Trail Description:
Parking at 6160' elevation, plateau varies up to 6680' and as high as 7160' elevation on the Northside Loop.
it will take 3 or 4+ hours, or even a couple of rides to ride everything up here. Short rides are an hour or less.
I usually ride up Three Gulch trail to the first summit of the plateau. Then breifly on Blue ribbon to Roller coaster up & down, then continue straight down until Faerie trail loop is on your left.
Return on Bogus trail on right. Ride down to parking Lot on Mushroom rocks trail, or three gulch trail. Or for more climbing(or sometimes pushing and walking) head up Elk mtn. traverse on your left from Faerie Trail. It is worth it! You will find excellent trail riding after this second long climb. Outer loop, and Sage loop are shortest, and Northside loop is longest. These trails are not so incredibly difficult,( but can be dangerous in sections to any inexperienced riders!) but are still definitely challenging even for full time experts and locals. It is not all easy.
Summer days are too hot here, ride in the late spring or fall. Weekends are a little too busy, this is a very busy and popular area for hikers and bikers. Doug Parks, Aspen.
How to get there:
At 3-way Intersection of Hwy. 82 and Hwy. 133 Roads form a 'T'. Park at the North side of the intersection in the park and ride. Check out the topo map plaque at the parking area, It maps out all the trails named here.
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| Posted by: Freedom Rider on 4/29/2007 |
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Mushrooms Rock!
850 feet in 1 mile
90+ minutes
Difficulty: Strenuous with technical sections
Red Hill and the network of trails in the Mushroom Rock area used to be the best riding that no one knew about in the Roaring Fork Valley. Now it's just the best riding. The trail is one of the earliest to dry out in the spring, so it has a tendency to get hammered early.
The area's popularity has soared since 1996, when Davis Farrar and the other volunteers with the Red Hill Council persuaded the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to let the group use some old deer trails and informal routes scratched into the area - taking the pressure off the steep Three Poles trail to Mushroom Rock. This route takes off from the north side of the intersection of Hwy. 82 with Hwy. 133. About one-quarter mile up the gravel road are the trailheads for Three Poles and the newer Three Gulches.
Riding Three Gulches is about as satisfying as eating your first meal after a lengthy backpacking t
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| Posted by: Flipper on 2/5/2006 |
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Whandsome guys in that photo! Best single track in Colorado
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