Review Date
January 8, 2007

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: davetherave ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Excellent class A climb when you don't have much time! The Barker Way trail head is about 1 mile from my house so this is my weekly workout. I am a newbie on MTB, but after about 8 times I was finally able to make the top without stopping. You see a lot of downhillers pushing their bikes up this trail and it is sooo fun to ride by them. This is not a technical ride with the exception of some seasonal ruts on the near 22% grade section near the top. But it is an awesome climb and you are rewarded with some of the best views in SD. I have descended the more technical route down to Mesa Road and hope to try climbing that stretch soon. Not looking forward to those railroad ties. I have hiked this section with my 11 year old son and it does not seem as steep as the fireroad.

Review Date
July 29, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: bigben ,  Downhiller

Summary:
This is a fun, short ride that can be shuttled, looped, out and backed or lollipopped. Either way there is some climbing/walking and fun down hill sections. Go to the top every so often for the view, but there isn't much appeal in such a steep ascent to only get a worn fire road downhill. Some idiots don't even wear a helmet on this ride, and the fire road is slick in some turns due to the decomposed granite. This is my stock ride if I don't have a lot of time, though I can't think of a better downhill section unless you go to Noble. There's room to work on some skills at Cowles. There's one slow speed switchback into some stairs that are 6-10 inches tall. A couple small uphill sections, some fast turns, one semi-noteworthy jump, and if you want a 3-4 foot drop + horizontal speed check out the cement foundation at the bottom near Big Rock park on Mesa road.

Recommended Route:
Start at Barker way. HIke a bike to the turn off down to Mesa Rd which is all singletrack with HIKERS (Be considerate as we would hate to lose this option for bikers). The down takes about 10 minutes if you're on it. Then either shuttle or I ride it as a loop going up Mesa Rd (turns to dirt) until there is a spot to turn right and hike a bike up a short section that eventually drops you off at Cowles Mtn. Blvd which is a short road ride back to the gate on Barker. If you don't see the hike a bike on the right sied of Mesa as you are heading back then you can go straight and you will be on Lake Murray Blvd, which is just a longer ride on pavement to get back to your starting point. I don't bother going to the top of the mountain cause it's not a lot of fun with a non-technical, non-exciting yet risky downhill on a washed and rutted fire road. Total time for this loop is about 1 hour depending on your speed.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
There's some XC in Mission Trails Park.

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Review Date
January 11, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: Gunnar Boy ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Short but very steep climb on a fire road. Gets to 22 percent grade in places. Starting to get severe ruts from the deluge of rain here this winter. It drains extremely well and can be done during the rainy season. The backside is also awesome with many waterbars to tackle. Once on top do the out and back to the turn around at Pyles Pk. Great for training or just getting your heartrate up to 200.

Recommended Route:
Park at Barker, go through the gate and start the suffering.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Mission Trails, ATT, Noble Cyn.

Review Date
January 11, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: Gunnar Boy ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Short but very steep climb on a fire road. Gets to 22 percent grade in places. Starting to get severe ruts from the deluge of rain here this winter. It drains extremely well and can be done during the rainy season. The backside is also awesome with many waterbars to tackle. Once on top do the out and back to the turn around at Pyles Pk. Great for training or just getting your heartrate up to 200.

Recommended Route:
Park at Barker, go through the gate and start the suffering.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Mission Trails, ATT, Noble Cyn.

Review Date
June 26, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: DirtChef ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Great workout. Waterbars all the way up to the fire road and then a tough climb to the top of Cowles. On the way back down to Mesa, bear left when you can. The side trail to the bottom is technical and fun.

Recommended Route:
Start from Mesa Road

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Noble canyon, Anderson Truck, San Juan