Parking is at a premium along Park City’s Mid-Mountain trail, 26 miles of singletrack from Deer Valley to Kimball Junction. A project doubling the spaces at the southern trailhead was delayed last year.
Right now, the northern edge terminates in the Pinebrook trail system, which is private.
But on July 1, Basin Recreation will break ground on a new connector trail to link Mid-Mountain to the Ecker Hill park-and-ride.
The Mid-Mountain Connector will traverse Hi-Ute Ranch, a series of foothills between Ecker Hill Middle School and Utah Olympic Park.
The trail was made possible when the landowner donated the 344 acres adjacent to Ecker Hill to Utah Open Lands late last year. The nonprofit land trust will contribute $35,000 to Mid-Mountain Connector construction.
Basin Rec got necessary approvals from the Park City School District to expand the trail system around Ecker, including the connector, May 20.
Basin Rec Trails and Open Space Manager Phares Gines told KPCW it will likely be a two-summer project. He estimated the Mid-Mountain Connector will be ready in fall 2026.
The July 1 groundbreaking was made public in a Utah Open Lands press release May 28, which also announced new conservation efforts on the Hi-Ute property.
Those include noxious weed pulling and mitigation and regenerative grazing in partnership with 3 Springs Ranch.
Basin Recreation and Utah Open Lands are financial supporters of KPCW. For a full list, click here.
