This trail is pleasant as far as aesthetics go. However, I would caution that this may not be the best trail for cycling. The trail is laden with puncture vine. We had four flat tires over the ride, and not enough tubes. Also, I would recommend starting in Park City rather than Echo, as there will be less uphill riding.

This trail is currently closed where it crosses under I-80 near Kimball Junction due to construction work on the I 80 bridge. So you can only ride about 7 miles out from Park City before you must turn back. It is anticipated that it wil reopen somtime late fall 2011

My suggestion is that you drive to Coalville and ride to Park City in the morning when the wind is nil.... My favorite cafe in Park City is just about a half block West of the end of the trail. Windy Ridge Cafe has a great outside flowered patio and visible bike racks off the patio... Great food ant reasonable prices... Then enjoy the flat to downhill ride all the way back to Coalville...... :) Lots of wild trout in the Weber River close to Coalville and Wanship and the small stream, just before you reach Park City... Enjoy!... :)

The second mile of asphalt surface out of Park City is in poor condition. It appears that it may be resurfaced soon. New Asphalt for the third mile ending at Hwy 248. The dirt portion of the trail is to soft to pedal a 3 wheeler. It would help if the maintenance Personnel would not always drive in the same tracks. They could pack a 36 “ wide trail with out more expense by just driving on the soft edge of their previous track.
Noel Keller 6 May 2011

Just walked 20 miles of this trail on Saturday. We had 4 adults and 9 scouts all complete the 20 miles of the trail in 7.5 hours. We started in Park City, and ended in Hoytsville. If you are going to walk this trail, I highly recommend starting in Park City and walking DOWN. Trail is very safe, and we enjoyed walking along the stream for most of the hike. We even had a baby moose accompany us for the i-80 canyon portion of the trail.

The trail may be snow-packed at this point, but we enjoyed a very nice hike! I recommend stopping at the picnic table between miles 9 & 10 for lunch. If you only want to do 20 miles, you can exit the trail about 1/4 mile past the 20-mile marker at the Hobson Lane overpass in Hoytsville.

I started out in the wide open plains, just before Atkinson at 11 am. The wind was behind me, and great views all along the way. It's downhill mostly to Wanship, then it levels out. There is a beautiful river by the trail, and lots of beautiful pastures. There's some really old barns and mills along the way.
I rode to Coalville and decided to turn back, so I could be back before dark. As I turned around, I was faced with riding straight into the wind....all the way back, with a gentle uphill climb from Wanship back to my vehicle. Took me forever, and I had to walk a lot of the way. I was absolutely exhausted. But all in all I really enjoyed the experience.
I encountered a young moose on the trail which was really neat, and when I finally reached the open plains near Park City, I got to enjoy an absolutely beautiful sunset over the snow tipped Wasatch Mountains. If you go, it might be better to start out by Echo Lake, so the wind will be at your back on the way back in. The whole trip took me about 6 hours.

The correct coordinates on the picture of Park City Trail Head are
N40.66130 W111.49787 elev 6817’.
Parking for the Park City Trail Head is off Prospective Ave.
Noel Keller

"My husband and I rode this trail from Coalville to Park City. We went in the middle of the day which was dumb, but that was the only time we had. We weren't acclimated to the altitude (our home is in Texas, 300 ft. above sea level!) but that didn't seem too much of a problem. I was getting really tired and thought we would never get to Park City, but I enjoyed the ride very much.

I had had my hip replaced 8 months previously so my condition wasn't what it should have been. Nevertheless, I thought I did pretty well for a 48 year-old grandma! We'll do the trail again next time we're in Utah, but we'll have SALTY snacks with us and go early in the morning if possible.

It's so nice not to have to worry about traffic. That's what I love about rail-trails. My husband rode the trail back to Coalville, but I wimped out! I went to McDonald's and got the biggest order of french fries I could get with EXTRA salt!"

"Started our journey down near echo resevior. The goal was to get 50 miles. My 11 year old son was trying to get his Boy Scout Cycling Merit Badge. Started out at 11:00 a.m., Monday, July 1. We wore 70 oz. Camel Backs and had 16 oz. water bottles on our bikes. We had to do the 50 miles in 8 hours or less to earn the badge. Passed by Coalville on 1/2 mile of pavement. Then the trail went back to hard-packed dirt. Temperatures were in the 90's. Very flat ride until you start nearing Wanship, Utah.

Beautiful stream accompanies you for most of the ride, but you're out in the sun during this whole ride so we were constantly looking for a shady spot to rest. Made 7 stops on our way to Park City. There are tables under some freeway over-passes, and that was really nice! In other shady spots, we just sat on the ground and ate power bars. Went through 4 power bars each for the whole trip. Consumed all water by the time we reached Park City, we had to refill! The hill going into Park City is not very bad (1 - 2% grade I think). Refilled our water supplies and began our trip back.

Costed our mountain bikes most of the way down from Park City. Peddaled acroos the open plain to Promintory, and then costed again down to Wanship. Had a tail wind most of that distance, but as we began riding towards Hoytsville, picked up a head wind. By the time we reached Coalville we were exhausted. At 42 miles, the sun was getting to us and we started feeling nausia. We hit the 50 mile mark and had no water left. Bring lots of water if you do this trail in the summer. You'll be in the sun most of the time. Use a very high Sun Block (SPF 30, or 45) to protect yourself from the intense sun. We did it, and it was a beautiful trail, but the winds can be tough, so prepare well! Both my son and I drank over a gallon of water on this trip, so again, bring a big (100 oz?) Camelback.

One more note, it took us 5 hours and 45 minutes to ride 50 miles on this trail. Not bad for 40 year old out-of-shape Scout Master and an energetic 11 year old Boy Scout! I think kids will definitely enjoy a shorter version of this trip! :-)"

"Downhill most of the war from Park City to Echo, you will find this an enjoyable one-way ride from Park City with pickup points along the way where the trail crosses several roads. Alternatively, one could ride up from anywhere along the trail up to Park City and have nice return to their car. Amazing views of Parley's Park and surrounding mountains along the way. Only the section of trail through Wanship is paved, all else is gravel. I rode the trail from Park City on a Haluzak Horizon recumbent bicycle where I switched to the paved back-roads on my way to Henifer, Utah. This was the second leg of a three day ride from Orem/Provo -> Jordanell -> Henifer -> Big Mt/Emmigration Canyon ride. Camping at Jordanell and at Henifer, Utah along the way. If you have four days, plan a rest day at Henifer or further up east cayon before the last day which takes you on a 1500 - 2000 foot climb over Big Mt and then to Emmigration Cayon. The Union Pacific Trail is continuous from Park City to the Echo lake dam. It's a wonderful trail."