North Canyon Trail

North Canyon Trail

In the southeast corner of Bountiful, the North Canyon Trail climbs from the foothills to cool forests overlooking the Great Salt Lake. The ride is about 1/3 doubletrack, 2/3 singletrack. North Canyon starts at 5400 feet and climbs 1800 vertical feet to Rudy's Flat in exactly 4 miles. Some riders do this trail as an out-and-back (8 miles), others combine it with the nearby Mueller Park Trail as a 13.5 mile loop.

Photo above: Hardbody Martha pilots her hardbody bicycle up the North Canyon Trail. June 21,2000.

The ride starts with 1.4 miles of somewhat steep doubletrack. This section will seem like the most work. The singletrack climbs through cool forested slopes. The upper areas clear of snow in late May or early June, and remain open through mid-October. This singletrack portion of the trail has a few rocks and roots, but is mostly smooth. We'd rate this ride a solid intermediate level for technical skill, but an upper-level aerobic.

Gary follows the pack uphill, where the singletrack leaves the doubletrack.
June 21, 2000.

The singletrack in North Canyon is a botanist's delight. This shady trail is rimmed with currant, wild rose, choke cherry, and elderberry. You'll see plenty of blooming Mule's Ear, Wasatch penstemmon, and wild onion. The crest near Rudy's Flat is a good place to spot the Sego Lily, Utah's state flower.

Wild rose bloom alongside the trail.

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Many riders construct a loop by using North Canyon for the climb, then descending down the Mueller Park trail. This is a great ride, 13.5 miles in length. It puts more singletrack on your downhill.

Looking out over Bountiful towards the Great Salt Lake during the ascent up North Canyon.

Riding notes, out and back:
Go to North Canyon Trailhead
0.0   Head up doubletrack from end of pavement
1.0   Keep straight
1.1   Keep straight
1.4   End of doubletrack, head L on ST
4.0   Rudy's Flat, turn back

Arriving at Rudy's Flat, it's time for a BS break. Could there be a happier camper than Chad, with 1800 vertical of climbing behind him, and a bodacious downhill yet to go?

Riding notes, Loop using Mueller Park:
Go to Mueller Park Trailhead
0.0   From Mueller Park trailhead, go back down road
0.6   L at intersection
2.3   L onto Canyon Creek
3.0   End pavement, continue DT
4.0-4.1 Keep straight
4.4   End DT, L on ST
7.0   Rudy's Flat
9.9   L at Big Rock fork
13.5 Cross bridge to parking

Here's Gary, rocketing his hardtail back down towards civilization.

Getting there: On I-15, take the 2600 south Bountiful/Woods Cross exit. Go east towards the mountains. The road will turn north and be renamed Orchard Drive. While heading north, turn right (east) on 1800 south. Just as you reach the bottom of a steep hill, turn right at the intersection. (This is about 0.6 miles before the Mueller Park trailhead. If you arrive there, backtrack.) After 1.7 miles, turn left on Canyon Creek and go uphill 0.7 miles to the end of the pavement. Start your ride by heading east (uphill) on the dirt road.

Riding resources for this trail:
Single-page riding guide
GPS track files:
   No file available for North Canyon.
    See Mueller Park page for track files for Mueller
Large-format topo map (1 MB): View map
Lodging, camping, shops:
       Links to northern SLC resources
   Links to Ogden area resources