Front Range Trail Conditions

OK, here are some suggestions then.

Skip Staunton. I haven't ridden it but reviews from folks I know are meh. It gets a lot of attention because it's new.

Buff Creek is great for a long XC loop. There is camping but not at the main parking lot. I'm not super familiar with the camping scene so I'll let someone else chime in. A good loop would be up Nice Kitty, Little Scraggy clockwise, down Tramway, up Baldy, down Charlie's Cutoff to Sandy Wash. Without adding it up I think that's 35ish miles and gets most of the fun descents. Trails here are mostly smooth, decomposed granite (aka loose kitty litter) with smooth granite rock rolls.

White Ranch - a great option for tech. IMO it is harder than Ahab. Go up Belcher to Sawmill, down Mustang, back up Belcher, down Maverik and down Longhorn. Skip that stupid little extra thing at the top the MTB Project has and skip Rawhide. If you have excess energy go back up and do Longhorn again (or even go up Belcher to Shorthorn and down the very end of Longhorn). Belcher is a miserable climb in cool weather and just gets more unpleasent the hotter it is, but it's worth it for Longhorn. Little bit of everything on this loop - loose babyhead climbing, some flow, some rocky gnar, some very steep sections, and even a 4' huck to flat for good measure. Jeffco announced that lower Longhorn will be closed on Jun 17-18 for trail work so go before then.

I would not go to LHOHV. Yes I ride there and yes I like it a lot. However, I don't think it's the best place to demo a bike as the trails there are pretty unique. The climbs are on very steep jeep roads - steep enough most people walk a lot of it. Do you really need to know how well a bike hikes? The descents are not super rocky but they are very steep and very loose. Very little flow. I love riding there, but other than how a bike feels descending steep and loose, I don't really feel like you'll get a ton out of a demo there.

Other places I would recommend:

Bergen Peak in Evergreen. Not big mileage, but plenty of vert. Do it as mapped here: https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/632...rgen-peak-loop Temps will be 10* cooler than Denver, good views at the top, and lots of fun tech both up and down.

3 Sisters park in Evergreen. There's a lot of trails here and a lot of opinions on the best way to ride them but IMO the most fun is: from the eastern lot, take Ponderosa clockwise to Sisters, Sisters clockwise back to Ponderosa, Ponderosa counterclockwise to Sisters to Bearberry, up Evergreen Mountain west and down the east side (including the summit spur). Start and end from Dedisse trailhead if you want a few extra unnecessary miles. This has a bit of everything including some tech up and down, tight technical switchbacks, and fast flowy fun.

Since you will be here over a weekend keep in mind that everything in the Front Range is a shitshow on weekends. Timing descents at sunset is a good strategy...

For any locals tired of the same trail for the 732nd time I’d say give Staunton a go. Fairly unique topography something different to see/neat waterfall. There is a gate fee and it is super non-tech, and since lots of family have to be a bit careful to not run someone over. Worthwhile for a day though. I would think there would be bushwack camping in the area but did it as a day trip so I didn’t look and still working a bit here.

To add for 406, it’s wet, bring rain gear.

I would NOT go to Staunton on a Saturday... unless you like demoing a bike by stopping every 100 feet for hikers.

Adrenalated is pretty spot on for everything else... although I would do the Rawhide loop too. There are some fun techy bits and it’s a fun way to make a bigger ride. But again, unless you’re riding there later in the day I wouldn’t go on the weekend.


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Oh, fair, missed that part. But was speaking more about locals. 406 isn’t bored of the other rides. But yeah I only ride weekdays unless a friend wants to get out. I’d say on the weekday I tried it, did stop a few times for pedestrians for sure, but didn’t ruin the ride.

But now that I type that out, all most other rides have 50% more people on weekends too.

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Originally Posted by smmokan

I would NOT go to Staunton on a Saturday... unless you like demoing a bike by stopping every 100 feet for hikers.

Adrenalated is pretty spot on for everything else... although I would do the Rawhide loop too. There are some fun techy bits and it’s a fun way to make a bigger ride. But again, unless you’re riding there later in the day I wouldn’t go on the weekend.


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I do think white ranch disperses people a bit better than most front country trail systems on weekends. Bikes are pretty much all traveling the same direction, and most of the good descents are far enough from the trailhead there usually aren't a ton of hikers on them. Lower Longhorn being bikes only has helped a lot. The parking lot is usually the crux; if you can get a spot in the lot, usually the riding is manageable.

I'd agreed on riding rawhide. Adds some more good miles. The part getting to the singletrack is meh but once on the trail proper it's good. There is camping at both white ranch and buff creek but unless you have reservations I wouldn't recommend just trying to show up at either and plan on getting a spot. Another good option in the area for tech is dakota ridge and mathews/winters. Bit on the shorter side but you can make longer loops on the west side if need be. All descriptions prior are one point and i'll throw another thumbs up for 3 sisters assuming you're not going at prime time (same for all these trails really) w the exception of lefthand OHV. Hall Ranch is another good option that has a great mix of tech and cx.

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Originally Posted by rudy

Hall Ranch is another good option that has a great mix of tech and cx.

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Hall Ranch is my personal go-to for testing bikes.... mostly because I ride there all the time, but also because it has a little bit of everything in a 10+ mile ride. A decent sustained 4-5 mile climb, smooth flowy singletrack up top, and chunk in the Bitterbrush rock garden.

That said, it's a little bit out of the way for the OP who's probably going to be closer to Denver for the few days he's out here.

406, there are a lot of other options besides Breck and the metro fun boy trails you listed. If I lived in the city, I'd ride those places afterwork. That said, coming on vacation to ride and camp at Buff Creek? Colorado is a big place. How far are you willing to drive? What would your ideal vacation look like?

Of course there are a bunch of other options, but it sounds like he's only going to be there for two half days and one full day of riding... so it doesn't make much sense to drive 3-4 hours each way when there's plenty of good rides right around the metro area. Spend the full day riding at Buffalo Creek, and then pick two half days from the list Adrenalated listed above. I'd definitely make one of those White Ranch, since it kicks ass.

Never ridden Mustang at White Ranch...how is it?

It's a fun trail. Not as fast or techy as Longhorn, but it's a nice little loop once you get to the top of Belcher. About 60% downhill, 40% climbing (nothing too steep).

I feel like you’re really missing out if you don’t do Enchanted Forest and Apex. Chimney Gulch is pretty fun too.

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Originally Posted by 406

Suggestions or edits? I had thought about going to Breckenridge, but looks snowy/muddy.

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Just to comment on this^ don't bother with coming up to Summit, most of the good stuff is still wet/muddy. There are miles of dry trails, but mostly boring XC that you can get much closer to Denver (where there's more O2).

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Originally Posted by Lindahl

I feel like you’re really missing out if you don’t do Enchanted Forest and Apex. Chimney Gulch is pretty fun too.

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Apex Park is a clusterfuck of a motherfucker these days unless you can ride midday, midweek. It's awesome if you like getting stuck behind slow people that won't get out of the way, and stopping for a billion hikers hiding around blind corners. OP is going to be here over a weekend, and his Monday is an odd day so Enchanted is a no-go, so that's why I didn't recommend it.

Chimney is a highly underrated descent if you can time it when the spandex hordes aren't going up it. But right now there's a closure in the middle of the trail that redirects you onto the road for a bit, making it less worthy.

^^^Yeah, I was looking at that one and noticed the odd day closing.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Yeah is is more of a 2.5 day weekend, not really a full on vacation. Plus what shredgnar said :-)

I will plan White Ranch Saturday. Buffalo on Sunday. Elk park & 3 sisters for Monday. Do the crowds get early starts or is everyone on Mountain/hangover time? I likely won't get to trailhead until 2-3 Sat, so hopefully hikers will be done. Any concern about trail damage or death mud riding in the afternoon thunder storms?


Thanks again!

eta: changed plan

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Originally Posted by 406

^^^Yeah, I was looking at that one and noticed the odd day closing.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Yeah is is more of a 2.5 day weekend, not really a full on vacation. Plus what shredgnar said :-)

I will plan Elk park & 3 sisters for Saturday. Do the crowds get early starts or is everyone on Mountain/hangover time? I likely won't get to trailhead until 2-3, so hopefully hikers will be done. Any concern about trail damage or death mud riding in the afternoon thunder storms?

Buffalo on Sunday. White Ranch on Monday.

Thanks again!

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That's a solid plan. Starting at 2-3pm in Evergreen should work out reasonably well. 10am-2pm is probably the busiest time at most parks on weekends.
The Evergreen stuff drains pretty well, I wouldn't worry too much about a little moisture unless it downpours. Lightning is the bigger concern with afternoon thunderstorms. At Buff Creek water is a complete non-issue, that dirt doesn't know what mud is.

Cool, I noticed you mention trailwork at White ranch starting Monday, so now thinking ride that for Sat.

You can just skip the trail that is getting worked on. Real enduro superstars go right and hit the rocky sections. Clean it all and you break Strava.

Sorry that you really only have the weekend... 'cause fuck the weekend.

Best bet on the weekend is to start as late as possible in the afternoon. Days are REALLY long right now, so you can get a lot of riding hours in even if you start at 4pm.

Most of the other important info seems to have been covered.

Again - sorry about the weekend.

:D

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Originally Posted by adrenalated

It's awesome if you like getting stuck behind slow people that won't get out of the way, and stopping for a billion hikers hiding around blind corners.

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I've only ridden it once, but I disliked it for the opposite reason, bros going mach looney who practically ran me off the trail even as I was trying to get out of the way.

Lair of the Bear is super fun too. Better than the other Evergreen stuff imo. Not sure how it pans out on the weekend (and yeah, Apex on the weekend - fuck that noise), but I usually ride it in the afternoon after work and time my descent around sunset and never really have issues with other people.

Dakota Ridge early in the morning is great too.

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Originally Posted by Lindahl

Lair of the Bear is super fun too. Better than the other Evergreen stuff imo. Not sure how it pans out on the weekend (and yeah, Apex on the weekend - fuck that noise), but I usually ride it in the afternoon after work and time my descent around sunset and never really have issues with other people.

Dakota Ridge early in the morning is great too.

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Being an out and back trail, Lair is super congested on a weekend.
I don't like it as much as the Evergreen stuff but that's a matter of preference. It's for sure a fun ride.

everything is congested on weekends the past few years.
I like Bergen, 3S and Lair in that order, especially if I can get out on a weekday morning.

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Originally Posted by N1CK.

everything is congested on weekends the past few years.
I like Bergen, 3S and Lair in that order, especially if I can get out on a weekday morning.

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Agreed. There are only 3-4 trail systems on the whole Front Range that I'll even think of riding on the weekends anymore... for sanity's sake.

As long as you go late in the afternoon it's not bad but maybe I'm numb to the crowds at this point... I rode walker this past saturday starting at 4 and only passed 4 bikers maybe 4 groups of hiker and one dude coming down crescent meadows on a motorcycle!!!

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Originally Posted by adrenalated

Being an out and back trail, Lair is super congested on a weekend.
I don't like it as much as the Evergreen stuff but that's a matter of preference. It's for sure a fun ride.

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Its not congested when you’re descending at sunset. I rarely have ever ran into someone coming up.

Well, yeah, duh, that's the case with every trail.

And yes, duh, every trail in the Front Range is congested on weekends.

My point is, some trail systems do a better job of dispersing the hordes than others. A trail system where traffic is primarily traveling in one direction and the main descending trails are far away from the parking lot (White Ranch) is going to feel a whole lot less crowded than a trail system that forces everybody onto the same out-and-back trail (Lair). Some trail systems are more popular with foot traffic than others. Any trail is going to be less crowded at sunset and more crowded in the middle of the day. Lair is out-and-back, and very popular for foot traffic.

I would always ride any trail system later in the day if possible, but on weekends I would also almost always choose White Ranch or Bergen over Lair because the very layout of the trail systems there tend to disperse people better.

It's way past time to have more designated use, designated directional trails in the Front Range to ease this problem, but that's another whole discussion.

Sounds like front range trails get treated like I70 traffic. Avoid by going odd hours. Maybe another lane is needed on the trails? Oh wait, that has already happened.

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Originally Posted by simple

Sounds like front range trails get treated like I70 traffic. Avoid by going odd hours. Maybe another lane is needed on the trails? Oh wait, that has already happened.

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Maybe we need a gondola connecting all the parks.

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Originally Posted by simple

Sounds like front range trails get treated like I70 traffic. Avoid by going odd hours. Maybe another lane is needed on the trails? Oh wait, that has already happened.

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Directional trails with monorail shuttles. It is the only way.

I want an elite rider toll lane.

I enjoy hiking Apex around noon and watching the Yeti Cycles crew fly by on their “lunch” ride. They rip.

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Originally Posted by The SnowShow

I enjoy hiking Apex around noon and watching the Yeti Cycles crew fly by on their “lunch” ride. They rip.

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how bad do you think it burns when they pee after their lunch ride

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Originally Posted by shredgnar

Directional trails with monorail shuttles. It is zee only vay.

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FIFY

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Originally Posted by adrenalated

And yes, duh, every trail in the Front Range is congested on weekends.
........

It's way past time to have more designated use, designated directional trails in the Front Range to ease this problem, but that's another whole discussion.

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So much yes to all of this.

Thanks again for the suggestions adrenalated, I ran out of time today, so didn't make it to 3 sisters and did Bear Creek after Elk park. Major flight delays, so ends up I would have had time.

Fun 3 days of riding.

Any dry trails in the Front Range/Summit/Eagle after the snow?

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Originally Posted by The SnowShow

Any dry trails in the Front Range/Summit/Eagle after the snow?

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Pretty much everything.

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Originally Posted by N1CK.

Pretty much everything.

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!!

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Originally Posted by The SnowShow

!!

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Certainly anything solar is fine. I rode Dakota Ridge yesterday and other than some moistness in shady spots, it was good.