Experiences
Biking Around Park City: The Rail Trail and Town Loops
Paved trail network · Old Town to Kimball Junction · Almost entirely car free
Dani · 4 min read
Park City is one of the few American mountain towns you can genuinely live in by bicycle. The paved network is the reason, and the fastest way to understand which neighborhood you actually want.
Why you should go
Park City maintains a paved pathway system that links Old Town, Prospector, Park Meadows, Canyons Village, and Kimball Junction, and it is almost entirely separated from traffic. Add the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail running out toward Wanship and you have an afternoon that requires no car and no courage.
This is the ride to take on your first full day in town. It moves at conversation speed, it passes the coffee, the market, the schools, and the trailheads, and by the end of it you understand the geography of Park City better than any map or tour will teach you.
The town also runs free transit with bike racks, so the ride does not have to be a loop. Roll downhill for an hour, have lunch, and put the bike on a bus for the climb home. That single detail is what makes cycling here feel civilized rather than athletic.
The insider details
- Network
- Park City paved pathway system plus the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail State Park
- Trail resource
- mountaintrails.org
- Transit
- Park City Transit is free and buses carry bikes. parkcity.org
- Rentals
- Main Street and Kimball Junction shops rent town bikes, e-bikes, and kid trailers
- Season
- Generally late May through October, depending on snowmelt
- Price / Vibe
- $ · easy · family friendly · car free · scenic
When to go
- Best window: mornings before eleven, before the afternoon thunderstorm pattern builds in July and August.
- Best family ride: Old Town out to Kimball Junction, then transit home with the bikes on the rack.
- Best long ride: the Rail Trail out of Prospector, a steady railroad grade with almost no climbing.
- Best seasonal feel: late September, when the aspens turn and the path is nearly empty.
- An e-bike removes the altitude question entirely for guests visiting from sea level.
How to ride it
- If you ride one route
- Old Town to Kimball Junction on the paved path, lunch there, transit back
- Best easy distance
- The Rail Trail out and back, turn around whenever the group says so
- Best with children
- The lower valley paths near Willow Creek, wide, flat, and shaded
- Best rental choice
- Class one e-bikes for guests arriving from sea level
- Best finish
- Bottom of Main Street, patio table, nothing else planned
The Cozy Score
- Ease9.4
- Exclusivity6.0
- Atmosphere9.1
- Local cred9.3
- Family factor9.6
- Difficulty getting in1.5
Local intel
- Trail connectivity is a real property feature here. Homes that touch the network price differently from homes that do not.
- Free transit with bike racks turns a one way ride into the default plan.
- Afternoon storms are common in midsummer and they arrive quickly. Ride early.
- The Rail Trail is a state park and it stays open long after the singletrack has gone muddy in spring.
- When we tour, I will show you which addresses put a trailhead at the end of the driveway.
The look of the day
