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Armstrong Trail
The Armstrong Trail shares a trailhead with Spiro, just north of Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR). This is an uphill-only trail. Commit to the full ride, or don't start uphill. The climbing is sustained but not steep -- most riders won't need the granny gear. It's pretty easy by Park City standards, suitable for strong advanced-beginners or conditioned intermediates. View east toward Park City about 3 miles into the ride. Photos and description August 30, 2011 by Bruce. |
| The Armstrong Trail is 4 miles long, with 1300 vertical feet
elevation change. Top altitude is 8150 feet at the Midmountain Trail just
below Iron Mountain. Because Armstrong is one-way, you need to add some
trails and some additional climbing to complete a ride. (Note: If you're
doing a southbound ride past Spiro, be sure to have a GPS track or a
current Park City trails map. The complex trail system can be confusing.)
Starting out from the trail fork with Spiro. Bushes and grass quickly give way to oak, then maple. |
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The Armstrong Trail has a gentler grade than Spiro. It also
has more twists and turns, and is generally a more-interesting trail to
ride. For riders intending to go northbound on Midmountain, it will cut a
mile off the distance.
For southbound Midmountain riders, the climb via Armstrong adds three miles when compared to Spiro, and will add about 200 extra vertical. Mining ruins along the trail as we begin the climb. |
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The shortest ride using the Armstrong Trail is a loop that adds two miles of southbound Midmountain Trail plus a three-mile descent on the Spiro Trail. From the PCMR parking lot, this ride is exactly 10 miles long with just over 1600 total feet of climbing. Watch out for hikers and dogs. You'll see plenty of these on Armstrong and Spiro, even on weekdays. Like Spiro, the trail quickly becomes shaded by deep conifer forest alternating with aspen and maple. |
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Armstrong to Spiro Loop (10 miles): First there's 1/2 mile on pavement from the parking lot on the north side of PCMR. Exit the north end of the parking lot, and angle across Silver King Drive northbound to continue north on Three Kings Drive. Take the next left and climb Crescent Drive. Just as the road veers left, turn right into a gravel road and spot the singletrack trail on your left. Looking southwest at the ski lift as we cross Thaynes Canyon. |
| Begin climbing on the combined Spiro/Armstrong trail. About
200 yards up the hill, the trail will split. Keep straight (right) for the
Armstrong Trail. There will be NO trail forks now (at least, as of 2011)
until you reach the Midmountain Trail.
Typical climbing turn as we switchback our way up the slopes of Iron Mountain. |
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At mile 1.8, the trail will cross the meadow in the bottom
of Thaynes Canyon, just downhill from the ski lift. It will now begin a
series of switchback climbs as it ascends the mountain.
The corners are more "climbing turns" than switchbacks. It's pretty easy to power up and around. No tricky stuff. The trail has short up-and-downs and twists, which helps it shed water. In its first year, the surface is already nicely packed and buff. |
| As you reach Midmountain at mile 4.5, fork left. (Right will
take you up and over Iron Canyon Pass. It will be 7 miles from the fork before the next
opportunity to descend.)
After two miles on Midmountain, keep left and downhill as Spiro forks away. There will be some intersecting trails as you descend. Just follow the signs. In general, you'll stay left at the forks. You'll arrive back at the Spiro/Armstrong fork at mile 9.4 and drop down to the pavement. At the apex of a turn, we break out of the forest to see views of the Park City Mountain Resort ski slopes to the south. |
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Option: Loop through Park City Mountain Resort (Johns), 15.7 miles (includes 2.6 mile road return), 1800 vertical Armstrong-Johns-Gravedigger ride track 4.5 L on Midmountain Higher up, as aspens temporarily replace the fir trees. |
| Option: Loop through Park City Mountain Resort (Johns99),
13.2 miles (includes 1.4 mile road return), 1750 vertical Armstrong-Johns99
track
4.5 L on Midmountain We've reached the Midmountain Trail at 8150 feet. This is the view to the east. |
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Option: Loop through Deer Valley Resort, 19.2
miles (includes 2.0 mile road return), 2100 vertical Armstrong to Deer
Valley Track
4.5 L on Midmountain Heading south and gently downhill on Midmountain. We'll meet Spiro as the trail reaches the valley. |
| Option: Loop to Tour de Suds, Deer Camp, Naildriver, and
Deer Crest, 23.7 miles (includes 2.6 mile road return), 3000 vertical
Track
File for this ride
4.5 L on Midmountain Heading east from the Spiro-Midmountain junction. |
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(continued...) 13.8 Find ST (Team Big Bear) L side of road, eastbound 14.1 R on Flagstaff 15.2 Keep toward Bald Mtn on Deer Camp 15.6 Stay R, aim for Bald Mtn 15.9 L on Nail Driver, descend 17.9 At lift, head to DT south (R) of buildings 18.1 Cross paved road, climb up to ST Follow Four Point NE to Deer Crest 19.9 Stay R uphill 20.1 L downhill 20.5 Straight and down 21.1 Descend to pavement, follow streets back On Midmountain heading toward Park City Mountain Resort, we pass a bench overlooking the city. |
| Option: Loop northbound through The Canyons Resort
(Holly's), 19.1 miles (includes 4.3-mile pavement return), 2200
vertical Armstrong-Holly's
Track File
4.5 R (north) on Midmountain Further along the trail, we begin to see the slopes and buildings of Deer Valley Resort to the south. |
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Option: Loop northbound to Robs Trail, 22.2 miles
(includes 5.2-mile pavement return), 2400 vertical Armstrong-Rob's
Track
4.5 R (north) on Midmountain After climbing Tour de Suds on the BIG loop, we're heading southeast on Deer Camp at 9000 feet. |
| Small Loop down Spiro, 10 miles with 1600 vertical Track file, loop w Spiro 0.0 Leave parking to N, cross to Three Kings
Dr On the big loop, I've descended Naildriver and rolled onto Deer Crest. We're looking north. We'll be descending toward the parking lot just above the ridge on the right. |
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Getting there: In Park City, follow the signs
to Park City Mountain Resort. As you see the first parking area, turn in
and park there. Now ride your bike back out onto Silver King Drive,
heading west (uphill, toward the mountain, and the way you were heading
when you first saw the parking lot). Turn right onto Three Kings. The next left will be Crescent Drive. The trail is
the singletrack next to the gravel road where Crescent Drive turns left. N 40°
39.390' W 111° 30.895'
Parking: Not at trailhead! Use north Park City
Resort lot. |
| Riding resources: One-page trail guide to Armstrong-Spiro Loop GPX Track Files (Right-click and "Save as...") Armstrong only Loop w Spiro Tracks to Armstrong-Holly's Armstrong-Rob's Armstrong-Johns-Gravedigger Armstrong-Johns99 Armstrong to Deer Valley Armstrong to Tour-de-Suds / Deer Camp / Naildriver / Deer Crest GPX grab bag including intersecting area rides (36 tracks!) Topo map of Spiro Loop for printing: View Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Park City area resources |
Copyright 2011 Mad Scientist Software |
