ATV Adventures: My attempts to ride the White River Loop
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- Mark Blamires approaching the junction near Soldier Summit.
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- A perfect place for lunch.
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- Riding the pole line section of the White River Loop Trail.
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- A view from the top of Strawberry Peak.
Completing a ride on an OHV trail is not remarkable. I have done that many times. It makes for a different kind of story when the plan goes wrong.
This article is about three frustrated attempts to ride a trail I call the White River Loop and one successful one. You won’t find that name on any map, but I used it to label the GPS track when I rode it because part of the trail follows the White River near Soldier Summit. I created the track in 2019, and it is a fun trail to ride.
The staging area for this ride is the Tie Fork Rest Area in Spanish Fork Canyon. It has become so popular with the OHV community that unloading in the parking lot is interfering with the increasing number of long-haul truckers who need the space at the rest area. A large parking area has been provided for unloading recreational vehicles north of and above the rest area. Riders are asked to use this area to stage, not the parking lot.
The rest area is located at the mouth of Tie Fork Canyon, which is named for its historical use as a source of timber to cut railroad ties. The facility was designed to mimic an early-1900s train depot, complete with a replica roundhouse and a non-functional steam locomotive, reflecting the region’s rich railroad and timber history. It is located near the historic, now-vanished railroad town of Tucker, which sat at the bottom of a steep 5 percent railway grade at what is now the staging area for North Skyline Drive.
One failed attempt to ride this trail was with my oldest son, Chad, and his family. On this ride, we had four ATVs and a UTV. We made our way over the tracks and then east on the pole line section of this trail. After leaving the power lines, the trail follows a ridge with beautiful views and drops into a small valley popular with campers.
The trail reached a “T” junction, where we turned right and followed the White River. That brought us to another junction near Soldier Summit, where we turned east and then north still following the river. At the north end of the valley, we left the river and started to climb toward one of the mountain tops named Strawberry Peak.
Utah has two Strawberry Peaks. One is a 9,255-foot peak in the Wasatch Range along the border of Morgan County and Weber County, near Snowbasin. The other stands at about 10,355 feet and lies near Reservation Ridge, north of Soldier Summit.
We were climbing up to join Reservation Ridge when a storm hit – not a light sprinkle, but a heavy rain. We were not prepared for it, so we turned around and headed back to the parking lot. By then, the storm had passed, but the magic was gone. We sat at the rest area, ate our lunch, and went home.
The second story involved a couple in our neighborhood who wanted my wife and me to take them on a ride in our four-place Kawasaki. They had heard about an adventure we took with another couple in the Manti-La Sal mountains. They wanted in on the fun.
I chose the White River Loop for their adventure. We almost made it to Strawberry Peak when a powerful storm hit and cut our ride short. A short time after we left, a mudslide closed Highway 6.
The third story happened with my grandson, Mark. We were headed south on the trail beside the White River toward Soldier Summit when Mark’s rear differential exploded (see Standard-Examiner June 13-14, 2026). We had to tow him to a place near Soldier Summit where we could pick him up.
The fourth attempt was successful, which produced a different kind of story. We rode the beautiful Reservation Ridge Trail and saw amazing views from the top of Strawberry Peak. Leaving the peak, we followed a trail west on a ridge that marked the southern boundary of the Uintah & Ouray Indian Reservation for about 11 miles at 9,200 feet.
The White River Loop is one of 15 rides in the Ride Utah Challenge book (see the Standard-Examiner March 28-29, 2026). You can get books at the parts desk at any Young Powersports dealer. When you go, bring plenty of water, keep the rubber side down, and enjoy a successful attempt to ride the White River Loop.
Lynn R. Blamires can be reached at quadmanone@gmail.com.
