Park City in 3 Days: Intermediate Singletrack and Bike Park Laps
Park City is 450+ miles of IMBA Gold trail with a lift or a shuttle waiting when your legs are done. This plan keeps you on intermediate singletrack plus one gravity day, all at altitude, so pace the first day easy. Drive in, grab a bike if you need one, and start early, because the good stuff gets packed after 10am on weekends.
The plan
Acclimate on the town network, take the free bus up for a 9K, Pinecone and Seldom Seen loop, then finish with lift-served laps at Park City Mountain Bike Park.
Town network shakeout
Morning: Get your legs and your lungs before you commit to a 4-hour day at 8,000 feet. Spin the town trail network from the base to warm up. If you are renting, Jans Mountain Outfitters has convenient downtown pickup, so grab the bike and roll straight into the network.
Afternoon: Keep it mellow and dial in tire pressure and suspension for dry, dusty high-alpine dirt. Altitude is real if you drove up from sea level, so drink more than you think you need.
Eats: Post-ride food and beer are easy to find in town near the base.
Bus up, 9K, Pinecone and Seldom Seen
Morning: Skip the car. Take the free Purple Route bus up to the Bonanza Flat trailhead, then pedal over to 9K, which starts at the Empire Pass lot. Ride 9K to Blazing Saddles, climb Puke Hill, and drop Pinecone to Mid-Mountain. Pinecone is fast, flowy and mostly smooth, with some roots in the aspens and pines. Mid-Mountain is the link on this day, not the destination: follow it over to Spiro and get off on Seldom Seen, a one-way flow trail with big berms and jumps that have go-arounds. Check the current Park City Transit schedule before you go. Summer service runs more often Friday through Sunday, and each bus rack holds only a few bikes.
Afternoon: Start early so you get a rack spot on the bus and the altitude does not catch you out. Carry a layer, because 8,000 feet and up runs cooler than town and afternoon thunderstorms roll in fast.
Eats: Big-day appetite calls for a sit-down dinner in town.
Park City Mountain Bike Park
Morning: Lift-served gravity to finish. Park at the PCMR base off Kilby Rd at the Action Sports Hub, free and plentiful. Ride the Crescent chair for 1,700 feet of descent in a few minutes and lap the flow lines. If you are easing into jumps, Holy Roller is wide, smooth, and mellow, and the Woodward area is the friendliest place to progress.
Afternoon: Keep lapping while the legs hold. Bike haul on the Crescent Lift runs about 10am to 7pm through September, so there is no rush to cram it all in before lunch.
Eats: Base-area food between laps, then dinner in town.
Getting there
Fly in
- SLCSalt Lake City Intl35 min to town
Drive in
- From Salt Lake City, UT35 min
- From Moab, UT4 hr
- From Denver, CO8 hr
Drive times are approximate.