​TGR’s Guide to The Deer Valley Bike Park

One thing we’ve learned is that bike parks aren’t all built the same. It’s the little things that make the great ones stand out, and the Deer Valley Bike Park is full of those things. This summer, we were treated to a sneak peek of the trails on the eve of opening day back in June, gathering the TGR team along with a bunch of heavy-hitting athletes from Esperanto like Brooke Anderson, Carson Storch, Gift Puteho, Blake Hansen, Hannah Bergemann and Sophie Gregory. With the ski area’s reputation for impeccable service and luxury, we were excited to see what the summer vibes were all about.

With a crew of riders hungry for airtime, we wasted no time heading straight for the bike park’s jump lines. Loading up the Sterling Express lift, it’s a quick trip to the top. As a quick warm up lap, we rolled through Tidal Wave, a three-mile lap featuring over 50 jumps to get comfortable getting your wheels off the ground.

Nick Clark taking in all the aspens. | Max Ritter photo.

Next up was Tsunami. Built by the world-renowned trailbuilders at Gravity Logic, the expert level flow trail features a series of 25 to 30-foot tabletops, step downs, and shark fins, all tied together with perfect berms and rollers to keep speed. It’s the perfect venue for showcasing style and party trains with your friends, and we quickly realized we’d be lapping these perfectly-manicured jumps all day long.

Brooke Anderson boosting on Tsunami. | Max Ritter photo.

After a few jump laps, it was time to explore the mountain’s more technical offerings. Deer Valley has a heritage of hosting some of the best enduro and downhill races in North America, and the tracks are as gnarly as ever. Off the top of Sterling Express, we dove into the gnar of Fire Swamp, featuring some massive natural drops, rock gardens and high-speed corners. That was so fun we headed right back up for a lap whooshing through the aspen groves down Thieves Forest, which parallels Fire Swamp and features more of the same. A quick pedal (or lift ride up Homestake Express) brought us to the top of NCS, likely one of the steepest and rawest trails in the valley, and one filled with downhill racing lore.

Local Drew Palmer-Leger digging deep on Fire Swamp. | Max Ritter photo.

For those that want to keep it a little mellower, classics like the 4.2-mile Holy Roller and the big berms of Naildriver are a great place to hone the skills and get comfortable at speed.

Of course, it’s not all about time on the mountain when at Deer Valley. With a slew of restaurants and cafes across both base areas, there’s no shortage of places to eat and drink. Our favorite breakfast spot was undoubtedly the Deer Valley Grocery and Café, with delicious plated breakfast sandwiches and burritos and a killer cup of espresso. On the mountain, the Royal Street Café and the Silver Lake Grab and Go are awesome quick options for lunch and snacks or a place to grab an après beer.

Crew vibes are always high at Deer Valley! | Max Ritter photo.

With summer still in full swing, we're teaming up with Deer Valley for the ultimate summer bike park trip. Up for grabs is a two-day trip including two nights of lodging for two people, two days of bike park tickets for two people, and breakfast and lunch for both days of riding. How to enter? Head over to TGR's instagram and tag a friend you'd bring to @deervalley in the comments on our post!