It was a crisp Sunday morning when we set out onto the McLeod Creek Trail, the air cool and clear. We gazed over at the McPolin Barn, standing majestically — our town’s signature welcome mat and picture postcard.
Every time I see the barn, I harken back to my early days in Park City. I remember my bewilderment when our new mayor, Brad Olch, proposed spending millions of city dollars on … a barn? We had plenty of barns in Wisconsin, where I came from. I didn’t understand what the fuss was about.
That was 1990. Now I understand. Now, each time I pass by I feel a quiet gratitude — for what was saved, for what remains.
Amid the hustle and bustle of our hometown, this Sunday morning bicycle ride carried us away from the rhythm of S.R. 224 and into a gentler cadence — alongside creeks, through fields, and past the edges of working ranches. It was a pastoral journey steeped in stillness and marked by places we as a community have fought to preserve.
McLeod Creek, born high in the Wasatch and fed by the legendary Spiro Tunnel, meanders between Iron Mountain and Quarry Mountain, its path shaped by time and beaver dams. On this early morning, its soft babble harmonized with the melodic chimes of the sound garden nestled along its shore.
Through Copper Moose Farms, I paused to admire the metal sculptures of cyclists gliding in frozen motion across the field.
Crossing over to Willow Creek, I took a short detour to catch a glimpse of the Osguthorpe farm field along Old Ranch Road. All around me, from Miss Billie’s on S.R. 224 eastward to Round Valley — preserved as playgrounds on a canvas of earth and sky.
I got out of the saddle to hightail it over the little bridge as we reached the Swaner Preserve as a homeowner worked to clear a shrub from overhanging the trail. The fields took on a purple hue with Oregon checkerbloom blossoming. Further down the trail, snow-white yarrow added a distinguished flair.
Past farmhouses, over bridges, and along boardwalks, we circumnavigated much of the 850 acres of this side of the Swaner Preserve. The old farmstead on S.R. 224 was once a stagecoach stop owned by Burton Kimball and his Kimball Brothers Stage Line from 1872 to 1890. The great expanse of land dates back to ancestral Shoshone and was ranched up to the mid-’90s. When the Swaner family transitioned from ranching, they recognized the benefits of restoring the wetlands and preserving the land.
Today, we enjoy their generosity every time we cast a gaze over the open expanse of wetlands.
After a quick stop at the Bagel Den, it was back to the trail. From Highland Road to Bitner Road, we sped through open land.
There’s a lot of history at the Bitner Ranch, which once spanned out to the north and east for over 20,000 acres. Today, the old stone homestead and barns are remnants of the property’s illustrious past.
Going back in time, it was once a stage stop owned by William Kimball. Around the turn of the 20th century, it was acquired by the Bitner family.
The new Mammoth Drive connector offers cyclists a peaceful ride along the edge of the active sheep farm. In winter, elk wander through. Today, Suffolk sheep gathered at the fence line, curious and unbothered, like neighbors checking in.
For me, this part of the ride opened a door to the future. The fate of this ranch is uncertain. I hope that decades from now, others will ride this same path and find peace in the quiet gaze of sheep beneath an open sky.
Pedaling home to Silver Creek Estates, I reflected on the morning with a sense of gratitude and pride. I’m thankful I have a ride like this in my hometown. But we have rides like this because we’ve all pitched in to preserve this land and create these trails. We have organizations like Summit Land Conservancy and Mountain Trails to help lead us. For nearly four decades, we’ve been taking care of where we live.
And that’s what makes a Sunday ride in Park City more than just a ride.
DETAILS
Trail: Park in the McLeod Creek Trailhead across from the McPolin Barn. Follow the McLeod Creek and Willow Creek Trails to Swaner Preserve, then around to Highland Drive, Bitner Road, and Mammoth Drive. That entire route is about nine miles, trending downhill. You can shuttle yourself back, or get a High Valley microtransit.
Ability Level: Anyone can do this ride, so it’s great for the family.