Aqueduct, Hidden Valley, and Gasline Trails

View south on Aqueduct. Photos and ride review by Bruce on September 28, 2016.

Aqueduct Trail
with Gasline, Hidden Valley, and side-trails
For years, I considered the wide, flat, ugly Aqueduct trail to be unworthy of mention. Yeah, I raced on pieces of it every year but tried to stay off it at other times. But now, new trail construction may have you deciding that it's worth putting tires on this doubletrack.
For riders in Sandy and further north, the addition of Hidden Valley makes Aqueduct a dirt arrow from city streets straight to the heart of Corner Canyon's trail system.

If you consider the Gasline trail to be a southbound continuation of Aqueduct, and add Hidden Valley to the north end, it's a continuous 3.6-mile route. Hidden Valley takes you to the north end of the Sandy section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) And at the south end, Gasline delivers you to Ghost Falls .
Along the way from Gasline to Hidden Valley, Aqueduct has connections to the Carolina Hills Connector, the BST, Quail trail, Sadler trails (uphill and down), the Corner Canyon Road, the Orson Smith trail, and Ralph's Trail. That's a lot of ride variations. I'll discuss these connecting trails as we move along.

Looking north in the area near the Quail Trail.

Gasline trail. Oak and maple. Useful connection from the BST to Ghost Falls.

Gasline Trail...

At the southern end of this hillside corridor, Gasline is 0.5 miles in length. It joins southern end of the Aqueduct doubletrack to the Ghost Falls trail near its origin on the Canyon Hollow doubletrack. From here, you can crank uphill to Ghost Falls and on to Jacob's Ladder . Gasline is an easy cruiser trail.

Like Aqueduct, Rattler , and the Corner Canyon BST , Gasline is NEVER closed due to weather.

The north end of Gasline meets the south end of Aqueduct at a somewhat-confusing intersection, made worse by pipeline-construction digging in recent years. Looking north at the broad doubletrack, the westbound BST singletrack is behind you to the left and downhill. (The BST joins Aqueduct for a short distance here.) 90 degrees to the left is the doubletrack dropping down to the Carolina Hills trailhead and the Corner Canyon trail.

Looking southwest at the entry to Gasline from Aqueduct.

Looking north on Aqueduct from Gasline, as Little Rocky waits on a trail post.

Aqueduct...

As you pedal north on the Aqueduct doubletrack, the Corner Canyon Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) forks to the right uphill after 100 yards. This trail would take you up to Rattler and to the BST trailhead on the Corner Canyon Road.

See the Corner Canyon overview page for more information on local trail options. Note that Aqueduct is NEVER closed due to weather conditions. See the Corner Canyon trail closure page for status of other nearby trails in winter or after storms.

0.6 miles from the start of Aqueduct, the Quail trail forks to the right uphill. This trail is 0.3 miles long, climbing north to end on the Corner Canyon gravel road. Like Aqueduct, Quail is a nice sandy rainy-day trail that's hard to damage.

Another day, another bike. The superfly sits at the Aqueduct fork for the Quail Trail.

Looking southwest as Sadler leaves the Corner Canyon Road.

At mile 0.9 of Aqueduct, the Sadler trail forks right uphill, reaching the CC road in 0.2 miles. 1/10th mile later is the second (downhill) half of the Sadler trail on your left. It drops 0.3 miles to a residential road. Chances are, neither Sadler trail will be of much interest to you. The lower Sadler to upper Sadler route is basically a path to take local neighborhood cyclists up to the Corner Canyon Road.

At 1.3 miles, Aqueduct crosses the Corner Canyon Road. Turning downhill here would take you 0.3 miles to the Orson Smith trailhead parking.

After crossing the road, pedal 0.3 miles, and the Orson Smith trail will cross the road. The lower part descends 0.3 miles to the trailhead on Highland Drive. The upper trail is 0.5 miles of 10% grade as it climbs to the Draper to Sandy BST section south of Bear Canyon. The first bit of Orson Smith above Aqueduct is not only ugly-steep, it's ugly-loose too. But people do ride up, usually to do a little loop across the Bear Canyon bridge on the BST, which is kind of cool. You can drop back to Aqueduct on Ralph's.

Bogged down and powered out. A little ways up Orson Smith from Aqueduct, and I'm not riding. So it's a good time to stop and take a picture.

In the Ralph's trail area, we're looking southwest on Aqueduct.

Another 0.4 miles north on Aqueduct, Ralph's trail forks right uphill. It's 0.4 miles of 10% pitch to the BST north of the Bear Canyon bridge. On your left about 30 feet later is a seldom-used and steep continuation of Ralph's that drops to a neighborhood cul-de-sac.

Hidden Valley...

At 2.5 miles from Gasline, Aqueduct ends. The route continues on singletrack veering slightly to the right. The Hidden Valley singletrack extends 0.6 miles further north to the Hidden Valley Park. Here it will end on a paved trail loop that also connects to the BST .

Note that Hidden Valley, and the Sandy BST above it, may be closed when the trails are wet.

Aqueduct drops undergound. And Hidden Valley begins. Looking north.

Cruising through maple forest.

This trail is new in 2016, opening new loop options through its connection to Aqueduct on the south end and the BST on the north.
There's a bit of gentle up-and-down riding but little overall elevation change. The Hidden Valley singletrack is a fun ribbon of undulating dirt beneath a canopy of maple and oak.

There's a fork shortly after crossing the Little Willow Creek bridge northbound. Keep to the right for the trailhead on the paved park trail. ( The trail to the left ends on the cindered doubletrack that climbs the canyon.) Cross the gravel Little Willow Creek road.

Looking back to the south as newly-dug trail crosses a little clearing.

Bridge over Little Willow Creek, looking south.

Hidden Valley ends on the south end of a paved trail loop in Hidden Valley Park. To get to the BST, go 100 yards north (to your right) on the paved trail to catch the BST Connector. To climb to the upper BST trail, continue another 50 feet and turn right on the doubletrack.

Riding notes, loop from Corner Canyon Road BST TH
and returning via Aqueduct and CC BST:
0.0   Uphill side of road, north on ST
        N40 30.363 W111 50.078
1.0   Keep R (L = Orson Smith connector)
        N40 31.156 W111 49.824
1.1   Keep R (L = Orson Smith)
        N40 31.254 W111 49.765
1.4   Cross Bear Canyon bridge
1.5   Keep R (L = Ralph's)
        N40 31.475 W111 49.569
2.6   Little Willow Creek road
        Cross to upper trail N40 32.117 W111 48.836
        (option lower trail a few feet down road)
3.0   Gate, L downhill on DT
        N40 32.371 W111 48.579
3.1   L on paved trail N40 32.329 W111 48.716
        (Pass BST connector trail in 100 ft)

3.3   L on Hidden Valley ST
        N40 32.232 W111 48.837
3.9   Join Aqueduct
        N40 31.894 W111 49.306
4.4   Straight (L = Ralph's)
        N40 31.596 W111 49.668
4.8   Straight (Orson Smith crosses)
        N40 31.314 W111 49.903
5.1   Cross Corner Canyon Road
5.5   Pass Sadler trails N40 30.803 W111 50.234
5.8   Pass Quail ST (on L)
        N40 30.428 W111 50.261
6.3   L uphill on BST N40 30.063 W111 50.173
6.6   Keep L (R = Rattler)
        N40 30.176 W111 50.076
6.8   Back at trailhead

Aerial area map

Getting there, northern (Sandy) trailhead:
Take Wasatch Blvd to Hidden Valley Park, about two miles south of Little Cottonwood Canyon on the east side of the road. (From I-15, take the 90th South exit, which will turn into 94th south as it approaches the mountains. At the mouth of Little Cottonwood, turn right on Wasatch.) The park is located on a curve in the road just past a large church on your left. From the parking area, bike towards the mountain on the paved path. After 100 yards, you should see a "Bonneville Shoreline Trail" sign pointing uphill. This connects via a steep doubletrack to the upper trail. For the lower connector, go further on the paved trail and turn left on singletrack after about 100 feet. (For a loop ride, the Hidden Valley singletrack is another 800 feet south on the paved trail.)

Orson Smith Park: From Draper, take 123rd South to 13th East and turn south (right). At the roundabout just down the hill, turn east (the equivalent of a left turn at the roundabout) on Pioneer Road. Go around one mile to 20th East, then turn right going south on Highland Drive. Turn left to the parking lot of Orson Smith Park. Reach the Aqueduct trail by pedaling up the Corner Canyon Road 0.3 miles, or 0.3 miles via the singletrack Orson Smith trail.

Bonneville Shoreline TH on Corner Canyon Road: Go to Orson Smith Park as above, but immediately turn right as you enter the parking area. Drive on the gravel Corner Canyon Road 1.1 miles uphill. Turn right into the BST trailhead. Take the BST southbound down to the junction of Gasline with Aqueduct.

Bathrooms and water at these trailheads.

From Corner Canyon (Equestrian Center) Trailhead: On Highland Blvd. Climb the Corner Canyon singletrack, joining doubletrack on the way, to a wide intersection of multiple trails. The BST is across the wooden bridge 90 degrees to your left. Climb up to Aqueduct 0.3 miles.
Coyote Hollow trailhead: From Traverse Ridge Road, turn to Mike Weir Drive. Drive about a mile until the road veers left downhill. Take the next right turn, turn right again, then left. You should now be on Gray Fox Drive. Take the next right into Coyote Hollow Court. The parking is on the right at the end of the pavement. After entering singletrack, keep left until you find yourself descending on doubletrack. As you reach an intersection, the BST is straight ahead. Keep heading northeast and downhill until you reach the bridge, then climb the BST to Aqueduct. See the Corner Canyon BST page.

Riding resources:
Printable one-page guide, BST-Aqueduct loop
GPS track file (right-click and select "Save Target as..."):
Loop ride of Aqueduct and BST
Multi-track Draper Area file
Go to Draper Area Trails overview page
Satellite map in new window for printing: View map
Lodging, camping, shops: Links to southern SLC resources

Last updated 2016