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Mountain Ranch Bike Park
The Mountain Ranch Bike Park in Eagle Mountain offers the best stunt biking in Utah County -- and possibly in all of Utah. There's a skills park, a pump track, a jump line, and several technical trails featuring man-made stunts. Just one of the many ramps in the skills park. Photos and review December 1, 2009 by Bruce. |
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The park is located on the south end of The Ranches in east
Eagle Mountain, where the power line corridor hits the mountain. The
skills park, pump track, and jump lines lie under the power lines on a
very gentle slope. The XC and DH trails are on the juniper-covered
hillside to the south.
Ramp route incorporates a rock tabletop. Ride over it, or take a wheelie-drop. Or do rock-to-rock hopping, hop onto a rock, and other trials stuff. |
| The skills area offers a dozen ramps of varying difficulty,
from beginner to expert. It includes some drop-offs. There's an area with
large flat-top rocks for trials hops.
There are three picnic tables in the area. The 220 and Juniper trails end at the skills park. We're looking southwest over the last jump of the DH trail, with a corner of the skills area in the background. |
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Just south of the skills area is the pump track. It's a
large track with multiple riding lines through bumps and semi-circle
banks. If you don't know what a pump track is for, show up on a Saturday
and ask somebody to teach you.
Looking south, we're seeing about 1/4 of the pump track area. |
| Depending on the snow situation, you can ride this area much of the
winter. Ride only when the ground is dry or frozen. Please don't rut the
dirt when the surface is muddy!
The jump line, seen in the upper right, connects to the pump track. Note the temporary bathroom facility behind the jumps. |
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South of the pump track along the power-line corridor is a
jump line. You can pedal directly to the top of the jump line, or hit it
by forking off the 220 Trail during your descent.
Alex Rodriguez (age 13) launches on the jump line. Photo courtesy of Randy Klein, April 2011. |
| The DH trails cover the mountainside south of the stunt
areas. The area is designed to be ridden counter-clockwise. Access to the
DH trails is via a broad cindered path that goes gently uphill along the
west border of the park. (This trail is a continuation of the trail you
rode from the kiosk to the stunt area.)
Typical view of the hillside trails. The routes twist through the juniper with occasional rock outcrops. |
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The hillside trails were built with the idea that riders will be doing small loops -- uphill to the far south end, then pick a route that will put you back at the bottom. Alex Rodriguez takes one of the jumping ramps on the many trails. Photo Randy Klein 2011. |
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construction that will offer more options (December 2009). It can be
confusing for the first-timer, with multiple unmarked trail forks and
crossings once you get east of the Juniper Trail.
Higher on the mountain, we're heading north on the Golden Eagle Trail. |
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The trails tend to be a combination of relatively long
traverse sections with up and down riding, then downhill plunges with
banked turns built for speed. I lost count of the number of jumps and
technical features. For the intermediate rider, there are ride-arounds
past the tech stuff.
View of Timpanogos and Cascade Mountain to the east, from Golden Eagle. |
| 110 Loop 110, 220, under the power lines. Voltage. Get it? 110 is an easy cruiser for beginners. Offers practice at bermed turns and little dirt hops for intermediates. 0.0 From the west side of the skills area, ride uphill southwest on the cinder path 0.3 Fork L on gravel DT 50 feet later, fork L on ST downhill 0.7 Back to skills area Jackie trots behind the bike. We put in 8 miles to catch all the mountainside trails. |
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220 Loop 220 has a spooky drop-in, then flies down to dirt jumps. The drop-in has no obvious ride-around, and is designed to keep people like me off this trail so we're not in the way of the big-air guys. 0.0 Uphill on cinder path as above 0.3 Fork L on gravel DT, keep straight past 110 entry 0.4 As DT turns R and west, find ST on your L 50 feet later, fork L, climb 100 feet north At 220/Juniper fork, go L over drop 0.7 R to join Juniper (L for jump line) 0.8 Join Juniper 0.9 Drop into Skills Park At the trail fork, this is the ramp to the drop-in on 220. |
| Juniper Loop Good stuff. Stunts and drops. 0.0 Uphill on cinder path as above 0.3 Fork L on gravel DT, keep straight past 110 entry 0.4 As DT turns R and west, find ST on your L 50 feet later, fork L, climb 100 feet north At 220/Juniper fork, keep straight 0.45 Either way (L=easier) 0.5 Keep R uphill (L=cruiser) 0.6 L downhill 0.7 Trails rejoin 0.85 220 joins on L 1.0 Drop into Skills Park Stunt on the Juniper Trail. This one spooked me. Wood-o-phobia. |
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Golden Eagle Loop Ridgeline. More of an XC flavor. Some unfinished business here. Connections and forks will likely change in the future. 0.0 Uphill on cinder path as above 0.3 Fork L on gravel DT, keep straight past 110 entry 0.4 As DT turns R and west, find ST on your L 50 feet later, fork R and climb up the hill 0.6 Fork L (R=to unfinished trail SW and DT to Flintstone trail) 0.8 Keep straight (uphill) at 2 forks 1.0 Trail turns 180 -- foot trail forks off on R 1.2 R downhill to join Juniper 1.6 At skills park Teeter on the Juniper Trail. |
| The above trail directions will need to be changed as the
trail system evolves. Currently, the westbound continuation of Golden
Eagle ends abruptly. The XC-style trail that traverses the mountain
between Golden Eagle and Juniper also ends (see map) on its way toward the
220/Juniper fork.
The Flintstone and Shooting Gallery Trails (about 1.2 miles southeast on the ridgeline DT) had to be saved for another day because I had a leaky tire and a tired dog. [Flintstone Trail] View of the jump line. |
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Getting there: Take the I-15 Lehi Main Street
exit and turn west. Continue west on SR-73, crossing Redwood Road (11600
West). Just after climbing the hill, turn left at the stop light onto The
Ranches Parkway. Stay on that road as it narrows and begins to wind
around. When you come to a T intersection at the end of The Ranches
Parkway, turn right on Golden Eagle Road. Drive about 1/3 mile and watch
for the trail kiosk on your left. Park by the trail kiosk and begin your
ride by climbing up the trail heading south.
Bathrooms: port-a-potty near jump line, BR in city
park west of trail head |
| Riding resources for this trail: Single-page riding guide Website: www.mountainranchbikepark.com GPS track files and route (right-click and "Save as..."): Garmin GPX Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Provo area resources |
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