Ride On

Boulder County's fresh single-track trails are calling to eager Front Range mountain bikers.

Flatirons Vista-Spring Brook Loops
Distance 8.8 miles
Skill Level Beginner to Intermediate
Trailhead Highway 93, 0.3 miles south of junction with Highway 128

This short figure-eight loop is a good intro to single-track, with modest climbs and technical difficulties—and you can easily cut it short if the ride is proving too much for the kids. Follow the brand-new Prairie Vista Trail up a beautiful draw, topping out in ponderosa pine forest. Continue west and then back north along a mesa's edge, with sweeping views across the southern Flatirons. Hang a sharp left onto the Doudy Draw Trail, and then descend a couple of hundred feet with one long switchback.

After crossing a creek, head west again on the newly completed Spring Brook Loop. Go clockwise, starting with a moderate, somewhat rocky climb, followed by tight turns through the pines as you head back north. The narrow trail emerges on a grassy point with stunning views of Eldorado and Shadow canyons, and then swoops back down to the Doudy Draw Trail. Climb to the mesa and follow the double-track Flatirons Vista North Trail to the trailhead.

Bonus Miles From the upper trail junction on the Spring Brook Loop, climb a short switchback to a gravel road and follow this downhill 0.3 miles to find amazing rippled walls of Dakota sandstone above the road, the remnants of an ancient ocean beach. Return the way you came to resume the loop.