Slate Creek Trail System
The Slate Creek trail system was designed for mountain biking. Hikers may use these trails as well, but they're closed to horses. The system consists of the Slate Creek Loop, the Left Hand Loop, White Fir, and Ponderosa. Slate Creek opened in 2021, with Ponderosa in 2022 and White Fir in 2023. This is a well-built and fun trail system with plenty of pretty scenery.

The trails begin just off the Mirror Lake Highway at 7050 feet elevation. In general, the trails are directional for bikes -- one-way -- with only short sections of two-way traffic. The top elevation is 8200 feet on the Left Hand Loop. The expected riding season will be June through early October.Beginners and kids will like the short Ponderosa loop (1.5 miles). The Slate Creek Loop is 5.6 miles with 750 feet of overall climbing and has some challenges on the downhill side. The loop of Slate Creek, Left Hand, White Fir and lower Ponderosa is 9 miles with 1300 feet of climbing. (A new trail to make a full loop of Left Hand is under construction in 2023.) For stronger riders, a figure-eight ride that descends both sides of the trail system will be around 15 miles and 2000 vertical.

The riding here will be fun for a wide variety of skill and fitness levels. I'd rate the climbing trails as easier-intermediate. Ponderosa is an easy downhill for beginners and kids. The other downhills get an intermediate rating, assuming that less-skilled intermediates will walk through the worst of the short rock gardens on the downhill side of the Slate Creek Loop.

The trail system is located along the Mirror Lake Highway just 6 miles east of Kamas. There's a large gravel parking area with a bathroom at the trailhead. While the trailhead is also used by horsemen, horses will be routed onto a secondary trail 1/2 mile uphill. The Beaver Creek trail is located right across the road for those who want either extra miles or easier riding.

The outgoing trail starts at the north end of the parking lot. As you face away from the Mirror Lake Highway, the Slate Creek trail goes up the broad valley at the uphill end of the parking area. This is your access to all the other trails. The singletrack trail a bit to the left is Ponderosa (one-way downhill for bikes), and the trail to your right across the bridge is the returning Slate Creek Loop (also one-way for bikes).

The Slate Creek one-way loop ride is 5.6 miles with 750 feet of overall climbing. It's rated intermediate in difficulty.After around 1/4 mile on singletrack, the trail joins a dirt road. (You'll share the next 1/4 mile of trail with horses now.) Aim for the right side of the corral that lies ahead, then keep straight along the right side of the corral to the gate and continue uphill on the dirt road. (There's a singletrack hiking trail on the far right that descends to the creek. Don't go there.)

At 1/2 mile from the trailhead, the dirt road veers to the right. At this spot, the singletrack forks 120 degrees to the left. (As of 2021, there's a sign here. Bikes go left, while horses go to the right. Hikers can go either direction.)After 1/10th mile, the Ponderosa Trail continues straight ahead while Slate Creek forks to the right and reverses direction.

The singletrack winds through a mixed forest of pine, aspen, and oak. There will be occasional cedar and choke cherry. Pines give way to fir at the higher elevations.

There are frequent breakout views, both uphill and down. This is a very pretty ride.On the way uphill, you'll keep to the right at two trail intersections: the Ponderosa trail at mile 0.6, and the two ends of the Left Hand Loop at mile 2.8 from the trailhead.

The climb is fairly smooth at this time. Turns are gradual (no switchbacks). The rate of climbing is always gentle. From time to time, you'll coast for a bit before the next uphill starts.

For most of the ride uphill, the trail will be exposed enough that you don't get much benefit of shade. Even here in the mountains, it does get toasty warm on summer afternoons. And you're up high enough in elevation for a mean sunburn.

When you hit the wooden bridge crossing a tiny creek at mile 2.2, you're almost through climbing. You just need to go up and around one more hill into the next drainage.At the highest point of Slate Creek at mile 2.8, the Left Hand Loop joins. Fork right. (On the far left is the unfinished inner half of the loop. Ahead and slightly left is the outgoing outer Left Hand Loop, and to the right is the downhill side of Slate Creek.)

After a short bit of downhill, you'll cross Slate Creek. You're now at 7700 feet elevation, mile 2.9. After splashing through the creek, there's a short easy climb before you can turn it loose.

The downhill has banked swooping turns. There's an occasional short bit of pedaling to keep you honest, but overall it's a steady flowing descent. There will be a few short rock-pile crossings that you should hit with moderate speed. The boulders are big enough to trap your tire if you dawdle.

There are no steep spots on the downhill. Most turns are wide and banked. I found a couple of turns that were tight enough to make me brake, but most of my braking was for line-picking in rocky areas. Or just speed control 'cause I'm timid.

The terrain on the eastern side of Slate Creek is a bit drier. So while there will be the same pines and aspen, there's a lot more sage and oak than during your climb.

As you approach the bottom, you'll reach a flat area of open sage brush. The trail crosses a small cattleguard, then descends to the horse trail. You'll now join Yellow Pine for the trip back to the trailhead.Make a right turn onto Yellow Pine, heading west down the main canyon. You'll share the next 0.3 miles with horses. At first, I thought the lines of big rocks across the trail were "Wrong Way - Don't Go Here" barriers. No, they're just water diversion structures.

This section of the trail may be less fun for you, but it doesn't have to be. It's a tad "trenched" so there are sometimes sidewalls you can hit. And those rock water-bars just beg you to bunny-hop them.

The bridge over the creek takes you into the parking lot. Time for another lap. Or a cruise on Beaver Creek .

The Ponderosa Loop consists of the first 0.6 miles of the Slate Creek trail, then the Ponderosa trail back to the trailhead. The loop will be 1.5 miles, with 150 vertical feet of climbing.First, get uphill on the Slate Creek trail. New beginners and kids may want to ride the gravel road uphill (found to the left of the parking lot as you look uphill) to avoid the narrow and sometimes bumpy singletrack.

At mile 0.5, the doubletrack diverts to the left on singletrack. 1/10th mile later, keep straight onto Ponderosa as the Slate Creek trail climbs uphill to your right. Note that this first 0.2-mile section of Ponderosa is a two-way trail, as riders will be coming downhill from White Fir and heading to Slate Creek for another trip uphill.After 0.2 miles on Ponderosa, keep to the left as White Fir joins on your right.

The downhill is easy for kids and beginners, with a very gentle slope. Sight-lines are generous here, as bushes are short and the trees are spaced well apart.Turns are wide in radius and banked.

When the trail hits the gravel road, continue straight across to a narrower, more-bumpy singletrack for the last 1/10th mile. Or, don't. If your kids don't like bumping over boulders, just turn to the right and take the gravel road downhill, then turn left at the gravel road intersection to return to the trailhead.

The Left Hand Loop is named after Left Hand Canyon, which it enters at the loop's highest elevation. Only the outer (northwestern) side of the loop is complete at this time. In 2023, the second half of the loop is under construction and the completed portion is closed. The inner portion will tie the outer side back to its origin on the Slate Creek trail.

The trail is a machined bench-cut and it's smooth and easy to ride. At this time, 2.5 miles of Left Hand is complete. The trail continues seamlessly downhill as White Fir at mile 2.5 where the future returning side of the loop will fork left.

The Left Hand Loop is reached by climbing the Slate Creek trail. At mile 2.8 (the highest point of the Slate Creek loop) you'll come to a 4-way intersection. The trail at the far left is the (closed and unfinished) inner side of the loop. Straight ahead and aiming uphill is the outer side of the Left Hand Loop. To the right is the downhill side of the Slate Creek loop. (See the photo above.)

The trail climbs gently, first to the west then south. There are a few sets of climbing turns to gain elevation. This side of the hill is maple and aspen forest.

Around mile 1.5 from Slate Creek, the trail will cross over a saddle in a fir and pine forest. You're now officially in Left Hand Canyon as the trail contours the hill heading south.

You'll now begin to descend. There's no specific marker between "up" and "down" sides of the trail. No "you've arrived."This part of the ride lies in deep tall conifer forest. There are two or three quick hints of spectacular views to your right. When you finally find an opening between the trees, you can look across Kamas and the Heber Valley to Timpanogos and Provo Peak.

As the trail curves back to the east on the ridge, Left Hand will become the White Fir trail. This is the location of the future trail fork for the returning (inner) side of the Left Hand Loop. (There's no marker or other sign of the future trail's tie-in. For now just keep your bike flowing downhill)

The White Fir trail is a one-way downhill trail. It begins as the continuation of Left Hand -- that is, until the rest of the Left Hand Loop is finished. The trail is 3 miles long and drops 750 feet in elevation. White Fir ends when it joins the Ponderosa trail. A simple loop ride of Slate Creek uphill, outer Left Hand Loop, White Fir, and lower Ponderosa is 9 miles with 1300 feet of climbing.

The trail begins in thick forest, a mixture of aspen and fir. Like the other Slate Creek trails, the trail is a highly-engineered bench-cut that's been excellently constructed. The path is constantly in motion.Turns are smooth and highly banked. Straight sections have undulations to shed water and to keep things interesting.

This trail is a joy to ride and I highly recommend it!As you shed elevation, fir forest gives way to aspen, then oak brush and sage.

When the trail stops descending at mile 3.0, you're approaching the Ponderosa trail fork. The gentle uphill is designed to slow you down so you don't wipe out any kids on Ponderosa. Keep left if you're heading back to the top on Slate Creek. It will be 0.2 miles of two-way trail on Ponderosa, then keep left again at the trail intersection to climb Slate Creek (one-way uphill). If your plan is to loop around Slate Creek for the next part of your ride, you're looking at a total ride of around 15 miles and 2000 vertical.To continue on downhill to the trailhead, fork to the right and descend Ponderosa 0.7 miles.

Bottom Line!
This is the trail system that riders have been begging for -- a bike-specific ride in the Uintah Mountains along the Mirror Lake Highway. (Note that while the system is "mountain bike preferred," all trails are open to hikers. So heads up.) Slate Creek is more than worth doing. It's a great ride.

Getting there:
In Kamas, turn east towards the mountains on the well-marked Mirror Lake Highway. Drive 6 miles to the border of the National Forest. Turn left into the Slate Creek parking area. (If you will also be riding the Beaver Creek trail, you need to pay a recreation fee. Go 1/4 mile up the highway and leave your dough, then backtrack to the parking lot.) The outbound side of the Slate Creek bike trail is at the middle of the northern end of the parking area. This is the route to ALL of the rides here. The wooden bridge will be your return from the Slate Creek Loop, and the singletrack to the left above the parking area is the downhill end of the one-way Ponderosa trail.There is a bathroom at the trailhead.