There is a spaghetti polonaise of trails on the hills to the south of Pokatello, generally know as the City Creek Trails...
Typically they are two-way shared tracks at intermediate level, about a foot wide, with a slightly concave smooth surface, undulating and with few technical features. The environment is generally wide open, with grasses in exposed areas and trees near the creeks and in and sheltered areas. The view over town to the north is expansive from the higher trails.
The busiest trail in the network is called Lower City Creek Trail and leads up the creek to the other trails. It's very busy in rush hours - perhaps a 100 riders between 5pm and 9pm on a summer evening - also runners and dog walkers. You can avoid most of it by swinging left onto the Bench Track about 300 yards up from the car park.
There are some signs to guide out-of-towners but you'll be left scratching you head at many forks. Not to worry, just explore as it's hard to get lost since you will usually have a view to the north.
For a more challenging ride head up to the advanced trail called "Over the Top". It's easy to build it into a loop which will give you about 1800 feet of altitude gain (and loss) over about 10 miles.
The City Creek Trails link to Gibson Jack, Slate Mountain and to dozens of other trails in the hills further south. All up, the greater network adds up to more than 50 miles of varied singletrack.
 | Over the Top |   | 4 mi |
Nice trail system you can access directly from town. The ride up City Creek Trail is unique and interesting. Once near the top you have numerous options to return, mainly in grassy areas along the hillside.
| ThankOver the Top rewards the hard work of getting to the summit with some nice views and an exhilarating ride back down.
| ThankThere are over 60 trails on the hills to the south of Pocatello if you include all those linked to the City Creek Trails. The trails I rode were all in good condition.
| ThankI've ridden this trail system for over 30 years (yes, I'm know locally as an "oldtimer") and have seen numerous improvements, and degredation with the rising popularity of the sport, especially in the last 10 years or so.
| ThankWhat it offers is a complex trail system that allows you to customize your biking experience. Numerous trails branch off of City Creek so you are never without variety. City Creek Trail proper can be divided into three sections, a fourth if you add Sap Tree which begins at the top of the City Creek Trail. Avoid the lower section and opt for the Bench Trail as this section is populated with day hikers / runners who often include families with small children. Two miles up you'll re-join the upper section
which by far is the most enjoyable part of the trail. While the entire trail is situated in a riparian environment and hugs City Creek, the upper section is entirely (95%) within magnificent groves of aspen and mountain maple, some parts so dense that an actual "tunnel" exists under the branches for a few hundred yards. This section is about 1 1/2 miles in length, for a total of approx. 3.5 miles from the traihead.
The trail itself is what I rate class 3 minus (from my kayaking days), 3 for degree of ascent (200-300' per mile) and minus for lack of rocks and hazards. The entire trail is hardpack clay (loam) with a few scattered rocks, mostly on the lower section. You will find exposed roots that can be challenging but not difficult.
The proximity to Poky is the best part. One can be on the trail within minutes of anywhere in the city. Perfect for a quick workout if time is short.
The season is relatively long, from mid-March through Thanksgiving. It is not uncommon to see license plates from Driggs / Victor ID. and Jackson in the early spring at the trailhead as their season is months away.
If you want solitude this might not be for you, especially on weekends. Weekdays are a different story however. Rarely do I encounter more than one or two riders and/or runners during the work week.
Happy trails!
This trail is the trail that I use to get to the top of this trail system that pocatello has here. It is mostly a gradual uphill with a few real steep parts. The first time i went on it, it was nice and dry and easy to keep traction on, even though my tires really need replacing. The second time i went, it was a little bit muddy, bit i could still ride almost all of it even with my nearly bald tires. It has been a blast every time ive been, and i would reccomend it to anyone. It is not too long and once you get up it, you can go on some of the most fun trails around. Overall, I have very much enjoyed my trips here, and will keep coming. My only complaint is that it can get a little crowded at times.
| ThankI found this to be a highly entertaining network. Some segments are more fun than others and some hugely fun loops can be made. The main climb up City Creek (lower and upper) is gradual enough to be rideable but steep enough to get the heart rate up. There are some nice downhills as a payoff for the climb as well. 911 is particularly amusing. This system also connects to more distant and remote feeling trails so you can really rack up the vertical and the miles if you want to.
| ThankLots of different trail options in this network but they really are all the same level and don't take you anywhere special. Too over riden, deep, poorly maintained trails are often so bad you have to ride next to the trails instead. Good for an intro to biking, but if in Poky ask a LBS for mink creek options
| ThankThis area could be great. However the trails are not flowy. If you know what I mean. Alot of straight down hill and very narrow, like tire narrow trails. Very sharp turns that you have to slow way down for. Whoever is building your trails is not very knowledgeable in building bike trails. This area could be fantastic. Flowy would be Phils world or Fruita in CO.
| ThankThis was my first trail in the Pocatello area. It was pretty fun, but since it was early in the year, there were a few muddy sections on the inclines. The downhill was awesome, though. Great views of the town from the top, saw some cougar tracks, all around a pretty decent place.* Review edited 3/13/2012
| ThankThere are a lot of trails in this area. I have ridden them all and they are as good as any trail system. There are rides from Easy to very difficult. Some are marked double diamond, but I would only categorize them as single diamond. There is a ride here for any riding level.
| ThankPart of an extensive trail system. A decent chunck of rolling downhill on serengeti down to crosscut. Trailhead coordinates: 42.853279,-112.44978 (for the out-of-towners). Still looking for a good trail system map.
| Thank