5 Favorite Rides

It’s certainly a biking paradise here in Crested Butte. 

We asked the pros at the Crested Butte Mountain Bike 

Association for their five favorite rides 

in the North Valley. For even more rides, check out

crestedbuttemountainbike.com/trail-information/rides/

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1. Beginner Ride

Strand Bonus and Canal Trail Loop

Difficulty: 

Easy

Distance: 

6 mi.

Avg. Time: 

1.5 hrs.

Climb: 

581 ft.

Trail Type: 

singletrack, road mix

Descend: 

593 ft.

This is the easiest mountain bike loop in the Brush Creek Area. Park (or save the planet and ride from Town) at the Brush Creek Trailhead/Parking area on Brush Creek Road, then head NE out Brush Creek Road and look to your right for the turn up Strand Hill Road about a mile up the road. Ride up the road, undoubtedly the hardest part of this loop but plenty manageable with a nice spinning cadence and plenty of viewpoints.  0.7 miles up the road, turn left to continue on Strand Hill Road, then left again 0.2 miles up onto the Strand Bonus Trail.  Recently re-routed and much water diversion work done, this trail is sure to make you smile!  At the end of the Bonus, go left again on the Canal Trail. Continue whizzing down the Canal with a smile then hit Brush Creek Road and ride back to your car at the Trailhead or all the way to Town.

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2. intermediate ride

Classic 401 Loop

Difficulty: 

moderate

Distance: 

14 mi.

Avg. Time: 

2.5-5 hrs.

Climb: 

2283 ft.

Trail Type: 

singletrack, road mix

Descend: 

2265 ft.

This is the classic loop for riding 401, starting at the Judd Falls parking area allows you to ride the entirety of 401’s amazing singletrack right back to your car.  Better is to ride from the Snodgrass Trailhead for a few more miles, but a lot less impact in the pristine Gothic Corridor.

Trail 401, or Trailriders Trail, as it is less commonly known, is Crested Butte’s most famous trail for good reason. Lots of intermediate mountain bikers can be found spinning their way up to behold shoulder-high flowers, fast singletrack, and heavenly views of Mount Crested Butte and the Gothic Valley. Take your time, drink lots of water, and bring some sort of camera. It gets an intermediate plus rating due to the steep, but nontechnical climbing involved on 401, especially at the beginning.

If you are looking to ride 401 as a shorter loop, start your ride at the turn-off for Rustler Gulch a few miles past the Judd Falls parking area. Riding from here is about 8 miles and still gets you the best part of the 401 singletrack!

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3. intermediate ride

Lupine Loop

Difficulty: 

moderate

Distance: 

13 mi.

Avg. Time: 

2-4 hrs.

Climb: 

1418 ft.

Trail Type: 

paved bike path, dirt road, singletrack

Descend: 

1410 ft.

Lupine is a great easy-intermediate ride that is a recent addition to the CBMBA trail network. Starting from town, head up the Rec Path or Gothic Road toward the town of Mt. Crested Butte/ski area. About a mile up the path/road, you’ll take a left onto a road marked Saddle Ridge by a sign (headgate) over the road. Pedal to the top of Saddle Ridge road where the singletrack clearly begins at the end of the cul-de-sac. About 1/4 mile more of climbing and you’re at your first summit! There is NO PARKING or SHUTTLING to Saddle Ridge Road – you must ride or walk from Town/Mt. CB for this ride.

Lupine 1 then rolls along through the aspens and lupines (duh!) along Smith Hill before descending fun, swooping switchbacks down to a doubletrack dirt road. Head straight off the trail and up the dirt road. Ride up the road over a ‘rollover’, past Lupine 2, 1.8 miles up until you see a left turn on the Gunsight Connector Trail (aka Lando Calrissian). This trail makes the loop more of the intermediate with a 1.92 mile descent fraught with turns, berms, and switchbacks. There’s a brief climb in the middle that’s sure to make the legs sting a bit, but then it’s downhill to Slate River Road.

The shorter option for this route is take the Lupine 2 descent instead of climbing the double track road to Gunsight Connector. This will bring you to Slate River Road where you can either pedal north to access the Lower Loop trails, or south which will bring you back to the town of CB more directly.

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4. experienced ride

409 to 409.5

Difficulty: 

difficult

Distance: 

15 mi.

Avg. Time: 

3-5 hrs.

Climb: 

2500 ft.

Trail Type: 

singletrack, road mix

Descend: 

2504 ft.

This is the classic way to ride 409.5 as a loop. The climb to reach 409.5 is long but well worth it! Beginning with some easy road spinning you’ll quickly find yourself on Trail 409 where you’ll encounter some steep technical climbing along with some easier and beautiful aspen forest single track. The climb continues when you reach the Point Lookout Trail as it meanders up the open hillside to the top of 409.5. Pt. Lookout was built by CBMBA in 2013, and nicely meanders 2.1 miles up to 409.5. 409.5 is a short and fast, rooty, loose, and awesome descent. One of the best but hardest to earn in the valley. It is also a multi-directional moto trail so be aware of uphill traffic. Once you finish 409.5 you have multiple options, back down the way you came for a fast exit or choose from adding Strand Bonus, Strand Hill, Farris Creek, or Strawberry Trail, to end your ride.

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5. experienced ride

Baxter Gulch to Green Lake

Difficulty: 

difficult

Distance: 

14 mi.

Avg. Time: 

3-5 hrs.

Climb: 

2900 ft.

Trail Type: 

singletrack

Descend: 

2898 ft.

This loop route is an instant classic for several reasons! The first being its proximity to downtown Crested Butte, allowing for some great refreshments after your ride. The second being the new Baxter Gulch Trail (completed 2018), which creates a perfect and very scenic climb trail to the flanks of Whetstone. Some steep pitches, this beauty climbs in earnest, but it’s so well worth it. Built to go up and down, Baxter Gulch was made for mountain bikes.  After the ‘Baxter Saddle’, and some views south, you descend the final bit of Baxter Gulch to the Carbon Creek Trail (#436).  Turn right on Carbon Creek, and enjoy the hard work the USFS has done to re-route some of these formerly unsustainable sections.  Although chunky it eventually becomes a great and rowdy downhill trail.  Carbon intersects with Green Lake – right turn down to Town, or left turn to go jump in the lake before heading down Green lake, to enjoy one of Crested Butte’s best pure downhill trails. Over four miles of steep, rooty, flowy goodness on primo dirt!

Pro tip: Start your ride in the town of CB and not at the Baxter Gulch trailhead. This way you can finish at the bar and not with a climb.