The Wasatch Trails Foundation is proud of the work it did in 2024.
“It was a huge year for us,” Executive Director Mia Yue said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” earlier this month. “We were able to … finish two major trail projects that we've been working on for a long time, and start two other major trail projects that we've been working on for a long time.”
Wasatch Trails has been working to link the Wasatch Over Wasatch trail, which runs from Deer Valley Resort down to Wasatch Mountain State Park, to other trails in the area.
That includes linking WOW to the new trail system at Deer Valley’s East Village expansion.
“It is called Tricky Pickle, and you can — well, not anymore — but in the springtime, it'll be officially open, and you'll be able to ride it from the WOW trail and access it from other zones as well,” Yue said.
And her team broke ground on the Bonanza to WOW connector this year. It will be a singletrack path linking the new Bonanza Loop trail to the Wasatch Over Wasatch.
“That was a project that has been in the works for almost six years now, and there have been plenty of times that we thought that we weren't going to Get it across the line. So we are super excited that the crew started building this year.”
The other two projects Yue highlighted included renovating an illegal downhill mountain bike and hiking trail in Wasatch Mountain State Park. Park-goers cut it during the COVID-19 pandemic, but next year it will officially appear on the park’s trail map.
Wasatch Trails is also developing the advanced Springer Hollow downhill trail, which splits off the Maple Grove trail down to the WOW trail’s midpoint. Yue hopes it will mitigate WOW trail traffic when complete.
The Wasatch Trails Foundation manages nearly 200 miles of trails in Wasatch County. Funding for these projects comes from Vail’s EpicPromise, the Mountain Trails Foundation and other grants.
