MOUNTAIN BIKING: Northwest Passage / Tipperary / Spruce Creek / Flume

← CO FRASER RIVER UPPER STA NEAR WINTER PARK CO Single Tracks →

Description

This loop combines various sections of trail into a ride that can be done in under a few hours. It is mostly mellow forest riding, a few miles of road, a few miles of uphill climbing, and some fairly fast but unremarkable downhill. Being in the Fraser area means that there is little true "single track" -- most of the trails are reclaimed forest roads that are being used as bike trails. That means don't count on much roller coaster fun riding. It is pretty much all steady grade climbs and descents, mostly straight trail without a lot of thrills. You can ride this loop clockwise or counterclockwise. Clockwise will present Tipperary as a downhill, which is preferable to riding Spruce Creek down since Spruce Creek is basically a steady grade with lots of loose rock. Tipperary, in my opinion, is the better ride down. On the other hand, riding counterclockwise means you can ride down Flume, which is one of the funner rides in the area. Don't even try to do this ride without a good map or somebody who knows the way; there are too many trails and intersections that can lead you astray. Note, if you are riding counterclockwise, when you get to the bottom of Flume, you will want to go across the creek (the fork to the left) and pick up the lower section of the Creekside trail to take you back to the road. If you ride it clockwise you can ride up Creekside instead of Flume (they both parallel the creek) and not slowdown the downhill riders on Flume.

Directions

There are many places you can access this loop so feel free to pick up the trail wherever is most convenient for you. From the town of Fraser, go out the St. Louis Creek Road approximately 2-3 miles. You will see Forest Service signs on the right side of the road immediately past the trail crossing. This is the bottom of Northwest Passage (on the right, going to the Northwest) and the end of Creekside (from the left to the south).

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