Old Trench Road Trail

Old Trench-Road Trail

The Old Trench Road isn't really a road. It's a relatively steep and rough singletrack that descends from Ridge 157 near Rock Springs. The original cut was made to get excavating machinery up onto Mill Canyon Peak to dig erosion-prevention trenches (the horizontal lines you see on the mountain). The track is now covered with over half a century of vegetation. The recommended loop ride is 17 miles, starting at 6500 feet elevation at Tibble Fork and rising to 9400 feet. Total climbing will be about 3100 feet.

View of Box Elder Peak from Ridge 157. Photos August 30, 2006.

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The ride is recommended only for advanced riders. The climb to Pole Line Pass is long. Ridge 157 has some steep sections. The Old Trench Road Trail becomes steep and rough, requiring strength plus excellent braking and bike-handling skills.

For truly insane but iron-thigh riders, there's the southern singletrack option. Riding uphill on singletrack from Tibble Fork, you attack Ridge 157 as it climbs steeply from Mill Canyon to Rock Springs. Don't think this is easy. It's steep, loose, and nasty!

Approaching from the south on Ridge 157, that's Trail 181 -- the first section of the Old Trench Road Trail -- traversing the hillside.

Shuttle option: If you have someone drive you to the top of Pole Line Pass, you've got a 9-mile ride with 3000-vertical of downhill. Good luck finding someone who wants to drive this bumpy road while you rock and roll on your bike.


Pole Line Pass Route: This is Ridge 157 as it nears the trail fork to the Old Trench Road Trail from the north. When you see Timpanogos, you're there. I recommend riding up the North Fork Road to Pole Line Pass. There's a short section of steep hike-a-bike just before the trail fork, but it's NOTHING compared to the brutal climb from the south.	Singletrack (Mud Springs and Tibble Fork) Route: Some bikers just DO NOT want to ride up a gravel road. There's a singletrack route where you start climbing Mill Canyon, hop onto Mud Springs, switch to Tibble Fork uphill, then take Ridge 157 north. This is brutal. Take a look at this sample trail section. There's a mile of mostly hike-a-bike!

The descent down the Old Trench Road Trail starts on Trail 181, then joins the Holman Trail for a short distance, then forks off as Trail 172. This trail drops onto the Mill Canyon Trail for the final downhill portion.

The first mile is relatively pleasant with great views, as the trail traverses the hillside. Then it turns downhill and becomes more technical. The most difficult spots are lower down on Trail 172, where rocks lie in the bottom of a steep trench. Did I mention you need good bike-handling and braking skills?

View west on the early portion of Trail 181.

The steepest part of the descent burns 2000 vertical feet in about 2.5 miles. That's a blistering slope, cowboy! I thought it was fun, but if you hate steep technical butt-over-the-rear-wheel descents, you'll find plenty to dislike here.

After reaching the Mill Canyon Trail, the rest of the downhill (at 500 feet per mile) seems absolutely tame.

View from Trail 181. We can see a tiny bit of Utah Lake in the notch, with Lake Mountain behind it.

Loop ride via Pole Line Pass
0.0    Tibble Fork, straight onto gravel road
         as pavement turns left uphill
4.7    Keep R uphill at road fork
8.0    Pole Line Pass. Find ST on right.
         (If you go immediately uphill: wrong way!)
         N 40° 31.901 W 111° 34.243
8.6    Fork R
         N 40° 31.404 W 111° 34.249
10.3 Straight (L) at Forest Lake fork
         N40 30.347 W111 34.861
         Begin tough steep climb
11.0 R downhill onto Trail 181, OR
11.1 Hard R downhill onto Trail 181
         N40 30.029 W111 35.182
(Continued...)

We're turning downhill on Trail 181, still at about 9000 feet elevation. 20% down-slope, but still pretty tame here...

(Pole Line Pass loop ride continued...)
12.8 Fork L downhill
         N40 29.618 W111 36.705
13.2 Holman in from L (go R downhill)
         N40 29.344 W111 36.559
13.6 Fork L onto 172
         N40 29.150 W111 36.740
15.0 R downhill at Mill Canyon Trail
         N40 28.577 W111 36.699
16.0 Straight (R) downhill
         N40 28.655 W111 37.666
17.0 Arrive reservoir, cross creek
         N40 29.031 W111 38.378

Made it! Suddenly, the technical steep stuff is over, and we're about to join the Mill Canyon Trail, just across the clearing.

Loop ride via Mud Springs and Tibble Fork
         (Caution! Very difficult climbs!)
         Only very strong riders who love pain
          should consider this route...
0.0    Tibble Fork, straight onto gravel road,
         watch for trail dropping to river,
         cross river to Mill Canyon Trail
         N40 29.031 W111 38.378
1.0    Fork R on Mud Springs Trail
         N40 28.655 W111 37.666
1.7    Left uphill on Tibble Fork Trail
         N40 28.158 W111 37.592
3.0    L on Ridge 157 northbound
         N40 27.547 W111 36.894
4.6    L on DT
         N40 28.061 W111 35.681
5.1    ST just to R across dirt road
         N40 28.445 W111 35.277
         Begin hard, ugly climb (hike-a-bike)

6.6    East side trail in from R
         N40 29.472 W111 34.760
         Then pass Rock Springs
6.8    Keep R
         N40 29.472 W111 34.938
7.5    L downhill onto Trail 181
         N40 30.029 W111 35.182
9.2    Fork L downhill
         N40 29.618 W111 36.705
9.6    Holman in from L (go R downhill)
         N40 29.344 W111 36.559
10.0 Fork L onto 172
         N40 29.150 W111 36.740
11.4 R downhill at Mill Canyon Trail
         N40 28.577 W111 36.699
12.4 Straight (R) downhill
         N40 28.655 W111 37.666
13.4 Arrive reservoir, cross creek
         N40 29.031 W111 38.378

Getting there: From I-15, take the Alpine-Highland exit just south of Point-of-the-Mountain. Go east towards the mountains on UT-92 and continue up American Fork Canyon. There's a $3 fee. About 6 miles up the canyon, turn left at the North Fork junction and drive 2 miles to Tibble Fork Reservoir. Go past the dam and park in the long parking area north of the lake N 40° 28.98' W 111° 38.68', altitude 6050 ft. On your bike, head up past the bathroom, and continue straight onto gravel road as the paved road turns left. (Alternate: to riding through the river, bike over the dam and around the far side of the lake until you hit the Mill Canyon Trail 040 sign.)

Riding resources for this trail:
Single-page riding guide
GPS track files and route (right-click and "Save as..."):
    National Geographic
Via Pole Line Pass:
     Garmin     Google Earth    GPX
Via Singletrack (insanely hard):
   Garmin     Google Earth     GPX
High-res topo (1.2 MB): View

For lodging in the American Fork Canyon area, as well as travel guides and information on other activities, may we suggest:
Lodging: http://www.utahvalley.org
Timpanogos Cave info: http://www.nps.gov/tica/
Camping info: http://www.outdoorsinutah.com/americanfork-camping.htm
Rock climbing in AF Canyon: http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/listArea.php?AreaID=13
Uinta National Forest Ranger District: http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/uinta/
Utah National Forest Camping and Picnic sites: http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/maps/brochures/camp_picnick_utah.pdf
AF Canyon Recreation Map (PDF): http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/uinta/maps/maps/af_canyon_rec_map7.pdf

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