When we were visiting Utah, mountain biking in Park City was one of the highlights of our trip! My husband is an avid road biker and is always up for mountain biking when we are anywhere out west. I, on the other hand, prefer to hike but am always up for the adventure to do something I can’t do back home. Plus, the views we get at the top are always worth it! I must be honest though, this “easy, short” bike ride we were promised by, locals kicked my ass. Was it beautiful? Absolutely! Did I think I was going to die a few times? Yes. Did I fall a few times? Yes. But even though I told myself half-way through, “If you finish this you never have to do it again”, it was worth it! As I sit here writing this post, I actually want to do it again!
We started our day with a big breakfast to fuel our ride. Unless you’re used to the elevation or go mountain biking in Park City often, I recommend adjusting to the elevation a few days prior and starting your day with a meal that will give you energy, because trust me, you’ll be burning a lot of calories! We enjoyed an awesome breakfast at Five5eeds just outside of downtown Park City. The menu is full of awesome choices no matter your dietary restrictions. I also loved that the view from the window was the mountain we were preparing to bike up!
WHERE TO RENT YOUR MOUNTAIN BIKE
There are plenty of bike shops to rent from, we found one just a few streets down from our rental, called JANS and they were so helpful. They even have a giant map on the wall to show you your route. Make sure you reserve your bikes prior to your arrival. I called the week before and they said I’d have no problem getting two because it wasn’t peak season, but then when we showed up a huge group had cleared them out and we were lucky they had exactly two left! So reserve even if they say you don’t need to. Just in case.
MOUNTAIN BIKING IN PARK CITY: THE CHAIRLIFT UP
The night before at another awesome restaurant called, Handle, we met some friendly locals and avid mountain bikers who told us to take the Crescent chairlift up with our bikes and take the Three Candles trail to the Keystone trail all the way up to Shadow Lake. We pretended like we understood and just hoped we wrote it down correctly! Thankfully, Crescent chairlift exists and the attendants were so helpful putting our bikes on for us and letting us know we were in the right place to start our adventure to Shadow Lake! Apparently, some folks ride all the way up and down, NO THANKS!
I’ve never put a bike on a chairlift before so that was so fun to not have to hold on to anything and just enjoy the views of the mountain!
The day we enjoyed mountain biking in Park City it was a bit overcast and the sun peaked out just a few times. At first, I was sad it wasn’t sunny but I was grateful once we started. It was nice to not have the sun beating down on us as the trail was hard enough for me without it!
We decided we will always visit Park City at the end of September. It wasn’t busy and the colors were absolutely gorgeous.
On the ride up you can see some of the super steep trails the pros take down. Once again, no thanks!
If mountain biking in Park City isn’t your thing, I recommend taking the Crescent chairlift up simply for the views! It’s so worth it!
THREE CANDLES TO KEYSTONE
The trail signs were pretty easy to follow. We made a few guesses and we made it to Three Candles and rode it all the way to the Keystone trail which then lead us to Shadow Lake.
Although this trail kicked my ass, the views were so worth it! One minute you’re on the side of a mountain waiting for it to be over and the next you’re flying through these aspens trees on a flat trail!
MOUNTAIN BIKING IN PARK CITY: SHADOW LAKE
It took us about an hour to get all the way to Shadow Lake. Take breaks if you need to! There were a couple of times I told Jake to go on and I took a breather. Be extra careful on the trails. Most of them are single track and people are coming from both directions.
The way up was hard in its own way, but so was the ride down! I fell a couple of times and I couldn’t believe how steep it was and how fast people rode down the mountain!
Jake was way ahead so I just kept taking breaks to take in the views! Remember, if you stop on the trail make sure you move your bike over. Most likely, there will be someone coming behind you and because it’s a single track they’ll run you over if they don’t have time to stop!
Other than the views, the best part of mountain biking in Park City was when we realized we had 20 minutes left of our ride and Riverhorse Provisions was closing in 45 minutes. We were dreaming of their Bison Chili Poutine and I told Jake I’d die without it. I know, not dramatic at all. Jake took off and got to them just in time! It felt so good to stuff our faces and relax after that wild ride. And yes, the bison chili poutine was to die for!
This was my third time mountain biking and every time I think, I can’t do it I’m always am glad I did! If you are out in Utah I recommend mountain biking in Park City! It’s an awesome workout and a great way to experience the beautiful views Park City has to offer. Click the link to read more about my Utah adventures!
