To reach Achtung Baby from Alpine, simply climb Hog Hollow. From the Angel's Gate trailhead, it's 0.4 miles to the bottom of Achtung Baby (do not enter!), then another mile to the intersection with Two Hollows. Add another 0.4 miles to the top of Two Hollows, where Achtung Baby awaits.

To reach Achtung Baby from the west, ride Eagle Crest eastbound (and cross the Traverse Mountain road) to Mercer Mountain and descend to Two Hollows. Now climb gently 0.6 miles until you spot the trail fork with Achtung Baby.
If you're coming from Alpine Cove or Fort Canyon, Three Falls will take you to the Peak View trail. Descend Porcupine to Two Hollows and pedal up to Achtung Baby.

At the top of Hog Hollow, you can make a hard 180 onto Two Hollows to reach the spot where Achtung Baby crosses Two Hollows. The trail entry is in front of the first trees you see between the trails.

The ride

On upper Porcupine, oak trees are large and the trail is shady.

Once you arrive at Achtung Baby, you'll immediately begin an endless series of rollers and bumps. The trail is machined wide and smooth, but intermediate riders will need to slow down so the bumps don't throw them up in the air and out of control.
Many bumps are set up as "doubles" where you pop up on the first lip, stay airborne across the low spot between bumps, then land on the downside of the second bump.

At mile 0.4 of Achtung Baby, keep right to descend. The left fork goes out to Two Hollows, directly across from Porcupine. Take the left fork only if you're planning to go back uphill.

Heading into a roller. Air versus no air?

Railing a high-speed turn.

At mile 0.5, the trail turns hard left to dump onto Two Hollows heading uphill. Take a 180 to turn back downhill on Two Hollows, and a few feet later, drop off to the left on the continuing Achtung Baby.
Toward the southern end, the trail must wind back and forth to shed altitude. The turns are wide, highly bermed, and built for speed. Here the scrub oak gets a little lower, so you'll see some views of Utah Valley.

Achtung Baby ends with a corkscrew series of connected steep turns -- presumably to serve notice to anybody who's thinking of climbing up this trail that, no, that's not a good idea. This piece of the descent will be the hardest bit of the trail for early-intermediate riders.
Now you can turn uphill on Hog Hollow and climb back to the top. The straightness of Hog Hollow means you have 1.5 miles back uphill to earn that 650 of vertical, so crank away.

Photos make the trail appear flatter than it is.

Loop ride climbing Hog Hollow

[Back to video list ]

Ride notes, loop from Alpine's Angel Gate parking
0.0   North (either trail) N40 27.889 W111 48.302
        Drop to creek
0.05 Immediate L on ST after creek
        (Hog Hollow Creek trail) N40 27.915 W111 48.281
0.1   L on Hog Hollow trail N40 27.949 W111 48.307
0.4   Pass Achtung exit (on L) N40 28.173 W111 48.435
1.4   Join Two Hollows N40 28.900 W111 48.917

1.5   Keep straight N40 28.930 W111 49.029
        (R = Porcupine, L = exit)
1.9   L to Achtung Baby N40 29.005 W111 49.302
2.2   Keep R (L = to Porcupine) N40 28.911 W111 49.010
2.4   Hard R onto Two Hollows
        Immediate L on ST N40 28.880 W111 48.860
3.9   Hog Hollow, L for lap, R to finish N40 28.173 W111 48.435
4.1   Back at parking

Getting there...

From Peak View Trailhead in Draper: From Suncrest Drive at the top of Traverse Mountain, turn onto Canyon Pointe Drive. Drive 0.7 miles to Peak View trailhead. Find the Peak View trail on the south side of the trailhead area. Ride uphill 0.7 miles, then take the right (downhill) fork to the Porcupine Trail and descend. When you reach Two Hollows, do NOT enter the trail across from you -- it's an exit. Instead, go uphill 0.4 miles to the underpass to find the top of Achtung Baby.

From Canyon Pointe Drive in Suncrest: Turn on Canyon Point Drive and go 0.4 miles. At the retention pond and underpass, find a place to park. (Alternatively, park at the Peak View trailhead and pedal back 0.3 miles on the road.) Go to the north (uphill) side of the road and descend to the underpass. As you exit the underpass, Achtung Baby is on your right.

Angel Gate at Spring Hollow (middle Hog Hollow and top of Hog Hollow Creek): On Westfield Road, turn uphill (north) on Beacon Hill Blvd. Drive 0.5 miles, then as Beacon Hill turns to the right (east), turn left on Lighthouse Drive to continue straight north uphill. Lighthouse will become Angel Gate. Keep straight until you pass the irrigation facility, then park. At the northeast corner of the fence, a doubletrack descends east across the hollow. Immediately after crossing the creek, turn left on Hog Hollow.

Map of the Achtung Baby area.

Westfield Road (lower Hog Hollow trail): If you're parking (or pedaling) on Westfield Road, the trail is 0.7 miles west of the stop sign where Westfield ends on 200 North in Alpine. Spot the metal gate on the north side of the road near the school crossing. The doubletrack that heads uphill through the gate is the lower Hog Hollow trail.

Beacon Hill Park (bottom of Hog Hollow Creek): From Westfield Road, turn north uphill on Beacon Hill Blvd. Drive 0.5 miles, and just after the road turns to the east, turn right into the parking area above Beacon Hill Park. The Hog Hollow Creek trail will be on the north side of the road (across the street from, and just east of the parking lot).