Find the top rated bike trails in The Buttes, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Quiet and no foot traffic at all! Saw lots of wildflowers, moose, deer prints & scat. Looks to me like 517 from the east is no longer viable. Have to enter from either Albany or Fox. Going back again today. Bicycled the entire thing with 2 of my kiddos many years ago. Camped at Pelton CG at the end back then. Love that my coworker can follow/meet me in the car for most of it. This helps me accomplish my full break-off-work. Plan to bring my tiny grandson in a jogger stroller on my days off. Eager to hike the entire thing: as part of the MedicineBow 100.
I rode the full length of the trail, from north to south and back. As noted, the north-end trailhead isn't easy to find (head down road 517G, at the sign that says No Outlet). Including the navigation around Fox Park (be certain to pause and read the sign) my Strava recorded the full ride at 45.36 miles and an elevation gain/loss of 922 ft (gotta love railroad grades).
The trail is very remote and exposed, so bring plenty of water and good snacks. I did not see anyone else on trail or in the vicinity, with the exception of a few folks fishing at Lake Owen.
The north end of the trail has sections of loose gravel and a few trees over the path, so you get to practice your cyclocross skills. I was running 42cm tubeless on my gravel bike, which was a perfect setup. Heading south, trail is more tame and seems to be better maintained.
It's a beautiful ride both ways and bring your camera, as there are so many wonderful images to be had. Don't worry about Strava records as you'll be stopping every few minutes to take pictures.
While the ravages of the fire are very evident, it's amazing to see how nature rebuilds and the carpets of wildflowers will leave you in awe, as will the reflections off the many beaver ponds. At times, it smelled like I was at a florist, the flowers were in all their glory.
Do this ride, do it slowly and enjoy!
(I would have posted pictures but couldn't figure out how to do that here.)
Trail first of all was very hard to find Drove from Saratoga and thought would at least see some indication there was a trail . Did about 15 miles total on trail peaceful and pretty in some spots . Hard to ride if don’t have mountain bike almost wiped out with a bike with pretty wide tires. Would do again on a day with better weather and would definitely bring bear spray . You never know !
The Poudre Trail’s numbers are straightforward – 10 feet wide and 12 miles long. This is not to be confused with the Poudre River Trail, which is almost 22 miles long and is in Greeley, CO. Fort Collins’ city fathers (and mothers) broke ground on the trail in 1994 and completed it in 2008. There are few bells and whistles to the trail, though it is a bit tricky finding the trailhead. It’s about a ½ mile down a dirt road off a paved cul-de-sac at the end of a road-to-nowhere, about five miles east of downtown. Once the trail is located, it starts off in what looks like a light industrial setting, but instead is an “environmental facility.”
The early stretch is mostly concrete, perhaps not environmentally friendly, but biker friendly to those who are just getting their morning bike legs. Early on, the Poudre does not appear to be a powerful river, presenting itself more like a shallow stream. Soon, the trail approaches downtown Fort Collins, much quieter during the daytime than it is at night. Later, the trail heads around a large pond. It turns out that is the town reservoir, and the reason why the Poudre River flow is so gentle. From the reservoir west, the view is outstanding, much more dramatic than the prairies east of town. And just beyond the edge of the official trail, the road starts its climb toward the Rockies.
A nationally known brewery is right off the bike trail in downtown Ft. Collins.
We started at the Environment Education Center and rode to Bellvue. Even with a stronger than mild wind the scenery kept my mind off the wind. (Coming back with the wind was great!¿) On the way back we followed signs to down town And found, Tom Kha Thai Asian Bistro. What a delightful restaurant and reasonably priced for lunch. We continued through town across the college campus and found the Spring Canyon Park trail. Spring Canyon was beautiful. We found a blow snake more than half the path width! Back across town to the truck. Overall a 40 mile ride!
It traverses along the river with lots of trees and it’s well maintained. The only reason for four stars is the rough joints. Pretty jarring at times
It's in the name: it's a link. It does indeed link. Doesn't go above and beyond, but it gets the job done, linking the Allison Draw Greenway with the Sun Valley/East Cheyenne Greenway. Goes through two intersections and the most forgotten "park" in town; it's not much for scenery.
It kinda goes all over and nowhere in particular at the same time. The middle section from Parsely to Walterscheid has some public exercise equipment which is nice if you're into that sort of thing, and seems to be used a lot by the folks in that area. The greenway also technically incorporates a pedestrian overpass over I-80, which is useful. But other than that, like a lot of Cheyenne greenways, it feels haphazard and half-done. It doesn't lead much of anywhere, much of it feels like a glorified sidewalk, and it doesn't connect well into a unified greenway system.
There’s a garden and train to see, a lake with fishing and playground here. So far it’s my favorite trail in Cheyenne (moved here a few months ago).
Got off track several times. Poorly marked in areas. Well maintained
The Medicine Bow Rail Trail is remote and wild. We rode from Lake Owen to the southern end - about 38 miles round trip. There were no other riders on the trail so we were able to "get away from it all." The trail is very well maintained and clear of debris. There is a slight incline coming out of the campground and then an even 300 foot decline to the southern terminus. Easy. Be aware - while we were riding a fast moving wet and windy storm blew through and trees were falling all around us as we rode the area burned in a previous forest fire. There is no water but there are restrooms at the few trail heads. All in all, a wonderful ride.
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