Pick up the trail (Lion's Den Trail) at the southeast corner of the lot. This trail switches back along the ridge for a little over one mile, with the climb being steep in a few spots. There are a couple of forks, stay on the ridge and continue climbing. The incline will ease up at another fork, stay right here and pass a bench. After about 1.4 miles, turn right onto Rim Trail. (Unfortunately the trails are not marked around here.) There will be a fork with a trail to the left which leads down to the paved road, continue straight. Continue straight again when reaching another fork with a trail heading sharply downhill at the 2.5 mile mark. Descend to 8th Avenue, cross the road, and pick up the trail to the left on the opposite side of the street. The trail goes through thick tree cover parallel to 8th Ave, then hairpins to the right. Things get confusing here as there are a bunch of trails and a doubletrack road. Head in a southwesterly direction and follow the trail as it curves back in a northeasterly direction, along the ridge top. Reach another junction with a trail headed sharply down to the road. Bear right onto the trail headed down. (It is advisable for beginners to continue straight and complete the loop around the college from here.) Reach the bottom of the ridge and cross the road (College Drive). Pick up the trail across the street (Talker) and climb another ridge. This climb is steep in spots with rocks and roots. The trail dead ends at the Powerline Trail. Turn left and climb up the fairly steep Powerline doubletrack and look for another singletrack on the left as the climb eases (Shocker). Head down this moderately technical trail with a few switchbacks back to College Drive. Cross the street and climb back up the spur trail descended earlier. Turn right onto Rim Trail at the top this time. (Beginners' route also resumes here...) Stay on this trail, which will curve sharply to the left and onto Fort Lewis Drive. Merge onto Fort Lewis Dr for about a block and then pick up the singletrack veering off the right side of the street, adjacent to the golf course. Cross Rim Drive and turn right at the T. Retrace your tracks with the fast descent back down the ridge to the trailhead.
A fun, easily accessible ride with a little bit of everything. Nothing special compared to other trails in the Durango area and this is definitely not the ride to do if you are looking to get off the beaten path. A good after work/class ride though. Flexibility is also a plus. You can either bail off the loop pretty much any time via the Ft Lewis College roads or combine these trails with the Telegraph Trail system as part of an all day ride.
Note: The Chapman Flow Trail was added to this system in June 2015. It runs from the Lions Den Trail at the top of the ridge down to the bottom of Chapman Hill. I haven't done this trail yet, so I cannot comment, but it sounds like a fun alternative ending descent!
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