Mountain biking the Bobsled

May 25, 10:34 AMSalt Lake City Outdoor Recreation ExaminerJared Hargrave

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Salt Lake City Outdoor Recreation Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

The Bobsled, a wild descent from the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, is a semi-technical series of rutted single track, stream beds, banking turns, jumps, obstacles, low-hanging branches, and several abandoned cars. Any mountain biker will tell you it's is the only way to ride down between City Creek Canyon and Dry Creek as Bobsled is a sort of test piece for the Bonneville Shoreline. Talk to a fellow biker about riding above Salt Lake City, and they will always ask if you've tried Bobsled.

There's a reason that Bobsled has this reputation. If you're a beginner, Bobsled can be really scary. Intermediates can descend it okay, but tend to ride the brakes the whole way down. But experts have the ability to enjoy swooping through it like they really are on a bobsled track. They cruise the banking sidewalls at speed, catch air over rusty, 50's era vehicles, and launch their bikes off man-made jumps.

There are two ways to get into Bobsled. The first and original entrance is halfway between Dry Creek and City Creek where the Bonneville Shoreline Trail intersects with a hiking trail that drops into City Creek Canyon. Across from this trailhead is the steep and loose entry to the Bobsled. The second (and recommended) way to gain access is just south-east of the main entrance. A few years ago, mountain bikers who were tired of the loose, erosion-causing original entrance hacked a new trail through a grove of scrub oak. For a while this rouge trail was hard to find and only known by a few. But today, the “secret” entrance is obvious. There's even a wooden bench above it where you can sit and rest, or adjust your brakes and lower your seat before the thrilling descent.

If you survive the Bobsled, you end up on a street in the Federal Heights neighborhood. From here, you can ride the pavement back to wherever you parked your car. You can also pick the Bonneville Shoreline Trail back up at the nearby Terrace Hills trailhead.