UT-226 | Old Snowbasin Road

  • Distance: 9.9 Miles (15.93 km)
  • Rating: 4-D, Gloriously technical, and built on unstable soil so the road moves every winter, making for less-than-perfect asphalt Ratings Explained »
  • Travel: Either direction for best results
  • Start: Junction UT-167 and UT-226
  • End: Junction UT-226 and UT-39
  • Fuel: Available in Mountain Green or Huntsville
  • Along the Way: The road passes Snowbasin Ski resort, home of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
  • Highlights: Its a long forgotten section of road so its rarely used, receives little maintenance, but little attention – so just like the Count of Monte Cristo, neglect becomes your ally.
  • Advisories: The road has been blocked to prevent automotive traffic from using this route, however, motorcycle can easily get around the barricades. Do so at your own risk.

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Summary

Long ago, there was only way way to access Snowbasin. It used to be called “Snowbasin Road”. In order to qualify for an Olympic venue, there needed to be two roads accessing the location. So a new road was constructed. As you leave UT-167, Trappers Loop Road, and head west onto UT-267 you’ll find yourself on the brand New Snowbasin road, sweeping asphalt that snakes it’s way towards the ski resort. Passing a couple access points to the ski resort, you’ll be at a large parking area with an ominous orange sign that appears to claim that the road ahead is closed. It’s not. This is where the New Snowbasin Road transitions to the Old Snowbasin Road.

Immediately the road will drop down as short steep hill, narrow dramatically and the asphalt will be in much worse condition. Tremendous amounts of water flow off the ski resort every spring, and every spring the road sloughs and moves with all the water flowing beneath it. This is part of what gives the road it’s character. Huge swells are sprinkled unexpectedly among a myriad of challenging corners. The road will eventually open up to reveal a glorious series of sweeping corners that climb up and through a saddle before dropping back towards Huntsville.

Once over the top expect there to be a fair bit of home building, so be wary while navigating the plethora of complex, downhill switchbacks, most of which will have gravel strewn into the riding path, so expect it to be there.

While not the most glamorous road in our list, we still extract a great deal of joy from riding it. Like most technical routes it rewards smooth, deliberate, planned riding but punishes over-zealous throttle hands and inattention. That said, even we avoid this road during the early season and visit only during late summer and autumn months because that is when the road is most clear.

Road Rating System

The first part of our rating describes how technical we feel that road is. Numbers one through five with five being the most technical and one being a more mellow road with few challenging corners. The second half of the rating is a letter grade. A rating of “A” would be a road that is in great condition and a grade-F would be a crumbly, slippery or degraded surface.

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