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Buffalo Creek Mountain Bike Area
5 reviews
4.4 of 5
There are literally dozens of trail combinations in the buffalo creek area, my favorite is proceeding up buck gulch from Pine Valley Ranch, it is a climb of around a thousand feet over a distance of aprox. 2 1/2 miles. Once the trail flattens out you will reach an intersection, go left or east. This is skipper trail. A very pleasant series of ups and downs. This section is another aprox. 1 1/2 miles. Next you will reach a four way intersection. Generally most people go left or back north to form a loop on strawberry jack, which is another 2 1/2 mile singletrack downhill all the way back to Pine Valley Ranch. If you choose to go straight at the intersection it will take you down a 2 mile downhill thru partially burned forest called sandy wash trail. This trail will end at a closed forest service road that will take you back uphill to either the baldy trail (which connects to charlie''s cutoff), or all the way back to the intersection with buck gulch and skipper trails. If you choose to go right at the intersection of strawberry jack and sandy wash you will be on charlie''s cutoff which connects the skipper trail to the baldy trail. There are many possible loops in this area, and it is easy to cover 30 or 40 miles in an afternoon on your bike here. However it can become confusing because some of the trails tend to look alike, so please take a map your first couple of times here.
From Denver head south-west on highway 285, to the intersection with highway 126 at pine junction going south. Follow the signage at the town of Pine to go west on a paved side street to the parking lot at the Pine Valley Ranch. From there follow the trail over the wooden bridge to where in curves south and heads up buck gulch. From Colorado Springs go west on highway 24 to Woodland Park, turn north on highway 67 and follow to Deckers. At Deckers to over the bridge and continue north on highway 126 to the town of Pine. The area is also accesible from the south buffalo creek rd. off 126 just south of the community of Buffalo Creek. This road is also well marked.
Summary: Many miles of smooth single track with a few tech spots to keep it interesting. Some of the trails ride throught burned out forest making for a unique ride in the front range. Everything is well marked but donwload a map and bring it so you don't get turned around. Overall, an excellent trail system close to Denver.
Recommended Route: A 2-3 hour loop on smooth single track, double tack and a less than 2 miles on forest road.
Skip Pine Valley Ranch and ride out of Buffalo Creek. Park near the Forest Service Work Station on 126 near the intersection of 543/ Buffalo Creek Road. Get on 543 and follow the creek southwest on easy doubletrack , make a left onto Shinglemill. Climb through the burned out forest to the Colorado trail. Turn right on the CT to the Meadows campground gate located at an obviuos intersection and back to the right. Follow the road from the campground over to forest road 550 and make a left and climb a short distance to Gashouse Gulch road/trail. Take Gasehouse Gulch to Miller Gulch on the right. Take this fast double track to Sandy Wash trail on your right.This fast singletrack takes you back to the 543 road where you started your ride. Cross the street and back to your car.
Summary: I think I covered 25 miles. Seemed like a lot of climbing. I ride a SS and it seemed harder than it should have been (though I back tracked several times, made wrong turns, etc). If you know where you're going this is a great lightly treaded trail system. The singletrack is nearly perfect in sections, however there are a number of fireroads to get from trail to trail, though nothing wrong with that.
There are still lots of mile to be covered in this place. Would like to ride the Colorado Trail and others closer to Pine Ranch. If you have a day off it's actually not that far from Denver/ Boulder. Or they have 120 camping spots..would make a great weekend trip.
Tight, untouched singletrack. Twisty, fast downhills. Lung busting climbs. This place has it all...well not too much technical stuff but if you love singletrack this is an awesome place.
Recommended Route: Headed out to this awesome trail system the other day in preperation for the upcoming Xterra. Parked at Wellington Lake, headed down the 543 for 3 miles past the Colorado Trail to Gashouse gulch. Right on Baldy and climbed. Great climb here on pristine singletrack through an area that got burnt down back in '96. Looped back down via Gashouse gulch on even more pristine, tight, little tech at times, singletrack. Discovered I did the wrong loop for the race and proceeded up 543 again to Gashouse and stayed on gashouse this time instead of turning at Baldy. Rode up, once again, tight singletrack, some sand at times but not dismountable. Gashouse goes through another area that got burnt down. Headed up Gashouse, where I had previously gone down, to Miller Gulch. Left on Miller Gulch to Rd 553. Up 553 to Buck Gulch. Down a super fast , not quite singletrack, great kickers. Right on Strawberry Jack up a lung busting climb. Another fire ridden area with fallen trees in the middle of the trail, some hike-a-bike. Back to Miller gulch to Gashouse, down gashouse, again to 543 and pretty tough 3 mile climb out to Wellington Lake after all the climbing on the real trail.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Monarch Pass, Rainbow Trail(1-2 hours away), Mt. Falcon
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Summary: The trails out here are in great shape and they are hella fun. If you like smooth singletrack and riding relatively fast you will not be dissapointed here, especially if your looking for an epic. No tech riding here, but fast turns can get tricky. This area can be ridden pretty easily in about five hours time if you've got the juice. Any number of trail combinations are possible. Get a good map and be prepared to explore, the trails are blazed very well. One map that shows the entire system can be downloaded here:
The downhills on the Colorado Trail, Gashouse and Sandy Wash are HUGE payoffs for your climbing efforts.
Recommended Route: Skip Pine Valley Ranch and ride out of Buffalo Creek. Park near the Forest Service Work Station on 126 near the intersection of 543/ Buffalo Creek Road. Get on 543 and follow the creek southwest to 725- Shinglemill, 724- Morrison Creek or 723- Tramway. All three trails on your left and climb to the Colorado Trail- 1776. Take the CT to 543 and turn right on the road, head over to 550 and make a left to Gashouse Gulch. Follow the signs, check the map. Take 726- Gasehouse Gulch to 727- Baldy to 730- Miller Gulch. From there you can keep going on Miller or access 728- Homestead to finish on 730- Sandy Wash. Once you return to the creek and 543 coast back to your car.
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Summary: This is a large network area that has lots to choose from. Single track is the rule here. You wont find much technical riding, but if you feel that the reward for grunting through a long uphill should be lots of swoopy downhill without burning off all that hard-won kinetic energy in your brakes then this is the place to be. Most of the trails are well designed for moderate to fast riding. With some exceptions most trails effectively shed water, so ruts are relatively rare and surfaces are generally firm. These aren't old hiking trails that were appropriated by bikers -- most of these trails were designed with biking in mind. (Like the 18 mile/Book Cliffs area in Fruita.) There is miles and miles of riding here, so plan on spending a couple days if you want to do it all.
I like to plan my day around riding *down* Sandy Wash Trail, Baldy Trail, or Gashouse Gulch Trails. These are all lots of fun; swoopy turns, firm surface, ups and downs. Best rides in the area, in my opinion. I suggest that people avoid riding up Baldy; it is a fast downhill and it really sucks to have to kill your speed (and your grin) to make way for uphill riders.
Morrison Creek and Shinglemill are great too. The Green Mountain Trail is fun if you make it that far south. The eastern couple miles of that trail are superb. Unfortunately the upper sections of the trail were poorly laid out. It seems the cardinal rule of trail building (no long continuous downhills, especially on steeps) was violated. Consequently you will encounter ruts and exposed roots punctuated by sometimes treacherous deposits of sand (not to mention burning legs). The trail isn't bad, but the terrain is so good here that it is a shame that it wasn't done better. The good news is someone seems to have recognized those problems and have begun rerouting portions of the trail.
If you gotta do it all you can even ride out the Colorado Trail to the wilderness boundary. This doesn't get ridden as much, so it isn't as wide and firm as the other trails. It is a gentle uphill most of the way (the last mile will increase your heart-rate a bit, but nothing extreme) which means it is a gentle and relaxing downhill on the way back.
Skip the Tramway Creek trail unless it gets you where you want to go the quickest. It is an old road straight up a gulch, offering little entertainment value.
Recommended Route: I am not a big fan of the route described in the original post To me, the typical loop out of Pine Valley Ranch (Buck Gulch, Skipper, Charlies, Homestead, Strawberry Jack) is not very entertaining. Definitely not enough payoff for the three mile uphill, especially when there is so much better riding available in the area.
I suggest parking in the "town" of Buffalo Creek (at the intersection of FS 543 and 125) or at the fee parking area at the intersection of 125 and FS 550 (where the Colorado Trail intersects 125).
If you park in Buffalo Creek you can ride up the creek on 543 (to the southwest) and pretty much take your pick of all the trails in the area. The big bonus from parking here is if got too ambitous that day and run out of energy you can just coast back down 543 with very little pedaling. With all the temptations around it is very likely you will push yourself to the limit and be glad to be able to bail out.
Parking at the Colorado Trail gives you the privilege to make a mandatory contribution to the Forest Service. Hey, you gotta pay to play, so pony up! It's worth it!
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Summary: Rode "Jeremy's Loop" the other day out of Buffalo Creek proper, did Shinglemill to Morrison Creek, then Baldy trail - Charlie's Cutoff - Sandy Wash linkup. Excellent narrow cruiser singletrack, no crowds.
This trail is perfect for HARDTAIL riding as there are virtually no tech problems and the trail is very smooth. Also good for SINGLESPEEDS as the climbing tends to be moderate. Surfaces are very consistant, 99% is hardpack covered in monzogranitic sand (basically kitty litter on very hardpack). Given the "swoopy" nature of the trails, be careful in the corners & keep your speed sane as your control is limited - feels like riding on marbles.
Good light-intermediate ride, a bit boring for more advanced riders or those looking for technical challenges.
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