Mule Ear to Mule Shoe Loop - North Fork Park
The Mule Loop consists of the Mule Ear and Mule Shoe trails in North Fork Park. The ride is singletrack, about 5.5 miles in length. The ride is moderately strenuous in aerobic requirement. It's not technical in terms of rocks, roots, and tricky stuff. But Mule Ear, when done clockwise, has quite a few tight S turns on the downhill. So I'm giving it an upper-intermediate tech rating. Northern trailhead altitude is at 6000 feet. Low point is 5500 feet on the Mule Shoe Trail. The Mule Shoe crosses the road and becomes Mule Ear at 5700 feet elevation. High point is near the viewpoint on Mule Ear at 6500.
Because cyclists are riding this trail from the campground road (rather than driving to the new formal trailhead at the north end of the loop), my ride description starts where the loop crosses the road at the south end. Follow the signs toward Cutler Flat. As you climb away from Cold Canyon (the last camping area), the trail crosses the road.

Riding notes, clockwise loop from 1st road crossing:
Road turns sharply R at creek, climbs hill.
ST is on left about 100 hards up the hill
0.0  Hard L onto ST N41 22.424 W111 54.768
Mule Ear Trail, begin climbing
1.5  Hard L for viewpoint trail
N41 22.560 W111 55.350

1.8  At viewpoint turnaround
N41 22.489 W111 55.552
2.1  Back at fork, keep straight
3.3  Cross road (parking area on R)
Mule Shoe Trail N41 22.863 W111 55.145
4.0  Keep straight N41 22.889 W111 54.685
5.3  Back at road

Getting there: Go up Ogden Canyon. (From the north on I-15, take the 12th South Ogden exit and head east on Highway 39. From the south, exit I-15 on US 89. Pass I-84 and climb up the hill, then turn right on Harrison Blvd. Continue on Harrison until you hit U-39 and turn R toward Ogden Canyon.) Turn left across the dam at Pineview Reservoir. At the stop sign in Eden, turn left. Turn left at the stop sign in Liberty. After about 1/4 mile, take the next right. Just after you cross the river, veer left toward North Fork Park. Turn left again at the North Fork Park sign. Follow the main campground road past a few camping loops. If you know your way around, park and head for the spot where the trail crosses the road. A good picnic area is at the bottom of the ravine (Cold Canyon) near the creek. For the official trailhead, go 1.8 miles from where you turned off the main road. Look for a the trailhead sign on your right. The trail crosses the road just a few feet north of the 2nd turn-in to the parking area.

Copyright 2010 Mad Scientist Software Inc
Trail conditions change, and the layout of a trail may change without notice. Use this trail guide at your own risk.