Skill Level: Intermediate to Difficult.

Trail Type: 9 mile loop, Singletrack with some road. 900 feet elevation gain.

The Mountain Ogden Bench, which forms the eastern border of this city of 80,000 is a veritable spider web of trails, so there are numerous starting points to this ride. The 29^th Street trailhead has bathrooms and ample parking, so that’s as good a place as any to kick off. Ride up for .2 miles, and you’ll come to a signpost. The right eventually turns into the Waterfall Canyon trail. You can go this way, but it’s loose, and you’ll see a lot of hikers.

It was a fun little ride until Mr. Rattles Junior decided to sun himself across the trail.

Take a left instead (signed for Taylor Canyon South), and hop on this first well-travelled singletrack on your right. This will climb for a half mile and about 100 feet until it meets the Shoreline Trail. Take a right and start climbing. The trail will cross Waterfall Canyon and Strong Canyon, and you’ll emerge on a flat singletrack on the bench above Weber State University. Watch for a singletrack forking off to the left, signed for Beus Canyon.

Check it out on Skidmap

After climbing for about a mile, the trail will split. Pick your poison here. The left is higher, a little rougher and more difficult to ride. The right is smoother. They both meet again after about a half mile. Another half mile or so after that will take you to the Beus Canyon Trail. There’s good riding to the left up the canyon as a spur. The right will drop you down the canyon for 400 vertical feel of descending in a half mile.

The best time to ride is early spring and late fall, to avoid both Ogden’s desert heat, and the rattlesnakes. “That trail is chock full of ‘em,” says local photographer Chad Spector. “Can’t recall the last time I was up there without running into one.”

From here, take a right on Taylor Ave. to Country Hills Dr., and get back on dirt behind Weber State’s football stadium. Follow the relatively flat singletrack for about two miles back to 29^th Street.

For eats, Slackwater Pub has great pizza and calzones, alarge beer selection, live music, and has been known to feature mountain bike flicks on the TV screen. If table service doesn’t fit your schedule, hit up Lucky Slice on 25^th street. The best shop in Ogden is Skyline Cycles.