South Ridge trail/road is the primary means of climbing to the top of Horsetooth Mountain park from the upper trailhead, as a part of a larger loop ride. The road climbs about 1000 ft in 2.6 miles. This trail parallels the hiking trail to Horsetooth Rock. MTB access ends below the last section of hiking trail to the top of the Rock. The surface is dirt, on the loose side, with lots of small rocks. The climbing is steady, but punctuated by a number of water bars. The climbing gets steeper towards the top, but the lack of technical obstacles minimizes the number of high effort pedal strokes needed to reach the top. There is very little shade on this route, which means it can get hot. This service road is not as steep as the Towers trail/road, which is another popular route to climb.
It's a must do! If you want to ride any of the good trails that is, as it's the primary access to the West side.
| ThankIt is not super-fun, but it must be done to get out of the trail-head.
| ThankSteady gradient allows a tempo, and just keep on pedalling!
This is the standard ascent route at Horsetooth. It's wide and well groomed, but is bottom gear steep.
| ThankThis trail/road is not very exciting, but climbing it enables access to a number of loop rides in HTMP. The low impact climbing allows the rider to conserve energy for other aspects of a larger ride.
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