Deer Creek Canyon

For me, the main climb up Plymouth Creek Trail is a simply a necessary evil one must endure in order to reach the two loops at the top of the mountain. Of those, Red Mesa Loop, which splits off to the right about 3/4 of the way up, is the most fun. After an initial bit of technical rocky climb, the trail becomes pretty flowy and fun (ridden counter-clockwise).

Once back at Plymouth Creek Trail, continue uphill on the final lung-buster of a climb and you find yourself on Plymouth Mountain Trail. Some flow, some tech and a bit of the world-famous “buff Colorado singletrack “ will bring you back around to Plymouth Creek Trail, just downhill from The Red Mesa intersection.

Be careful on the return downhill to the parking lot. There are some rocky technical sections that can sneak up on you. And, there are tons of hikers on the trail, especially on weekend days.

You won’t get a lot of miles on a single circumnavigation of these trails, but you will get some vertical gain (around 2000 feet) and a nice workout!

Beautiful trail, but pretty strenuous for a fat guy like me. Fun heading down though. :)

Starts out dry but very icy and muddy at climb

Trail is pretty washed out, those rocks are serious! Fun riding but man the climbs in a lot of areas are just simply not ridable due to the rocks everywhere. Everyone has their own opinion though.....

Good ride today, but the spring run-off has definitely done some damage to the trail! I'm sure Jeffco will get a crew in there soon, but in the mean time watch out for a couple sections above the steps that are really soft and crumbly.

This is always a great ride

It is a typical front range lung buster on the way up. Huge water bars to power over. Great scenery to keep your mind off the burn though. Downhill was worth the effort, but chickened out attempting the wall. Great afterwork workout.

This is one of the more difficult trails on the front range simply because Plymouth Creek Trail is so steep and loose. I wouldn't necessarily say it is super technical because most of the trail is 5 ft wide and there aren't many crazy features other than "The Wall" but it is extremely difficult to keep traction on the loose rock during the steep climb. The top loops, Red Mesa and Plymouth Mtn are nice because you can get into a nice flow that Plymouth Creek does not provide. Ride close to sunset/sunrise to avoid trail traffic.

Rented a bike while out on business and so glad I did this trail. I am not used to the altitude, but was able to clear everything except the wall going up. Lots of hikers but they were very "understanding" and cheering me on the way up. Great views on the top. Very fun downhill and didn't encounter many hikers on the way down. Can't wait to visit and ride this trail again.

Today was my first time riding deer creek and the legend definitely proved itself to be true so I will stick to current conditions. From The bottom section of Plymouth until the first fork (maybe a quarter mile past "the wall") is still about 50 percent covered in packed snow and ice. I made a right at the first fork and it cleared up to only intermittent patches of snow after that. Red Mesa loop was phenomenal and barely had any ice. If you do this ride in the next couple of weeks remember to press through the snow and it will clear up for you. Great, difficult, technical ride

I would echo most other reviews on this trail. The 'Advanced' section of Plymouth Mtn Trail (the MTB portion of the park) is the climb up (the base of the lollipop that this trail forms) while the other parts are more Intermediate. The 'wall' is a hike-a-bike up (I'm sure there's a guy out there that can do it), but everything else is possible with some good technical climbing skills. The upper loop has some fun and even flowy sections depending on the direction you ride. I recommend riding the top loop of counter-clockwise if you want more downhill, albeit rocky. Clockwise is more rocky climbing and smooth downhill. Use this trail as a good benchmark for fitness and technical climbing ability. Watch for hikers and horseback riders on this trail, especially when you're bombing around corners on that tough climb. You may want to open it up on the downhill, but there are people everywhere on nice days.

I'm just getting back into riding after 20 yrs. I might have walked most of this trail but either way it's a workout. Lots of hikers and other riders so be careful.

Great ride, good climb, fun downhill.

This trail was awesome!!!!! The uphill is steep but very doable. I ride a 26er and had no problem getting up and over the rocks.

I also did whatever one calls the "wall" of steps going down with no problem.

It's a great cardio trail and the view is just beautiful on the top.

I rate this trail a 5 star because I never rode (some places hiked) such a ridiculously steep and long climb; and only few trails (from my trails list) can compete with such an excellent downhill on the way back. Was lucky to see only few hikers, so wasn't too crowded.
Very well built, maintained and signs are everywhere. Maps are available at the trailhead.
This is deffinatelly a full-suspension territory. If you're in the area and looking for either lung-busting climb or fast rocky downhill, this place fits perfect.

OK, after reading through the reviews on this page, I'm not afraid to admit that I walked some of the sections both uphill and down.
BUT, I now have a "project" and I'm going to keep going back to the Plymouth Creek climb until I get it (hopefully in this lifetime).
Some real heads-up riding on the descent. I can see why this has been the scene of some pretty epic crashes...
Way more interesting riding here than at most of the other J-CO parks.
Lots of hikers and dog-walkers.

As others have said "The Wall" is no joke. Maybe easier to ride up the steps than to go up through the rocks.

On the weekend trail is just about unrideable with all the other trail users.

Excellent trail though and worth checking out. Keep pushing up the hill and the payoff at the top is worth it as is the trip down.

If you park at the main parking area keep heading down the trail through the small canyon and cross Deer Creek Canyon Road to connect to the South Valley Park trails for more fun.

Technical rocky climb with a few hike a bike sections for all but the best conditioned riders. Mellow, scenic singletrack loops at the top. Amazing DH ride with rock gardens, water bars, jumps, and long technical rocky sections. A lung buster but worth it if you like a little of everything.

WOW!!!!!! This is the closest thing I've seen to a DH trail on the Front Range. You can absolutely shred this on the descent. Tons of waterbars and rock gardens allow for plenty of air/tech time. With that being said, be prepared to earn it on the climb.

This trail has a healthy climb with technical rock areas; be mindful once you get to the upper loops to maintain control, as there are numerous areas where you could shoot off the trail and have a nasty slide/tumble down a steep, rocky descent. In my opinion this is a great trail, but even better for its easy access from Denver.* Review edited 9/2/2012

Rode this trail for the first time today and it will definitely be the first of many.

The first couple miles is definitely no joke and I ended up walking a decent amount but once you get up there the reward is great. I initially rode Red Mesa loop counter clockwise which I don't recommend. As soon as I finished I turned right back around and rode it clockwise which was a BLAST!