Squaw Peak Downhill Mountain Bike Trail

The Squaw Peak Downhill Trail is one of the best downhill trails to be found in Utah County. Close to Provo and Orem, this intermediate technical trail can be ridden quickly after work or when you don't have time for a longer ride. It is a fast-paced single track ride with plenty of opportunities to catch air. The highest point of the trail is at about 7830 ft elevation and when you reach the bottom of the single track and hit pavement you will be at about 5100 ft elevation which gives you an awesome 2,730 ft single track decent with very few uphill climbs.

How to get there

To get to the trail head, drive up Provo Canyon from Provo or Orem and about 1.8 miles up the canyon you will see a turn-off on the right-hand side of the road for the Squaw Peak Road. Turn right onto the Squaw Peak Road and drive up until it forks left and right. Take the left fork which soon turns into an improved dirt road. From the fork the trail head is about 3.25 miles. You will know you are at the trail head when you see a wooden fence on your right and the dirt road starts to go down ahead of you. The GPS Coordinates of the trail head are: Latitude 40°16'58.22"N Longitude 111°36'18.48"W

When you get there you will see there is not a whole lot of room to park. There is a small turn-out less than 500 feet before you get to the trail head and this will be your best bet for parking. Make sure you pull off the road as much as you can to avoid causing problems for other drivers.

The Ride

From the trail head you will go mostly uphill for about .25 miles and then from there it is all pretty much downhill with a couple of very short and manageable uphill sections. At one point the trail meets up with the dirt road you came up. Go to the left and ride around the bend until you spot the trail again on the left side of the road. You will go downhill again until you meet up with the Squaw Peak Overlook.

From the overlook the trail starts again at the North end of the parking lot on the left-hand side of the road. This section coming down from the overlook is very straight, steep, and fast and will heat up your brakes very quickly so it's a good idea to make sure your brakes are in top condition before the ride (and don't touch your rotors or rims to see how hot they are). After this section you will come to a fork where you can either head up a big hill or turn left before it. You can go either way because they both get you to the same place. If you go up the hill then be prepared from some very steep and slippery downhill coming off the hill. Inexperienced riders should not go up the hill. Then, you should come to a big and open area where there are a few trails that crisscross each other. This can be a fun area to spend a few minutes riding around in because there are a few good jumps and berms.

The trail picks up again on the south side of this open area. There are a few different branches of the trail and most of them should get you to the next play area where some people have spent the time building some amazing jumps from crates and from dirt. I wouldn't recommend taking any of the jumps unless you have a freeride bike and experience with huge jumps. This play area is located at the following GPS Coordinates in case you get lost: Latitude: 40°18'11.13"N Longitude 111°38'15.85"W

After you play at the Freeride Play Area the trail picks up again going toward the Northwest and then turns south. Once again there are many trails that cross each other here but it's up to you which one you take. You will start heading into a ravine and there is a trail (not single track) that goes along the right and left sides of the ravine. You will want to stay on the left side and follow the trail around to the West side of the hill with a gazebo on top. From this west side there is a single track trail you will follow that heads West initially and then zigzags down the foothills until you come to a Cemetery sign that tells you not to keep going straight. Heed the sign and head East following the trail through some scrub oak until you come out onto East Lawn Drive.

The ride ends here. Please be curteous to the East Lawn Cemetery as they have provided trail access on their property. If mountain bikers and hikers are not curteous they may discontinue trail access on their property.

Logistics

Due to the nature of the trail it is necessary to have a car parked at the bottom to be used as a shuttle to get you back up to your cars at the trail head. If you are lucky enough to have a non-mountain biker friend or family member that is willing to drop you off at the top it would be ideal so you wouldn't have to drive back up to get your car.

Resources

Google Earth KMZ File: Squaw-Peak-Downhill-Trail.kmz
GPX File: Squaw-Peak-Downhill-Trail.gpx
Garmin HST File: Squaw-Peak-Downhill-Trail.hst
Garmin CRS File: Squaw-Peak-Downhill-Trail.crs