The Pioneer Route (3-Day Bike Tour) – Summit County, Utah

Put your bicycle touring skills to the test on this three-day, intermediate-level bike tour in beautiful, historic Utah!

Here’s The Plan:

Saturday, June 25: We’ll meet in Park City, Utah around noon, prepare our bicycles and then take off on a 24-mile bike ride from old town Park City to the scenic shores of East Canyon State Park. We will be cycling slowly, traveling at a pace that everyone can enjoy and making multiple stops along the way. Except for three moderate hills and several short, but steep, inclines along the way, the route on this first day of cycling is mostly downhill.

We’ll make camp for the night at Big Rock Campground, which is situated on the southern edge of the East Canyon Reservoir in East Canyon State Park. After setting up camp, you have the choice of cycling around the rest of the reservoir (an additional 12-mile bike ride)… or staying in camp to relax. Around 6 PM, you’ll be served dinner. In the evening, after eating, we’ll sit around the campfire as a group, talk and tell stories about our bicycle touring adventures all around the world.

Sunday, June 26: After a good night’s rest in our tents, we’ll eat a quick breakfast, pack up our bicycles and then cycle 21 miles to the nearby town of Coalville, where we’ll spend our second night on the road camping in our tents at Echo State Park, along the shores of the scenic Echo Reservoir. During our bike ride, we’ll make our way over Desolation Pass (the most difficult climb of the entire bike tour), descend downhill into the tiny town of Henefer, spin through the historic train station in Echo, discover the history of the first individuals to ever ride their bikes across America. Then, we’ll eventually settle in the campground after a solid day of cycling.

Monday, June 27: On the last day of the tour, you’ll be greeted with a continental breakfast in the morning, after which we will pack up our bicycles and prepare to make our way back to Park City, Utah along the city’s historic Rail Trail (a 26-mile dirt and gravel route that used to be the location for the train tracks that ran silver out of the Park City mines and transported it to the west). This special route from Coalville to Park City is full of interesting historic stops along the way, where you will learn about the Ute natives after which the state of Utah is named, the history of silver mining in Park City, and you’ll get a chance to see the way many local ranches operate in the state of Utah in the modern day.

Important Information

Total Tour Distance: 70 miles (with an option to add up to 27 additional miles, if so desired)

• Day #1: 24 miles (with an additional 12-mile option)
• Day #2: 21 miles (with an additional 15-mile option)
• Day #3: 26 miles

This is not a bike tour for total beginners. This tour is for intermediate to advanced cyclists. If you are new to bicycle touring, that’s fine! This bike tour will be a good challenge for you. But you need to be a somewhat experienced cyclist, as there are several medium climbs and one large mountain pass to conquer along this route.

Come prepared for three solid days of cycling and two nights of camping. You will need to carry most of your own gear on your bicycle as you ride, although there will be a support vehicle to carry any items you can’t easily transport on your bike.

What’s Included:

• Three days of cycling
• Campground fees
• Two breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch
• Dessert each night
• Firewood at both campgrounds
• Drinking water + drinks for dinner/breakfast
• A commemorative “Bicycle Touring Pro” beanie (to keep your head warm at the campsite)
• Professional tour leadership from Darren Alff, the Bicycle Touring Pro
• Support vehicle – We will transport your food, clothing, camp chairs, and any other items you don’t want to carry on your bicycle from Park City, Utah to the campgrounds each night. (Don’t forget to bring a camp chair for the campfire in the evening!)

The cost to participate is $350 USD per person. This fee covers the cost of the campground, firewood, two dinners/desserts, one lunch, two continental breakfasts, a special “Bicycle Touring Pro” head beanie, professional tour leadership by Darren Alff (the Bicycle Touring Pro) and the transport of camp chairs/personal items between Park City and the campgrounds. You are responsible for getting to the tour’s starting location in Park City, Utah and you must bring your own bicycle, helmet, clothing, camping equipment, camp chair and anything else that you wish to bring.

Feel free to come alone, with a friend, family member, co-worker or loved one. This is a small, group bicycle, as there will be no more than 14 tour participants and 2 tour leaders participating in the tour.

Once again, this is not a beginner bike tour! This is the perfect bike tour, however, for someone who is relatively new to bicycle touring, but is an intermediate-level cyclist willing to put their multi-day bicycle touring skills to the test. The total distance for this bike tour is 70 miles, with options each day to cover additional distances, if you so wish.

If you have any questions about participating in this tour, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m happy to answer any questions that you might have.

IMPORTANT: If you sign up for the tour, please note that there are NO REFUNDS if you decide to cancel. If you sign up for the tour and then cancel at the last minute, you are preventing someone else from participating in the tour. Therefore, no refunds will be given. We will be doing the tour no matter what the weather.

I look forward to meeting you and I can’t wait to cycle with you on the three-day Pioneer Route bicycle tour in beautiful, historic Utah!