11.1 miles
Distance
1,469 ft
Climb
-1,474 ft
Descent
2 miles
High Point

This loop is possible in the summer and winter and is difficult in each season for different reasons.

Park at the Peaceful Valley trailhead. Head west on Buchanan Trail, then head up Beaver Resevoir Cutoff to Coney Creek Road. The single track is rocky, steep and challenging. Coney Creek Road is a heavily trafficked 4x4 road. There's an out of date sign an the intersections of Coney and Middle St Vrain stating that bikes are not allowed on the trail. This information is incorrect. You'll come down Buchanan Pass trail back to where you started.

Summer: Rocks, rocks and more rocks The singletrack is very challenging in both steepness and technical features. Coney Creek Road is open to off-roading traffic and is very busy. It also has several large puddles than never dry up. Buchanan Pass Trail is a very popular hiking destination.
Pro-tip: There is not a set opening or closing date of the motor vehicle gate. Try timing this ride in spring or fall when the ground is mostly dry but the gate is still shut. Otherwise, hit it very early in the morning or as an evening ride to avoid jeeps.

Winter: A good layer of snow covers up all the rocks making this a great fatbiking ride. Buchanan and the lower section of Coney Creek are usually well packed. The western-most 3 miles of this route are not well traveled and traverse some open areas and thus are often untracked and drifty.
Pro-tip: Check conditions on Front Range Fattys before heading out: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1422762624607648/. And it's a good idea to carry snowshoes with you should you need to do some extended hiking.

Detailed Description
Coney Buchanan Loop is a 11 mile popular expert route located near Ward Colorado. This mountain bike primary route can be used both directions and has a hard overall physical rating. This route includes 4 trails. This route climbs 1,469 ft with a max elevation of 9,821 ft then descends -1,474 ft.
Local Trail Association
Local trail association
Boulder Mountainbike Alliance (bouldermountainbike.org)
Please consider joining or donating to the local riding association to support trail development & maintenance.
donate to earn trail karma!

Trail Products

3 Reviews & Comments

  • + 1
andy-legrunge (Sep 19, 2020 at 15:11)
This is signed at both ends as “hikers and skiers only.” Can anyone confirm?
[Reply]
  • + 5
WendyBMA BMA (Sep 19, 2020 at 15:47)
The US Forest Service has confirmed that that sign is incorrect and antiquated but the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance has not been able to get it removed. The trail does cross through private property, that the forest service has an easement through.
[Reply]
  • + 1
andy-legrunge (Sep 19, 2020 at 18:31)
Thank you!
[Reply]





Login or Sign Up to Comment

Details

  • Featured
  • Riding area
  • Primary Activity
    Mountain Bike
  • Other Activities
    • Horse
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
    • Snowshoe
    • Nordic Ski
  • Difficulty rating
    Black Diamond
  • Route Type
    Loop
  • eBike Allowed
  • Direction
    Both Directions
  • Physical rating
    Hard
  • Ridelogs
    9
More Stats for Coney Buchanan Loop mountain bike route
  • Altitude min
    8,538 ft
  • Altitude start
    8,548 ft
  • Altitude end
    8,543 ft
  • Grade max
    -78.1%
  • Grade min
    38.7%
  • Distance climb
    5 miles
  • Distance down
    5 miles
  • Distance flat
    1 mile
Avg: 5 (3 votes)
close
3D
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Inadequate
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches

Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
disable
Only show trails with NO bikes.
enable

Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.

Save
Trail transparency
31
27
38
60

Recent Trail Reports Along Route

statustraildateconditiondescription
Buchanan Pass Trail
Mar 13, 2023 @ 5:56am
Mar 13, 2023
Packed to the waterfall on Sunday. Conditions were tricky for uphill riding with a narrow pack and slippery snow but all ridable downhill. Should only get better as the recent snowfall gets more packed.
Beaver Reservoir Cutoff Trail
Mar 4, 2023 @ 5:40pm
Mar 4, 2023
Super great
Coney Creek Road
Nov 22, 2022 @ 9:38am
Nov 22, 2022
Snow covered and Jeep-packed as a two-track. Occasional uncovered rocks.
Coney Non-Motorized Spur
May 25, 2021 @ 8:26am
May 25, 2021
Trails are open. Please update conditions if you ride.
more reports »
  • By WendyBMA BMA & contributors
  • #26072 - 1,102 views