Scattered yellows and reds are becoming more common in the trees as summer fades away. 

In Northern Utah, the fall leaf-viewing window can be narrow and hard to plan for. This year, The Farmers’ Almanac and OpenSnow meteorologists are expecting the maples and aspens along the Wasatch Back to start turning within the next two weeks, with colors peaking from early to mid-October.

Justin Brown, co-owner of guide company All Seasons Adventure, is no stranger to leading hikes built around the fall. 

“The way we approach it is to try to follow the colors,” Brown said. “Generally, those are (starting at) higher elevations and working lower.”

Brown said he’s observed that the autumn colors arrive slightly later but with brighter hues when there’s late summer rain, and the leaves stay on the trees longer. He thinks the heavy precipitation throughout August will be a good sign for a bright, colorful autumn.

Early in the season, Brown said Bonanza Flat is a good location to see aspens. Lofty Lake Loop and Bald Mountain along Mirror Lake Highway are great for those seeking a little more adventure, he said. Both are considered moderate trails, but with different challenges. Lofty Lake Loop is just around 5 miles long with little elevation gain. The Bald Mountain trail is just under 3 miles, but there’s a steep climb of 1,200 feet to see the summit.

Along with hikes and scenic drives, Brown said fall is an excellent time for mountain biking because of the cooler temperatures.

Travis Engvall, community outreach supervisor for Basin Recreation, recommended a variety of trails for hiking or biking, from the longer routes like the 16-mile Flying Dog trail or 9-mile Rob’s Trail to shorter trails like Willow Creek or the Right Turn Sage loop.

“The mixed-surface trail system around Willow Creek offers a more accessible way to enjoy fall colors,” Engvall said.

Brown also recommended fly fishing during late fall, especially through the Middle Provo River area.

“The later colors where the Cottonwoods are still trying to change can be really nice,” Brown said. “Throughout the fall, as that yellow creeps down, that’s really cool to see from the riverside.”

For people looking to bring dogs along, Engvall recommended visiting the Run-A-Muk off-leash dog area. The area has beginner and intermediate hiker-only trails where dogs are safe to run free.

Cascade Springs, Guardsman Pass and Empire Pass are also highly recommended for fall drives, along with the classic Alpine Loop. 

Another popular hike is the Horse Flat trail along the Alpine Loop. The trail starts at the top of Cascade Springs and follows through meadows and aspen groves to an overlook of Mount Timpanogos. Early morning is the best time for this trail.

Trails in the Park City area can be busy during fall weekends, so Engvall said to plan accordingly and park only in designated areas. Preparation also includes checking trail regulations before heading out on an e-bike or bringing along dogs, packing plenty of water and always sharing details and estimated return times with someone outside of your party. 

Brown advised hikers to stay cautious of moose over the next few weeks. Bull moose become more active during the fall, so Brown said it’s important to give them as much space as possible, at least 100 yards.

“It’s a really great time as a local to get out and experience the town,” Brown said.

The post How, when and where to see the best fall leaves in the Wasatch Back this year appeared first on Park Record.

Hundreds of people turned out for the annual Running with Ed relay Saturday morning, May 20, 2017. Teams began at the Basin Recreation Fieldhouse and ran all over town. (Tanzi Propst/Park Record)

Link to full gallery here: https://parkrecordphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/dynamic.mg?AlbumID=107839450&AlbumKey=Lnm26N

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Fat-tire biking is a growing craze on the winter trails in Park City and its surrounding areas. If there’s good snow and it’s a nice day outside, chances are that someone with a fat bike, essentially a mountain bike on steroids with its four-inch wide tires, is out and about.

Despite having a plethora of trails to share in Park City, fat biking has ruffled some feathers of others in the winter sport community.

“It’s having an effect on the trails locally, especially winter-use trails,” Executive Director of the Mountain Trails Foundation Charlie Sturgis said. “The skier-biker interface is new and proven to be challenging.”

Fat biking is still relatively new. It’s easy to see the draw for local athletes, especially mountain bikers. Essentially, the new sport allows cyclists to continue their choice of exercise throughout the winter months. The fat tires make it easier to gain traction in the snow and it’s grown in popularity in the last three years.

Todd Henneman, who owns Storm Cycles in Kimball Junction, said that while this year didn’t see a huge jump in fat bike rentals or sales, the sport still kept them busy. This is the store’s third year in existence, so it’s seen the effects of the sport firsthand.

“The first winter, we sold a few, but last winter — our second winter — it went up a bunch,” Henneman said. “We sold quite a few and we also supported it with rentals. This winter has kind of been in line with the previous winter. Not like a massive jump, but we sold a similar amount of bikes.”

Part of this is due to the abundance of snow that graced Park City this season. While decent snowfall makes for excellent fat biking conditions, it also creates opportunities for solid skiing. Since the winter sports draw similar crowds, Henneman believes that most chose to head to the slopes instead of the trails this winter.

The snow, though, allowed Mountain Trails to create a fat-bike-specific trail at Round Valley so that users could head there instead of the ski trails. While some have used it, it hasn’t completely kept fat bikers and Nordic skiers apart.

In fact, the Nordic skiing community, though not all of it, has had some issues with fat bikers these last few seasons. According to Chris Magerl, the trails and grooming board member at The Utah Nordic Alliance (TUNA) for the last 15 years, it all depends on the snow.

“The issue is that snow is very dynamic,” Magerl said. “It’s constantly changing. There are times a fat bike can be out and do virtually no damage to the trail. And there’s other times when fat biking with a four-inch tire can leave a wide, weaving trench right down the middle of the track that makes it unsafe for any Nordic skier.”

For Magerl, it’s simple: if you’re leaving a trench or rut, go somewhere else. Not only can it make it unsafe for cross-country skiers, or even other bikers, it can have long-lasting effects on the trail itself.

And the bikers agree.

“There’s an optimal time to ride one and there’s times where you probably don’t want to go out because it’s going to be a struggle and it won’t be any good,” Henneman said.

So do those at Mountain Trails.

“Our slogan is, ‘Ruts Suck,’” Sturgis said. “If you leave a rut, it’s detrimental to any number of things, whether that’s creating erosion or whether it’s dangerous for an intermediate skier. A ski track isn’t dangerous for the biker, but the bike track is dangerous for the skier.”

Everyone seems to believe that all of the winter sports, including fat biking, can coincide. Mountain Trails has installed signs on some of its trails to guide fat-tire bikers to specific trails, but sometimes, that’s not enough. A little extra work is needed from all parties.

It starts with the shops, like Storm Cycles. For each person that either buys or rents a fat bike, a simple solution to the problem would be to provide them with information about proper etiquette before making the sale final. Henneman and company have been doing so with their customers, but there’s a group of people interested in the new craze coming up from the Salt Lake Valley that may not get that same orientation.

“We definitely see a lot of bikes coming out of Salt Lake and we feel like people are picking them up and showing up with really no idea what the etiquette is,” Sturgis said. “We’re going to make an effort next fall to work with some of the Salt Lake dealers.”

The fat-tire biking community also needs to step up. Magerl, who is also an avid cyclist, likened the situation to when mountain biking was up-and-coming back in the day. There was a lot of pushback to stay off of the trails, but thanks to the mountain biking advocates, it’s now welcome in the community.

It starts with creating fat-bike-specific trails. While there is one at Round Valley, the area needs more.

“I think people will think it’s fairly dull to ride on the ski trail when they can ride on single track,” Magerl said. “Fat-bike-specific trails really aren’t fun and aren’t appropriate for skiers, so skiers won’t be on them. But that’s going to require the fat biking community helping to fund that, helping to build those, helping maintain those and helping to educate riders that this is the fun place to be.”

In addition to all of these things that the community can do, there’s another simple answer that all can agree with: time.

“The intended ski areas, though, are not for ski only,” Sturgis said. “They’re for everybody to use. Like everything, just like educating walkers to stay on side of track and not in classic lanes or reeling your dog in as skiers move towards you, all those things take a little bit of time. We’ll improve with various types of educational messaging that we try to put out there and that other groups put out there. It takes time.”

That said, Magerl wants to warn those in the fat biking community to heed all of the advice that is already out there. Even though a majority of a group might understand the rules and etiquette, all it takes is one person to ruin the fun for all.

“Unfortunately, there are some people who just don’t care about any other user,” Magerl said. “They don’t care that they’re messing it up or making it unsafe for everyone else. There are a few bad apples.”

The end goal? Everyone gets to have fun enjoying the sport that they love.

“It’s a good thing to remind people that the management policy, for Round Valley particularly, is non-motorized recreational use,” Sturgis said. “That means all these groups are welcome to join in together and they’ve just got to be cognizant of all the people in the sandbox. Some of us show up with different toys, but we all have a right to have a good time.”

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