The Cutthroat Trail is "the first and only e-bike system trail on the San Juan National Forest," according to a video from the San Juan National Forest. The Cutthroat Trail is a 6.2-mile singletrack trail that parallels Hermosa Park Road, effectively connecting the trail system at Purgatory Resort with the renowned Hermosa Creek trail located outside of Durango, CO. It can also extend the Hermosa Creek route for riders completing the trail as a shuttle.
The finished product of this trail is quite... interesting. It's clear where time and money were invested in crafting a high-quality trail tread... and where they weren't. In several locations, the trail cuts across a grassy field, and it appears the weeds were cut down and the trail tread simply raked in, with minimal work done to improve the flow of the trail. However, this entire area is open to cattle grazing, and their stomping hooves routinely pockmark these sections of trail. It's clear that investing money in a flowy machine-built trail through these open zones would be folly.
Where the trail drops into the woods, the quality of the build increases substantially. Where the trail swoops and flows downhill, every corner features a berm (albeit fairly small ones) to allow riders to carry speed.
One notable section of trail traverses a steep hillside, winding its way below a small cliff band, crossing a stream, and then working its way out of a narrow gorge. Here the trail construction is superb, and the combination of beautiful cliff faces, a rushing stream, and well-built trail tread is truly stunning.
At several points along the Cutthroat Trail, the route swings out to the top of a small cliff band that separates the trail from Hermosa Park Road below. From these elevated viewpoints, riders can enjoy spectacular vistas of Hermosa Park spread out below and a towering mountain ridge in the distance, which is the backside of Purgatory Ski Resort. During the fall, aspens light up the ridge with glowing gold interspersed in the dark green of evergreen trees.
The decision to utilize the two AOPs installed beneath the road grade does make sense, but it also adds a fair bit of climbing to Cutthroat — particularly at Sig Creek Campground, located about halfway through the trail. Here, the singletrack descends off the cliff band to pass below the campground, crossing the stream via the AOP beneath the roadbed. The trail then turns around and heads straight back uphill to the top of the cliff band for more traversing before finally descending, crossing the road, and heading down to the Hermosa Creek trailhead. The crossing at Sig Creek is beautifully separated from traffic thanks to a series of boulders placed on the road grade, but this descent and climb make for a bit more aerobic work than some non-e-bike riders may deem appropriate.
This 6.2-mile trail could have descended almost its entire length to the Hermosa Creek Trail, yet the finished route climbs ~700 feet along its length (from east to west), while losing ~1,630 vertical feet. It could have been a 900 vertical foot descent with next to no climbing, but instead, it's a fairly punchy up-and-down. Of course, since this trail was designed for e-bikers, a meager 700 feet of climbing is barely noticeable with the added power of a motor.
Small gripes aside, it's fantastic to see the San Juan National Forest establish a brand-new singletrack trail of this length. In this day and age, it's rare to see the USFS construct all-new trails, as they're woefully underfunded and extremely backlogged on trail maintenance. Hats off to the San Juan NF for this fantastic addition!
