Ride from the inn
The first ride, the evening ride, the one you do with kids
One digit is a loop; two digits is a spur of that loop (52 branches off Loop 5).
The Aspen Mirror Lake & Duck Creek Pond route from the inn, traced from the official 2019 Markagunt OHV System map. Tap a marker for the trail number.
This is the ride we send everyone on first. You leave our lot, roll through the village on the designated OHV roads, and within a few minutes you are on a forest road at the edge of Aspen Mirror Lake, half a mile west of the inn. The whole loop is about six miles with only 350 feet of climbing, which makes it the right size for a first hour on a rented machine, for kids, and for the last hour of daylight.
It is also our guests' favorite evening ride. The light on the aspens around the lake goes gold, then the loop swings south past Duck Lake and the Visitor Center and comes home along the village spur by Duck Creek Pond. Lights are required after sunset, so check that yours work before you leave and keep it slow through the village; residential streets are transit only at 15 mph.
7 legs, 6 miles loop. Every ride starts and ends in our parking lot.
Pull out of our parking lot onto Movie Ranch Road. The village roads here are designated OHV routes (Forest Service spurs 52 Duck Creek Village and 59 Color Country), so you ride from the hotel; no trailering needed. Keep to 15 mph in the village.
Follow the village route west toward Aspen Mirror Lake, about half a mile from the inn. Expect to reach the lake within your first ten minutes; it is the best photo stop of the loop.
Trail 5, the Strawberry Loop, begins near Aspen Mirror Lake about a mile north of SR-14 on Forest Road 057. Our loop uses the first stretch of it heading south; the trail markers carry a 5.
Trail 5 crosses SR-14 near the east edge of Duck Lake. If your machine is not street legal you may only cross the highway: stop, yield to traffic, and cross at a right angle. Street-legal side-by-sides may ride SR-14 itself under Utah Code 41-6a-1509, but nothing on this ride needs it.
South of the highway the route runs west past the Duck Creek Visitor Center. Summer staff there have the current closure orders and trail conditions if you want to ask before a bigger ride.
Turn for home on spur 52, which ties the main trail below Duck Lake back to the village. Duck Creek Pond sits along the way; it is a nice place to stop as the light drops.
Roll back through the village at 15 mph to our lot. If it is after sunset your lights must be on. Six miles, and you know the lay of the land for every other ride on this list.
Best time: Any dry day from late spring through fall. The last hour before sunset is the one our guests talk about; late September adds gold aspens around the lake.
Rules in full, including permits, helmets and the highway crossing law, are on our rules and safety page. Rentals and packing are on rentals and tips.
What guests ask at the front desk before they head out.
Yes. The village roads are designated OHV routes (Forest Service spurs 52 and 59) and Trail 5 starts about a mile north of the highway at Aspen Mirror Lake, so you ride from our lot without trailering. We have plenty of parking for trucks and trailers if you bring your own machine.
It is the ride we suggest for both. Six miles, about 350 feet of climbing, mostly forest road and village routes, with one highway crossing. Riders under 18 need a helmet and a youth OHV education certificate; adults need the free online certificate.
Evening rides around Aspen Mirror Lake and Duck Creek Pond are a guest favorite. Lights are required from sunset to sunrise, and the village streets are transit only at 15 mph, so keep it slow and quiet coming home.
Duck Creek Adventures is directly across the street from the inn at 825 Movie Ranch Road, and three more shops are a short walk west along the same main street. All of them will ask to see your Utah OHV Education certificate before they hand over the keys.
September 2026
We ride these routes and send guests out on them all season. The route line, mileage and elevation were traced from the official 2019 Forest Service Markagunt OHV System map and routed by computer, not recorded with a GPS, so treat them as a plan, not a survey. Loop and spur names, mileages and closures come from the Forest Service pages below; the highway crossing rule from Utah Code. Closure orders change: carry the current MVUM and ask at the desk.
Rooms and cabins at Duck Creek Village Inn, trailer parking in our lot, rentals across the street, and the trail a few minutes from the door.
