Park City

Beta: Best parking is Silver Lake Lodge at upper Deer Valley, but weekend spots are scarce — park at lower Snow Park Lodge and take the free Deer Valley shuttle up. Alternate access: PCMR via Silver King Dr to Crescent Rd trailhead, or Canyons via the Cabriolet. Mid-Mountain is a traverse trail at ~8,000 ft, 28 miles of rolling contour — ride it as a point-to-point (Deer Valley → Canyons) using city buses to shuttle cars. Altitude is real; pace yourself, and the trail gets packed after 10am on weekends, so start early.

Season: Primary season is mid-June through September/October, managed by USFS Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and Mountain Trails Foundation. At around 8,000 ft, Mid-Mountain needs snowpack to melt off, so opening depends on the winter — big snow years push the first ride into July. Trails above 7,000 ft can stay muddy into late June. Closes once fall storms arrive, typically mid-October.

Lift: Town Lift gives you a head start but the trail is fully pedal-accessible from town.

Beta: The classic is shuttle-only — no parking at Guardsman Pass itself, only limited spots at Bloods Lake trailhead just down the PC side. Use a commercial shuttle from Canyons or PCMR parking; they drop at Guardsman and you ride to Canyons or into upper Millcreek Canyon. Critical: Millcreek Canyon is odd/even day restricted for bikes — only even days go down Millcreek (check the date). Expect 1,600 ft of climbing including 'Puke Hill' early on; Spine is the signature exposed ridge section, hands on the bars, eyes up.

Season: High-alpine trail on USFS land, with the start at ~9,800 ft and much of the ridge above 9,000 ft. Typically not rideable until end of June, and big snow years push opening into mid-July. Season runs through September, sometimes early October before fall storms shut it down. Note: the Mill Creek Canyon bike access is odd-day restricted (no biking on odd-numbered calendar days) — a critical detail for trip planning.

Shuttle: Shuttle to the Crest trailhead is common. Strong riders pedal up from Park City — it's a big day but doable.

Beta: Park at Wasatch Mountain State Park day-use lot in Midway (state park fee required) or the Pine Canyon dirt pullout 1/4 mile past the state park campground on SR 222. For the shuttle setup, drive up SR 222 another 3.4 miles past the lower trailhead to the upper lot. WOW rides best as a top-down shuttle — 200 ft of climbing then ripping berms, loose dirt, and off-camber singletrack. If you self-pedal, climb the 0.7 mi up from the day-use lot then fork hard left; the climb trail is separate from the descent.

Season: High-alpine descent in Wasatch Mountain State Park (Utah State Parks) — typically rideable late June through mid-October depending on snowpack. Tops out at ~8,400 ft. Fall colors through the aspens in September/early October are spectacular.

Shuttle: Shuttle up from SR-222 trailhead in Wasatch Mountain State Park. Not lift-served. State park day-use fee applies. You CAN pedal up but it's a 2,300-2,500 ft climb before the descent.

Self-shuttle: Self-shuttleable with two cars — drop one at the Heber/Midway finish, drive up to the SR-222 trailhead. Solo riders can pedal back up the paved road (SR-222 / Pine Canyon) — narrow, steep, windy, mostly road cyclists but doable on an MTB. Big fall leaf-peeping draw through the aspens.

Beta: Park at the PCMR base area off Kilby Rd / Action Sports Hub (free, plentiful). Single-lift access is via the Crescent chair (1,700 ft in a few minutes), and Woodward's Hot Laps lift serves the progression jump lines. For beginners, start on Holy Roller (wide, smooth, mellow grade) — Woodward is the friendliest place to learn. Deer Valley (separate resort) has 3 lifts — Silver Lake Express, Sterling, Homestake Express — check construction closures and altitude-adjust before hammering.

Season: Lift-served season typically runs early June through early October, with PayDay and Town Lift opening first (early June) and the higher Crescent Lift following in late June once upper-mountain snow clears. 70+ miles of lift-accessed terrain. Summer storms can close lifts briefly for lightning. Closes mid-October ahead of the ski season.

Lift: Lift-served laps are the draw, but you can pedal into the bike park area from the town trail network.