Deer Valley to host Fox US Open of Mountain Biking this September

Photo: Deer Valley Resort.

PARK CITY — The Park City Council unanimously approved a special event permit Thursday for Deer Valley Resort to host the Fox US Open of Mountain Biking, bringing elite professional and amateur downhill racing back to the Wasatch Back for the first time in nearly two decades.

The four-day competition is scheduled for Sept. 10–13, 2026, on the Bald Eagle Mountain trail system at the Snow Park area of the resort. General admission is free, with attendees required to RSVP through an online ticket — details on how to secure one are expected in the coming weeks.

The Fox US Open of Mountain Biking has been running since 2003, and is part of the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series, the official U.S. Downhill Mountain Bike Championship sanctioned by USA Cycling. The series features five rounds of professional and amateur racing each summer. Deer Valley would serve as the fifth, and final, stop, with Solitude Mountain Resort hosting the third round in July.

Deer Valley Director of Marketing Carly Driscoll said the resort views the event as a natural fit. “It not only fosters professional downhill riders, but also young athletes and amateurs alike,” she told council members. “Through the course of this long-standing national event series, they have fostered kids that have then gone on to ride professionally on the World Cup level.”

The event will use the resort’s existing trail network, including what Deer Valley Senior Director of Mountain Operations Garrett Lang described as the National Championship Series trail — a dedicated mountain bike course that winds from the top of Bald Eagle Mountain down through Little Stick, Big Stick and Champion trails to the World Cup stadium and eventually to Snow Park Lodge. Lang said the trail dates to the resort’s National Off-Road Bicycle Association racing days and will be modernized for today’s athletes.

Spectators will be able to access the course on foot, with viewing zones positioned where the bike trail crosses ski runs. Silver Lake Express and Homestake chairlifts will continue to operate for the public throughout the event.

Community members who spoke during the public hearing pointed to the event’s deep roots in Park City’s sporting culture. Nick Van Dine, a former competitor who raced several times in the NCS at Deer Valley between 1999 and 2007, said the community has been without elite professional downhill racing since roughly 2008. “It is hands down one of the coolest cycling events in the United States of America,” he said of the US Open. He also noted that unlike a traditional points series, the US Open allows amateur riders to enter the same race as professionals. “Any amateur that wants to race against the pros, the US Open can do so.”

City Special Events Manager Chris Phinney said the transportation plan mirrors what the city uses for large-scale Deer Valley concerts and the FIS Ski World Cup. Any day with more than 3,000 RSVPs will trigger the full mitigation plan, which prioritizes transit and routes vehicles and buses in opposite directions along Deer Valley Drive to avoid conflicts. The resort is encouraging carpooling and use of public transportation to attend.

City service fees for the event are estimated at $41,544, to be paid by the event organizer.