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+ 194

Wasatch Crest Loop

Mountain Biking Trail

Hard
25.29 mi
3,926 ft
A pedal-driven loop of the Wasatch Crest Trail, using Pinecone to gain the ridge.

Flowy ridgetop singletrack with jaw-dropping views of Big Cottonwood Canyon and the Park City region make the Wasatch Crest trail the most memorable mountain bike trail in Park City. While you could shuttle up Guardsman’s Pass, local badasses choose to pedal up the Armstrong Trail to Pinecone to reach the top of the ridge under their own power.

The Pinecone Trail was finished in 2012, and this addition to the Park City trail system was lauded as a “bar-setting, blow your mind, instant classic kind of trail,” according to []( The grade was specifically designed to be pedaling-friendly. While you’ll consistently gain elevation as you climb, and over 4,000 feet of total gain on this 25-mile loop will demand some serious exertion on your part, overall the ascent is exceedingly rideable.

Once at the top, the red dirt and rocks along the Wasatch Crest provide an interesting accent to the high-speed riding, as it's very different than the dark black dirt in Park City proper. Overall this trail is flowy, but the flow doesn't last—an extremely technical, rocky descent along the ridge known as "The Spine" is absolutely brutal, but can be walked by intermediate riders. Again the singletrack switches back to flow.

The route shown here finishes by descending through the Canyons Resort down the Park City side. Never fear: instead of dropping into the uber-gnarly downhill-only bike park, the route sticks to classic intermediate/advanced singletrack. Despite not necessarily being a legit bike park trail, the singletrack here is often chunky and rutted, with log drops and rock gardens interspersed. The high amount of traffic definitely shows in the trail wear.

Note that the Wasatch Crest has multiple options for the final descent. Several trails drop toward Park City, but one of the most popular descents actually drops down the other side of the mountain, all the way to Salt Lake City. If you're riding the Wasatch Crest, make doubly sure that you're descending down the correct side so you successfully end up back at your car and don't get stranded. Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
PCMR Lot to Crest - Armstrong/Pinecone9.16 mi2,897 ft6.0%
FLOW0.32 mi-43 ft-2.4%
Silver Spur to Armstrong0.37 mi-59 ft-1.3%
Flow -trees to spiro0.24 mi49 ft0.5%
Armstrong Pinecone Crest15.05 mi2,953 ft2.5%
Armstron to Chair Lift1.13 mi331 ft5.6%
Armstrong to Ham Trail2.84 mi965 ft6.4%
Full Armstrong to top of Pinecone8.62 mi2,871 ft6.3%
Full Armstrong to Pincone start4.61 mi1,460 ft6.0%
Armstrong to Mid Mountain3.89 mi1,339 ft6.5%
Lower Armstrong1.08 mi295 ft5.2%
Armstrong to Ham2.95 mi915 ft5.8%
Arm-Cone-Crest-MM15.76 mi2,736 ft1.7%
Armstrong to MM/Pinecone Intersection4.49 mi1,421 ft6.0%
Crest Lap - PC to Canyons19.87 mi2,818 ft0.0%
Armstrong / Pinecone7.84 mi2,720 ft6.6%
Unnamed Rd Climb0.74 mi272 ft6.9%
Armstrong Segment 2 King Con to Ham Trail1.89 mi591 ft5.9%
Dawn's to HAM1.43 mi472 ft6.2%
W Snow S Ln Climb0.71 mi266 ft7.0%
Ham to Mid Mountain 1.21 mi469 ft7.3%
rock it0.19 mi59 ft5.6%
Armstrong/Mid Mountain ALL THE WAY to Pinecone0.58 mi171 ft5.5%
MidMtn to 1st Pincone Meadow2.04 mi633 ft5.8%
Unnamed Rd Climb0.72 mi308 ft8.1%
Pincone straightway 1.33 mi489 ft6.9%
Pinecone ridge to the very top2.19 mi814 ft7.0%
Pain Cave1.57 mi702 ft8.4%
Unnamed Road Climb0.40 mi262 ft12.2%
Crest - Top to Desolation3.93 mi-253 ft-0.9%
bacon n eggs1.70 mi-108 ft-1.0%
get it on0.81 mi-180 ft-4.2%
Wasatch Crest Red Dirt Climb0.74 mi259 ft6.6%
Wasatch Crest Climb0.76 mi233 ft5.8%
Just The Spine0.05 mi-69 ft-22.4%
Crank It Up to MillCreek0.43 mi121 ft3.4%
point of no return0.77 mi-269 ft-6.3%
ROCKS0.04 mi-49 ft-22.0%
rocky n fast0.91 mi-371 ft-7.7%
FAST DOUBLE TRACK0.52 mi-240 ft-8.6%
TREES0.46 mi-240 ft-9.6%
Crest to the Bush2.64 mi-925 ft-6.6%
devils friend0.94 mi-266 ft-5.4%
Ambush the Fun way2.26 mi-856 ft-7.1%
game on0.92 mi-305 ft-5.8%
Ambush Start to Robs Intersection0.44 mi-200 ft-8.5%
SlamBush0.38 mi-190 ft-9.6%
Ambush to Golf Course2.04 mi-702 ft-6.5%
Ambush Robs to Snow Draw0.83 mi-295 ft-6.6%
Ambush Snow Draw to Holly's0.37 mi-151 ft-7.5%