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7.5 miles
Distance
661 ft
Climb
-687 ft
Descent
1 mile
High Point
-26 ft
Altitude change
6,257 ft
Altitude min
6,574 ft
Altitude start
6,549 ft
Altitude end
-0.1%
Grade
-22.4%
Grade max
19.1%
Grade min
4 miles
Distance climb
3 miles
Distance down
3,337 ft
Distance flat
Starting at the top of the hill on the west entrance, head north along Triple Treat. At the top, hang a left u-turn (mile 0.15) onto Rattlesnake Ridge Trail. Definitely a harder start with awkward technical lines with not so smooth rocks to get your ready. Stay on Rattlesnake Ridge Trail all the way to Vindicator Dr. (mile 1.5), then take the trail down to the right east.
You'll join onto Eagle Trail and try not to hit any strollers. Continue south past the turns for the Vindicator TrailHead towards Beaver Trail (Arches) near mile 1.8. Angle left to follow the contour of the bluffs. At mile 2.3, stay high and do not get sucked into descending. You'll know you're on the correct route if you immediately have a rock drop into the Arch.
At mile 2.45, staying high to the left, cross over a trail to Brats 'n Beers which will continue a south east direction with the bluff on your left. If you ascent a super steep section or descend to the valley, you took a wrong turn.
At mile 2.8, stay high to the left to climb a wash towards Sunnyside Trail, once you connect with it, take a right towards the rock descent. Cross the paved road at mile 3.1 and take it towards Black and Blue Loop (North), you'll be taking Black towards the frontage road.
Enjoy a solid 1.2 miles of great tech Lots of sections to improve your time if you can get through the spots without stopping.
You'll finish at the frontrage road parking lot/trailhead around 4.5 miles into the loop. Hang a right, grab a snack and hammer Black and Blue Loop (South) back into Ute.
When you get back to the bottom of the original Almond Butter (mile 5.6), continue a gradual left onto Connector Trail - flowy singletrack, a great ride for all levels. Take a ride through the woods and watch for bears!
This trail will end at mile 6.4, hang a left for a short punchy uphill on Bear Trail Connector. You'll shortly be at a four way intersection at the bottom of Nachos. Pass Nachos to take Scrub Oak up to the start of this route.
But wait, you can't ride Ute Valley without a Nachos lap! Hang a right after the fence, continue up towards Nachos and descend at mile 7. Have fun and hang on! Finish Nachos to take an immediate right at the four way intersection back towards Scrub Oak. Climb this again to your finish!
Detailed Description
D-Loop #2.2 is a 7 mile popular expert route located near Colorado Springs Colorado. This mountain bike only route can be used one direction. This route includes 9 trails. This route climbs 661 ft with a max elevation of 6,658 ft then descends -687 ft.
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Stats
-
Distance7 miles
-
Altitude min6,257 ft
-
Altitude start6,574 ft
-
Altitude end6,549 ft
-
Climb661 ft
-
Descent-687 ft
-
Grade-0.1%
-
Grade max-22.4%
-
Grade min19.1%
-
Distance climb4 miles
-
Distance down3 miles
-
Distance flat3,337 ft
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Trails in Route
| 1,965 ft | |||||
| 2,398 ft | |||||
| 1,555 ft | |||||
| 217 ft | |||||
| 1 mile | |||||
| 2,920 ft | |||||
| 1,522 ft |
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Primary ActivityMountain Bike
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Difficulty ratingBlack Diamond
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Route TypeLoop
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Bike typeAM, XC
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DirectionOne Direction
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Our longest Ride of the Year, on the Shortest Day of the Year: Ute Valley |Part 2 | MTB Snippets
trail: Black & Blue Loop (Blue)
4:54 | 299 | comments: 0 | favs:
Dec 30, 2020
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