| Alpine Perimeter | ("Alpine Days" Expert Race Trail) |
 |
You won't believe the variety of terrain you'll encounter in the foothills
of the small town of Alpine. Not your usual sun-baked sagebrush. This trail begins in the
center of town, then climbs the foothills to the ridgeline northwest of town. From there,
it undulates around the base of the mountains to the far southwest corner of the city,
then back into town. The trail plunges through Dry Creek about 1/2 mile from Doc Argyle's computer, about 10 miles into your 15-mile loop. Photo July 8, 1999. |
| There's one mile on paved road at the beginning and end of the ride, with sections of
rocky dirt road, ATV trail, and technical single-track. You'll probably want to leave the
kids and the weaker riders at home. This trail was created as a challenge for advanced
bikers, and it can be tough. Total elevation change is 1200 feet (done in a single climb),
but then you'll gain and lose a few hundred feet several more times. Total distance is 15
miles. We recommend riding in the early morning to avoid the summer's heat.
Not a trail for newbies: Matt demonstrates a minor truing problem with his front tire -- a victim of "First Blood Chute". November 4, 2000. |
|
| Park in the middle of Alpine and begin your ride at the 4-way stop at 200 North Main Street. Head west (left from the direction you came into town) on the paved road. After 0.5 mile, turn right at the fork in the road and begin climbing the hill. At 0.8 miles, turn left (west) on Hog Hollow Road. At mile 1.2, the road turns to dirt (GPS N 40° 27.688' W 111° 47.525'). Keep going straight. Ignore the many smaller dirt roads that branch away. |
 |
After 1 mile of rolling, you'll begin to climb -- gaining 800 feet over 2 miles. At mile 4.1, you're at the top of Traverse Ridge (GPS N 40° 29.197' W 111° 49.294'). Take a minute to look north into Salt Lake City's Corner Canyon. At Traverse Ridge, several dirt roads take off in different directions. Pick the middle road going east (right). See where two roads climb the hill east of you? That's where you're headed. Just as the hill's slope gets ugly, bail out by turning right (south) onto a road that slowly climbs around the hill. (You can continue straight up and over the hill, but you'll wind up pushing your bike. The roads rejoin on the other side of the hill. The route over the hill was the 2011 race route, and it's brutal.) Photo near Traverse Ridge on the Hog Hollow Trail. |
|
Geographically, the trail is crossing alluvial deposits of rivers that flowed into Lake Bonneville, which once covered most of the Wasatch Front and western desert. The lake filled about 1 million years ago, then receded to near the present Great Salt Lake level about 8,000 years ago. In many areas, the old shoreline can still be seen on the edge of the mountains. The rocks in the soil you're riding on come mostly from limestone deposits of the Oquirrh Formation (formed during the Pennsylvanian Period, around 340 years ago, when western Utah was covered by ocean) seen in the mountains southeast of Alpine, and granite from the igneous intrusion that forms Lone Peak and most of Little Cottonwood Canyon (Tertiary Period, around 26 million years ago). At mile 5.3, you rejoin the road from the top of the hill at a 5-way intersection of dirt roads. Go right. At each of the next few forks, keep right. Work downhill until the road turns left into a narrow chute. Mike Engberson on the Alpine Perimeter in June, 2000. This section is now accessible to ATVs, so the tread is now braod. |
|
 |
This
is "The Wash" or "The Chute" where the real fun begins.
(As the road reaches the wash, a double-track goes uphill on the right,
but you want to ignore this and drop left onto the wide single-track in
the wash.) You'll drop 500
vertical feet through a mile of whoop-de-doos in a dirt half-pipe that will either thrill
you or scare you silly. Maybe a little of both. The track zips from one side of the wash
to another under the shade of the gambel oak. Tricky stuff. Gary exits the
Chute into Fort Canyon. |
| At mile 6.35, watch out for the bog. The surface may look dry, but some years
you can drop your
front wheel up to the axle. Go around it on the uphill side. Now continue your flight down
the wash. (This section of the trail is absolutely hairy in the spring, but becomes
better as riders wear the sidewalls down during the summer.) Mule's Ear wyethia blooms in the May sunshine along the Alpine Perimeter. |
|
 |
At mile 7, you'll fly out of the woods into upper Fort Canyon. As you reach the Fort Canyon (paved) road, turn left (mile 7.1). Ride 1/4 mile and keep left at the intersection. Find the trail at the end of the cul-de-sac and take a break by the river (mile 7.4, GPS N 40° 29.362' W 111° 46.487'). If you've got time, cool off in the natural water slide at Sliding Rock, a hundred feet upstream. May 20, 1999. Doc Argyle's bike near the creek in Fort Canyon. |
| Most of the trail is surrounded by the gambel oak that covers most foothills along the Wasatch Front. In Fort Canyon and along Dry Creek, you'll pass through small areas of more alpine riparian vegetation, with firs, box elder, dogwood, elderberry, and choke cherry. In the spring, small yellow glacier lilies are the first to appear among the trees, followed by purple dwarf waterleaf and sweetvetch, then bright yellow mules ear. In late summer, the hillside is very dry, with patches of oak as the only green among stretches of dry grasses. |
| Go across the bridge and begin climbing again. At each
fork in the trail, turn right. This includes the turn just past the pond where a right
turn takes you back west. (Going straight ahead is a more direct path, but isn't as pretty
or fun.) You'll regain about 300 feet elevation. At mile 8.1, a spur on your right takes
you up 100 yards to an impressive overview of Alpine. Do it. Now head back to the main
trail and continue east. The Doc and Jackie at the overlook above Fort Canyon. |
|
| The ATV trail becomes wider doubletrack that curves around the southern side of the hill. Just stay on this path, and you'll dump out onto a gravel road above Alpine Cove that quickly becomes pavement as you reach the homes. At the next street, turn left (east). Next turn right (south) at the 4-way. Keep straight as Juniper Circle joins on your right. Again keep straight at Grove Drive and head across the river. At the fork in the road, right takes you to The Bowery trailhead and the lower trails of Lambert Park; left takes you up towards the Rodeo Grounds and the upper trailhead. |
 |
Old option: First Blood. By keeping left along the ridge, you can arrive at "First Blood Chute" down to Schoolhouse Springs. Endos-R-Us. It starts out innocent enough. But as the slope becomes steeper, wetter, and rockier, and your rear brake slimes up with mud, only the truly brainless will be free from fear. Hang your butt off the back and straight-shoot it, if you dare, or whoop-de-do the side walls. Sane people pick the bike up and crawl down. Your call. At mile 9.0, you drop onto the dirt Schoolhouse Springs road (GPS N 40° 29.034' W 111° 45.668'). Head downhill (south) toward the houses. Photos
can't do justice to the trickiness of this chute. |
| When you've finished playing in Lambert Park, find your way out to either Village Way, Alpine Blvd, or Grove Drive. Drop downhill toward the middle of town to your car. |
| Getting there: Never been to Alpine? Take
I-15 to the Alpine/Highland exit, just south of Point-of-the-Mountain. Drive straight east
5 miles towards the mountains, turning left at the stoplight in Highland (where you see
the grocery store and gas station). Drive 2 miles north into Alpine to the 4-way stop at
200 North. That's our ride's starting point.
For a more detailed look at the options on the eastern end of the trail, go to the Lambert Park trail page. |
 |
|
Alpine Days Race 2011 - Expert Course 14.5 miles |
| Riding resources for this trail: Single-page riding guide (classic route) GPS track files and route (right-click and "Save as..."): 2011 Alpine Days Expert Course GPX Lodging, camping, shops: Links to AF Canyon area resources |
|
[Go to
UtahMountainBiking.com's Trails Options Page]
Copyright 2000 Mad Scientist Software Inc
Updated 2011
