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Tags:
Level: Beginner
Length: 16 mi (25.7 km)
Surface: Doubletrack
Configuration: Out & Back
Elevation: +536/ -1,064 ft
Total: 14 riders
Mountain Biking Buck Ridge
#52 of 265 mountain bike trails in Montana
This is a ride you do for the scenery rather than the singletrack. It is an out-and-back on about 8 miles of doubletrack/atv trail. Most of the ride give you fantastic views of the surrounding mountain ranges and wilderness areas. Toward the end of the doubletrack, there is a singletrack option that can take you another 6 miles to the wilderness boundary, but after the first half mile it plunges into a basin from which you'll have to climb back out. At this point, you're in truly wild country--only for the experienced and adventurous. There are a number of loop options that incorporate part of this trail and they all require huge vertical gains. If you're up for it, get the Big Sky Area map from Beartooth Publishing and the options will make themselves evident.
First added by John Fisch on Aug 27, 2012. Last updated May 1, 2020. → add an update
Before you go
- Drinking water: unknown
- Lift service: unknown
- Night riding: unknown
- Pump track: unknown
- Restrooms: unknown
- Fat bike grooming: unknown
- E-bikes allowed: unknown
- Fee required: unknown
This trail information is user-generated. Help improve this information by suggesting a correction.
On Hwy 191 S. of Bozeman starting at the turn to Big Sky Ski Area, go 3.6 miles south to the signed turn form Buck Ridge. Then you've got 7.6 miles of climbing on a rough road which may require high clearance depending on the current road condition.
First there is no road sign for Doe Rd. There is a sign for Buck Ridge. Second, do not take a Ford Festiva up the FS Road. You will need a higher profile car and some time. The road is terrible.
The ride is AMAZING for the views. Trail has smooth areas, rocky areas, and muddy/clay areas when early in the season. Starts out about two miles up and then continues to roll over the Ridge where you will see the most beautiful scenery around. It is marked as easy, but you will want to be in shape for the uphill sections and be able to traverse rocky sections. Highly recommend doing it even with the road conditions. Do not ride if there has been recent rain. Give it a couple days to dry out. It will be tacky in places a few days after rain.
| ThankGreat workout with terrific scenery. Although the 6-mile drive to the trail head took forever, it was worth it. Grizzly warnings in area, but I rode on alone with spray and a wary eye. It was cold with a few showers, but as I reached the turn-around point, the skies cleared, revealing beautiful mountains. The altitude alone made it a great workout. I didn't see anyone on the road up there nor on the trail. Solace!
| ThankI can count on one hand the number of doubletracks I actually recommend and this is one of them. The scenery is beyond compare and almost constant along it's entire length. Lone Mountain, The Sphinx, The Taylor-Hilgard Peaks, the Spanish Peaks and much more await you around every corner and over every hill. The doubletrack is mostly non-technical and there's less than 1600ft elevation differential, but the many ups and downs along the way will make it feel like more--and it's all at altitude to boot.
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