ATV Adventures: Trouble on the White River Loop
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- This is the hole we found in Mark’s rear differential that ended our ride.
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- Crossing Tie Fork Creek as we start our adventure on the White River Loop Trail.
The White River Loop is one of 15 trails featured in the 2026 Ride Utah Challenge, sponsored by Young Powersports and mylocalutah.com. These Northern Utah trails are detailed in a booklet available at any Young Powersports dealer and at the offices of mylocalutah.com at 80 E. Antelope Drive in Layton. The purpose of the ride challenge is to give members of the OHV community ideas for fun places to ride.
I had ridden two of these trails this year and was looking to check off a third on the list of 15rides by riding the White River Loop Trail in Spanish Fork Canyon. My grandson, Mark, and I were frustrated in our attempt to reach Garden City from Blacksmith’s Fork (another of the 15 trails in the ride challenge) last week by an access gate that had not yet been opened for the season.
The trailhead is located at the new Tie Fork Rest Area at mile marker 202 on Highway 6. The old Tucker rest area opened in 1969 and was built on the site of Tucker, a former boomtown and railroad construction camp. It was closed and buried in 2009 to straighten a sharp curve on the US-6’s western approach to Soldier Summit. Tie Fork opened in 2010.
We had three couples on this ride. In addition to Mark and me, and our wives, we were joined by Terry Maxfield of Morgan and his wife, Michelle. Mark was driving his 2013 RZR. We broke the driveline on his RZR Pro XP last week while trying to climb Logan Peak, and the replacement hadn’t arrived.
The trail begins at the west end of the rest stop. We rode up to the railroad tracks that pass above the rest area. Crossing them, we rode about a half mile before turning east. After crossing Tie Fork Creek, we followed a pole line road.
The pole line trail climbs to a ridgeline in the mountains. As with most pole line roads, it has many fun ups and downs. As we topped out on the ridgeline, we breathed in the cool mountain air as we caught glimpses of the canyon below.
Dropping off the ridge, the trail descends to a T-junction with a trail that follows the Left Hand Fork of the White River. There was a cool, shady spot near there where we stopped for a break. The scent of the pines took us away from the real world.
Turning right at the junction, we followed the river on a trail toward Soldier’s Summit. The beaver activity on this river is high. It was fun to spot beaver dams as we followed the river.
It was along this trail that disaster struck. I got an alert message on my Ride Command screen from Terry. I could see that he was about half a mile behind me, so I pulled over and waited for him to catch up.
When he did, I learned that Mark had blown a hole in his rear differential. We turned around and headed back to his location. He was at a dead stop.
We set up a tow strap and pulled him to the junction where the trail meets Highway 6. We left him there, and, with our street-legal machines, we rode the highway back to the rest area. I loaded my Xpedition backward on my trailer while Terry loaded his. Then we headed back to get Mark.
I backed up the trailer to Mark’s RZR and used the winch on my Xpedition to pull his machine onto the trailer. The ride was over. It was our second attempt in as many weeks to ride one of the Ride Utah Challenge Trails.
To ease our disappointment, we stopped at Café Rio in Spanish Fork. It helped, but we didn’t realize it at the time – our troubles were not over yet. After eating, we headed for Mark’s house to unload.
That is when the second round of troubles began. We could move his broken RZR forward, but not backward. It was locked against any movement to back it off the trailer. After several attempts to get a dolly under it, we found the right platform, got it off the trailer, and winched it into his garage.
When you go, take plenty of water, and keep the rubber side down. This is not over yet – these machines are fixable, and we will be back to ride the White River Loop and the trail to Garden City.
Lynn R. Blamires can be reached at quadmanone@gmail.com.
