Heil Valley Ranch Mountain Biking Trails

NOTE: Heil Valley Ranch was severely affected by the CalWood Fire. Portions of Heil Valley Ranch are open to on-trail use only including the Wild Turkey trail, the Ponderosa Loop, and the Picture Rock Trail. Please be respectful of the closed areas due to safety hazards. Access to Heil is only available from the north side from the town of Lyons.

The following trails at Heil Valley Ranch are currently closed due to damage from the CalWood Fire:
• Lichen Loop
• Overland Loop
• Wapiti Trail
• Schoolhouse Loop
• Grindstone Quarry Trail

The CalWood Fire started on Oct. 17, 2020 and raced downwind and downslope through Heil Valley Ranch. It consumed 5,000 acres in about five hours. In the end, it covered more than 10,000 acres with more than half of that on Boulder County property (4,400 acres) and conservation easements (1,400 acres). The shelter, restrooms, and kiosks are undamaged, but bridges, fences, benches, and signs were destroyed. Read more.

Heil Valley Ranch is a great place for strong intermediate riders. The new Overland Loop intermediate trail and the new Schoolhouse Loop beginner/kids trail (opened June 7, 2019) makes it a great place to beginners to learn before heading further into Heil for the challenging Wapiti trail.

Most of the trails here are crafted with mountain bikers in mind. If great turns on well-built rock-armored trails are on your mind today, Heil is the place to go There are heaps of Easter eggs to be found (the fun jumps and rock problems kind, not the chicken egg kind. If you find a real egg, best leave it so you don't anger a mama turkey or alligator who laid it).

Heil is totally rideable on a hardtail, but you'll be sore at the end of the day. Lots of medium sized "babyhead" rocks abound (and often bound up at you when you run over them), so it's bumpy! But, hop on a bigger travel mountain bike and the trails smooth out like butter... well, maybe like chunky spoiled milk, but you get the point.

Check out the Van Hagar if you want to see a sort of "best of" for more advanced riders here. Or, ride up one side and down the other (like Lyons to Wapiti via Picture Rock or the other way 'round).

This place gets mad busy in the spring when all the people who don't realize that biking is fun all the time abandon that silly sport of sliding downhill on wooden sticks and start riding again. If you want to come ride on a warm sunny weekend day, get here early or you might find the parking lots all full.