Deer Valley Resort will host the Fox US Open of Mountain Biking, the championship finale of the Official U.S. National Mountain Bike Championship. For the riders and fans who remember Deer Valley's glory days, the return feels less like a new chapter and more like a reunion.
The four-day competition, scheduled for September 10–13, 2026, on the Bald Eagle Mountain trail system at the resort's Snow Park area, marks the first time Deer Valley has ever hosted the Fox US Open. But the mountain's history with the sport runs far deeper than this year's event. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Deer Valley was a hub for mountain bike competitions.
One of the riders who competed in those Deer Valley races was Clay Harper, who went on to found the US Open in 2003. The US Open was founded on the East Coast in 2003, and from the start it was built on a radical idea: anyone could enter. The Open Class format lets amateurs line up alongside the world's best professionals, all chasing the same prize money and prestige. The event grew into one of the most prestigious in downhill racing, drawing international fields and, in recent years, an $80,000 cash purse.
The event has been hosted at various mountains across the country over the past 20 years, most recently at Killington, Vermont. Now, after more than two decades of traveling the country, the US Open is returning to the mountain where Harper himself once raced.
“The races here in the late ’90s were the biggest in the world,” Harper said. “There’s so much history and we’re bringing it back.”
The 2026 edition serves as the final stop of the Pro Downhill Series, the Official US National Mountain Bike Championship.
The course itself is a piece of living history. The race will use the resort's existing trail network on Bald Eagle Mountain, with the course following the same part of the mountain used in races from the past. The trail has been modernized for today's athletes.
Fans and Deer Valley locals will recognize classic sections of trail from the races of two decades ago — Little Niagara, The Quarry, Whiskey's Rock, and Psycho Spin — all included with upgrades to match the progression of the sport. The track is just over a mile long, and crews have widened some sections, built up turns to make them safer for riders, and cleared debris. New wooden features, including the platform where competitors will start, were built from lumber cut and milled right at the resort from trees felled while building the trail. "This track has a ton of character," Harper said.
The event's format reflects its open-door philosophy. Professional classes will race Saturday, September 12, with the Pro Finals as the marquee event. The event also includes youth, amateur, and adaptive competitions, as well as the crowd-favorite Best Whip, a big-air jump competition, and the Next Gen Youth Downhill, giving racers 14 and under a real shot at racing on a dedicated track.
Organizers expect roughly 10,000 spectators and competitors over the weekend. General admission is free, with attendees required to RSVP through an online ticket. Those who want a closer view can purchase a Pro Downhill Course Scenic Ride Ticket, which includes one ride on the Silver Lake Express to the Silver Lake area and one ride on the Homestake Express to access the race venue, with a walk back down to the Snow Park base area afterward.
The trails around Deer Valley will remain open during the competition, and the race track itself will open to the public after the event concludes. For the riders who remember Deer Valley's racing heyday, and for the young amateurs who will line up alongside the pros for the first time, the Fox US Open's return to the Wasatch Back is more than a race — it's the revival of a legacy that began on these very slopes more than two decades ago.