From the lower parking lot, go uphill to the trailhead at the upper lot. From here it's an easy trail to follow. Follow Bitterbrush trail uphill through somewhat rough singletrack. Around the 1 mile mark you will head down a valley and up the other side into a field. From here the trail becomes physically and technically difficult. You will have roughly 1/2 mile of steep ascending with very difficult technical sections. 1 3/4 miles you reach the top of the first hill and descend into the valley only to ascend into a valley meadow. The trailis easy and hard packed. Once you reach nelson loop (3.5 miles) take a left for a switchback ascent or a right for a slightly less agressive ascent. Follow Nelson Loop (2.3 miles) but beware of speed reducing ditches that rangers dig out for drainage reasons. Once you reconect with Bitterbrush trail follow it back to your car.
Beautiful early evening ride. Went up from Antelope Drive to avoid more technical ride. Loved it!
| ThankTechnical rock gardens, a bit beyond our skill level , Wild Turkey alternative route closed
| ThankTechnical rock gardens, a bit beyond our skill level , Wild Turkey alternative route closed
| ThankHall ranch is in my opinion one the best trails on the front range for training. If you can climb it too the top and do the loop without stopping you have accomplished something awesome. It still kills me but one day I'll do it all. Great trail and usually every one on it is pretty cool.
| ThankGreat trail with endless variation of terrain and scenery. Great technical section that will challenge everyone. This is one of the best trails I have ridden.
| ThankChallenging technical rock gardens on the bottom half are rewarded with a quick, rolling beginner/intermediate loop at the top!
| ThankClimb Up, Coast down the way you came, pretty well maintained. There's two way up that meet for the 2nd half of the trail. One side is definitely a lot more technical than the other side. Connects to Heil Valley Ranch which is another good one, with similar skill and ride.
| ThankAwesome trail. If you can climb the first 3 miles without dabing, your a pro. Coming back down is amazing and we'll worth it.
| ThankIn my opinion, Hall Ranch is one of the best trails on the Front Range. I think some people may disagree with that but, hey, I don't care. I loved that trail and miss it now that I've moved east.
Hall Ranch is fast/flowy, has sections of technical climbing/descending through the rock garden, beautiful scenery with a great view of Mt. Meeker/Longs Peak at the top, can be linked with Heil Ranch via the Picture Rock connector trail, and is ridable even in the winter as it's largely exposed, so the snow melts quickly. Though a long ride for some, you can also ride to it from Boulder or Longmont via dirt roads to add miles to your ride.
| ThankThis a really nice trail with some great technical sections, nice scenery, and usually dries out fairly quickly. It definitely offers some physically and technically challenging sections and isn't really the best choice for beginners. (I say as I was stuck behind a gung ho dad trying to get his young boy up it!)
The downside is it's popularity almost always assures there will be a lot of other riders on the weekends or after work. And if you have a bit of a drive to get there, there is nothing worse than getting to there and seeing the lot full.
| ThankHall Ranch was one of my favorite local rides living in Boulder. Certainly not an epic ride that you would travel to from a distance as said below, but if you live locally, it provides a good mix of technical and fast riding. I often rode the loop at top a couple of times, changing up the direction to lengthen my ride.
| ThankBest trail in the front range, hands down!
| ThankThere are so many options with adding miles if you wanted to do link ups, etc. The rock garden is hard going up I won't lie, but it is a fun challenge. You do get better as your lines get figured out. I have been riding this trail for years and have yet to clean it going up. Going down is much easier and way more fun. The rest of the trail is all single track with minimal techy sections near the top. How can a trail with a five mile grind up and a five mile bomb down on the most flow, clean single track not be the best trail in Colorado? I have ridden some trails that have had great reviews and cussed all the way up because whoever these folks are that think deep sandy, loose baby head rocks, non rideable sections are, "the best single track in Colorado", can kiss my a!@.
Hall Ranch is the real deal. It is challenging in spots, but overall, the trail is clean, fast and flowy.
First off, a nine mile ride with two prominent trails is not a 'system'. Buffalo Creek, North Cheyenne Canon, and Horsetooth Mtn/Lory are examples of Front Range area systems. The low rating is not due to difficulty (i.e. I do the technical trails at Horsetooth but I'd rate it higher because it's a much more fun ride and doesn't lack variety.) The rating is compared to countless other rides nearby and statewide that are much more worth your time (with even better scenery too).
| ThankWhile this trail systems has many great technical attributes, its tough to rate it any higher only because its a bit of a drive to get to, and theres just not enough single track here to make it worthwhile. Nelson loop, and the first mile back down are pretty awesome to rip through, but the super technical sections the rest of the way down just aren't enough fun to justify the trip out there. Its a great lung buster to climb up, but I would rather take a little faster speed and flow as opposed to the lower speed tech decent.
| ThankIn my opinion this trail is overrated due to proximity to Denver. It's a great ride either up or down but... I was able to ride only one trail on the front range and decided to give it a try. I'd better go to Curt Gowdy for more miles and better flow with same technical climbs and descends.
| ThankI'm sure it's rideable without stopping once you find a clean line.
Overall nice trail if not crowded so rider could really enjoy downhill after almost 5 miles of climbing.
This is what mountain biking in the Front Range is about!!! This may be the best single trail out there, Buff Creek and Curt Gowdy have more to ride and may out rate this as a whole, but there is not a better single trail to be ridden. The tech up hurts for sure, but the variety of trail, the beauty, and the rock gardens are worth destroying your lungs for a few minutes. Fast and flowy in parts, tech and gnarly in others, surrounded by Colorado beauty the whole way. What more could one ask? Ride this trail!
| ThankOne of the best trails on the front range. Pretty technical, but the Nelson loop at the top is worth it.
| ThankOverrated considering all the epic rides along quality, rideable trails around Colorado. This is definitely not a trail you would drive a long distance just to ride like others on the list, i.e. 18 Road, 401, CO Trail, Monarch Crest, etc. (If you are coming to the area from out of town, I'd recommend heading south and riding the superior Jefferson County trail system instead.) This is merely a great place to go if you live in Boulder County and are looking for a technical challenge close by. The Nelson Loop singletrack is nice, but it's so short that getting through the pointless hike-a-bike section on the Bitterbrush Trail is not worth it. Nelson is nothing special-there are similar trails that are significantly longer at several Front Range open spaces. Overall there's just not a whole lot of mileage or number of trails open to mountain bikers here to justify such a high ranking.
| ThankThis trail is awesome, super fun flowy downhill and the climb up to Nelson loop won't wear you out so much that you can't ride the loop a couple times if you'd like. I highly recommend this trail if you live near here its a no brainer
| ThankMy son and I enjoyed a nice early December ride. Can't believe we're riding this late in the season.
| ThankSaw several deer who didn't seem to mind us being there.