Dawson's Butte

Nothing technical, but short, fun, flowy loop in a pretty setting of ponderosa pine, oak and grassy pasture. The main loop is 5 miles long, but there is 8 miles of trail total. It's good riding in either direction. There is a little deep sand at the bottom of the hill near the southern end of the loop, but it's not a very long stretch.

Terrible trail for mountain biking, very sandy.

Rated 4 in the winter for fat biking. 3 in the summer time. Would be good for beginners, but lots of horse traffic on summer weekends.

This is a great trail that has a good bit of flow to it. There are a few spots with some deep sandnear the bottom of the trail that can make things challenging. There are hikers and horse on this trail, but for the most part they dont slow you down very much.

Pretty easy going for the most part. One or two deep sand pits that was the most challenging part of the ride. Took me 40 minutes counterclockwise

Very very very sandy! Sand is not fun. I felt like I was mountain biking at the beach. Almost ate it really bad a few times.

Great place for an easy ride. The scenery is great and the trail is nice. There are the occasional hikers and horses, but neither are an issue (hikers generally move to the side or off the trail, and I always stop and move off for the horses). The worst issue on the trail is the deep sand in spots (mostly at the lower end).

The sand was hard to ride through!!

Rode this trail for the first time today. Loved it. Fast, flowy and firm. I was doubting my newly purchased 29er, but this trail was made for the bike...or maybe the other way around :)

Love this trail as it flows through the pines and scrub oak. I like to go clockwise and then counter-clockwise just to add some miles. Nothing technical but the flow is awesome.

Perfect for families! My three kids and I (6yrs - 13yrs) tried this trail and found it to be perfect for all of us. It was fun for my older son who liked to hop over branches and rocks, but smooth enough for my 6 year-old who owns a pink bike with a basket. There were just enough obstacles in the trail (rock here, root there) to make her think she was world's greatest mountain biker, but nothing that a total novice couldn't handle. Minus us, the trail was empty at 9 am on the Monday after 4th of July. Great trail for those who want to be mountain bikers, but really aren't!

I'm giving this trail 5 stars because it delivers exactly what it advertises. Needed a beginer trail for a true beginer who is not ready for any tech or exposure and this trail delivers the most perfect true beginer experience for that type of rider. It is truly beautiful, fast and flowy, has more turns than you could ask for, and the real sharpe ones do not have any consequences. If you want to take your wife or girlfriend for a ride and she is a timid beginer, this is your trail. We loved it, even me and I love tech. Hills are gentle, but with a hint of a challange. Only 5 miles so the new rider isn't overwhellemed, and you can ride it the opposite direction if you need more mile. Make this a week day, weekends are full of horses, hikers and other bikers. Went just after a rain and it really removed the sand aspect of the trail- very nice hard packed trail. Trail is a slightly wide single track easy to follow and well marked. Rode CCW.

Fairly new to MTB riding, so whenever I go out for a ride, I try out new trails.

Dawson Butte is a nice ride overall. A few areas with soft sand, some in tight hairpin turns, but nothing that a beginner cannot handle since you need to go slow around the hairpins anyway! :)

Rode 2 laps, first in a counter-clockwise direction and the second the reverse.

All in all, I would say that neither direction has any benefit or detractors. You will have uphill sections and downhill sections either way.

Make sure you have plenty of water, as the open areas allow the sun to cook you!

Total time for my ride was 1hr, 8 min. That includes a number of stops for horse traffic or hikers/walkers.

This is a great trail for beginners and kids. a little bigger than a single track, with some small inclines, fun descents and soft sand. Which makes it challenging to keep your bike steady. It's mostly in a covered area surrounded by ponderosa pines and opens into a meadow, and makes it's way back under cover. If you go counter clockwise you get more of the descent than going clock wise. You can't get lost, it starts and stops at the parking lot. There are also other trails to connect with in this open space. over all it's a fun family ride. There is some horse poo to deal with. But that's why we have water. :)

I liked this trail. I would have given it 3.5 stars, maybe a little higher if i could. I definitely think its more fun to ride counter clockwise. Pros- fun, twisty, turny, short enough loop that it can be ridden by all skill levels by doing as many laps as you like. Nice wooded trail. Cons- very sandy in spots, lots of horse traffic. This trail will definitely go into my rotation.

Rode this trail today with my wife, who is a beginner in need of a confidence-builder. this trail was the perfect choice. Nothing that could be called technical or hazardous.
I admit, though, that I loved it enough to give it a second lap (alone this time). Ridden a bit faster and harder, this was a genuine thrill on my rigid CroMo 29'er.
Also, scenery is hard to beat, and we were the only riders on the trail.

Excellent Beginner MTB trail. Just got back into cycling (MTB) after 15 years and 30 lbs. later. Nice loop. Nice easy rollers, good interval training. Trail did seem very sandy. Be mindful of the number of equestrians on the trail...

This is a mellow 5 mile loop. It is slightly downhill for the first 3 miles, then slightly uphill the the last two miles. There is some loose sand in the middle, but it's rideable with some practice.

Unlike many Front Range trails, this one has a fair amount of shade so it's good for hot mid-day rides.

This is a great place for beginners to build their confidence.

Nice scenery but way to much sand and horse crap.

GREAT local trail system. This system is not a monster downhill track by any means, but it is a really nice smooth flowing single track that is not only fun for beginners but great for the local rider who wants to take it easy for the day. I am in agreement with the previous reviews about this place. The shade is nice so you can ride here in the middle of the summer, the short stints of downhill are fun with some nice switchbacks thrown in, the uphill is smooth and non intimidating for beginners, and it's fast. The only two things that are kinda lame is all the sand in areas which can really put a damper on your speed, and all the horses. If you are a beginner are you are taking a beginner out this is the place to go. It has all the parts of a great single track XC system without the technical aspects to scare away the new comer.