Utah's Wasatch Crest, is it for kids?

The Wasatch Crest Trail is one of the most beautiful trails in Utah.  It is a 12.5 mile trail that runs the distance between Big Cottonwood Canyon and Mill Creek Canyon. Along the trail you can view Park City, as well as several lakes and peaks on the Salt Lake Valley side.  This is a popular and well-travelled trail.  If you plan to ride in the early summer you will want to call local bike shops to see if anyone has ridden the trail yet.  You want to make sure it is open and ride able.  If snow fields are still covering the trail, you might want to consider waiting a few more weeks to ride.
The Crest trail is filled with many fun trail sections as well as challenges even for the most avid mountain biker.  Although this is an amazing trail it is not a trail you could take just any kid on.  The youngest kid I have seen on the trail was 10 years old.  He was in excellent shape, and had some obvious biking skills.  This trail is for bikers with lots of experience and has the ability to pace them. A good age range would be around 12 years old, with at least a one year of true mountain biking experience.(dirt roads don't count!)   The shortest time I have ridden this trail in about 1 1/2 hours, but that was really cranking on the uphill as well as down.  The average time our group has taken is about 2 1/2- 3 hours.  That time line gives us the ability to take our time, and wait for everyone to catch up.  The longest time was over five hours.  We had two preteens on bad bikes, and had numerous flats.   With that said your bike should be in good condition with tires that are in good condition.  Even getting a tune up right before the ride would be a great idea.  It would really suck if you got 6 miles in, and your bike broke!

Tips and Suggestions:

•  Remember the Millcreek trail only allows bikers on even numbered days!  A way to remember this and city creeks trail is "It is ODD to ride on the road, EVEN better to ride on dirt."
• Call a bike shop before you ride in the early summer.  You want to make sure the trail is open.
• The Millcreek gate is open from July 1st through Nov 1st.  There are less hikers and dogs when you bike before the gate opens.  The ride down from the end of the Crest to the gate is about 3 miles, all downhill. 
• You can ride down to the bottom of Millcreek, it is about 9 miles.  Add another 2 if you are biking to get your car parked at Dan's on Wasatch. 
• Consider taking the Pipeline trail to the bottom.  It starts about 1.6 miles down from the Crest.  It is an easy 6 mile ride to the bottom of the canyon.  You can always bail if you are too tired: after the series of 4 switch backs there is a "Y" as the trail flattens out.  Take a sharp left, the trail takes you back to the road. 
• Water! Don't forget your water! You will need it especially on warm days.
• Take a camera.
• Take a snack, or Power Bar.
• Wear your gear!  If you want to BOMB the downhill, wear your elbow and knee pads!  There is nothing worse than having an injury and not being able to complete the ride!  (Unless you want a Helli ride!)
• Ride in the morning, then you don't have the sun in your eyes as you descend into Millcreek.
• Use a bell, or a child’s horn to warn hikers that you are coming.
• Take a first aid kit.
• If you do decide take a young biker on this trail, please be patient!  I have seen a dad yelling his sobbing child to "Keep up with the group!"  Take your time and allow for breaks.

The best way to ride the Wasatch Crest trail is to use a shuttle. There is a shuttle that picks bikers up at the carpool parking by Dan's Food on 3961 S. Wasatch Blvd.  The cost is around $15 for you and your bike to be taken to the top of Guardsman’s pass.  If you have a group of friends, you can always meet at Dan’s, and use one vehicle to shuttle your group to the top of Guardsman. After the ride, you will have to go back up to the top of Guardsman to get your vehicle.  The best way is to have a driver that is willing to take you to the top of Guardsman, and drop your car off at Dan’s, or pick you up at the top of Millcreek Canyon.

The Wasatch Crest starts in two different places. 
Lower Wasatch Crest Guardsman Road trail head: Get to Big Cottonwood Canyon (Wasatch Blvd and 72nd South) and drive up past Solitude Resort (about 15 miles). Just before you reach Brighton, the road to Guardsman Pass turns off on your left. At 0.8 miles, you'll see a red metal gate. Exactly one mile later (1.8 miles from the fork in the road), you'll see a dirt road on the left. GPS N 40° 36.817' W 111° 33.532'.  You can park anywhere along the hairpin turn.  Ride down a steep dirt road to a gate, carry your bike over the gate, and you are ready to start the trail. 
Upper Wasatch Crest Guardsman Trail Head:  Travel past the hairpin turn (as stated above) to the top of the road, before it descends into the Park City side. There will be a dirt parking lot on your right side at the very top of the canyon, you can park anywhere.  Just north of the parking lot is a dirt road, which is the start of the trial.  As you start up the dirt road, you will see a single track off to your left, which is the start of the Upper Wasatch Crest Trail. 
The difference between starting on the lower or upper is a little less uphill climbing.  The upper section starts you right at the base of the most intense "Puke Hill" climb.  The climb is properly named for the feeling you get if you make it up the entire mile of the pure uphill climb.    If you start on the lower section, you will have a mile of climbing before you start your "Puke Hill" Climb. 

Once you reach the top of the hill, you can look into Park City, and overlook Solitude and Brighton ski resorts.  This one of the many beautiful over looks you will have during your ride. 

The Wasatch Crest is one of the most beautiful and intense trails in Utah.  If you don't want to ride the almost 13 miles into Millcreek you have another option.  As you continue on the Wasatch Crest you will come to what is called the "Spline."  The Spline is a red jagged rock that most bikers cannot ride.  The lake down below is Dog Lake, and there is a "Y" at the bottom of the trail.   You go right, or up to continue your ride on the Crest.  You can shorten your ride by taking a left turn at the "Y" and riding by Dog Lake.   The Dog Lake trail is rocky and loose as you descend.  You finish your ride by the Meeting of the Glaciers area, or out at the Dog Lake trail head.  Riding the trail this way eliminates the need of a shuttle, but then you miss the pristine dark dirt trail in Millcreek that makes the Wasatch Crest so liked. 

If you ride the full Wasatch Crest trail you will take the Right at the "Y" taking you to the division between Big Cottonwood, and Mill Creek.  When you get to that area you will see the designated sign.  The sign will also tell you "bikers are only allowed on even numbered days."  From this section on are some of most amazing trails in Utah!  You will ride through pines, aspens trees, and streams.  When you reach the lower section of the trail with the dark dirt, smell of pines, and a smooth trail you will know why so many people love this trail!

 As you near the bottom of the Wasatch Crest, be aware that there will be more hikers and dogs.  This trail allows dogs, and some days there are many.  The dogs are required to be on a leash, but many people don't abide by the rule.  You can find yourself flying over your handle bars trying to stop for a dog that is on the trail! 
A series of 3 switch backs is cue that you are almost to the bottom of the trail.   There is another "Y" that you come to at the bottom of the trail, KEEP LEFT.  The right will lead you to a shorter, steeper trail and you end up in the upper parking lot of the top of Millcreek.   Staying left you get a slightly longer, better ride.  Both trails end at about the same spot.