Fawn Creek #309

Fawn Creek has been neglected the past handful of years. Trees have been cut out over the years, usually around 100-200 a year. However there are many sections of trail where the tread has been taken out by rootball tear outs, trees falling, and general unuse. In 2022, FAMB took a full month to brush every foot of trail, remove all down trees, and partnered with the Forest Service to remove a very large, dangerous tree that was almost impassable.

This trail is best enjoyed a couple ways:
Short drive up Doris Cr Rd, an Alpine 7 hike-a-bike, and down to the powerline road (shuttle).
Long drive up Aurora Basin Rd, and almost all downhill to the powerline road (shuttle).
Up the Backside of Columbia, down Fawn, and back to your rig at the bridge parking lot (loop).
We would not suggest trying to bike up Fawn, although there are some stream crossings for water refill.

Trail Description:
Top section: You start in a meadow with short and steep descents. The steep sections become longer, with deep trenching, ranging from ankle deep to thigh deep, wide enough for a tire to a couple feet wide. This includes rock drops, rock gardens, root gardens, and some switchbacks.
Middle section: Crossing Fawn Cr several times in a meandering trail with steep sections and 'flowy' sections, beware of rootball holes
Bottom section: After you cross Aurora Cr, the trail sidehills and gets steeper, with many root gardens and a few switchbacks.
End section: Pop out on to a closed troad, turn left, and pedal/hike up single track to the gravel powerline road, which has many elevation changes and takes a VERY indirect path back to the bridge over the South Fork.

Old description:
This trail was used in the 70's for a motorcycle trail competition. Later the area became non-motorized and the trail saw little use and even less maintenance. It's only by the hard work by mountain-bike volunteers that the trail will get a second chance. When cleared this trail should bring as much excitement to today's mountain-bikers going down as it did our motorcycling ancestors had tearing up it.

Access Info

Start at Doris Lakes TH, Fawn branches off downhill in the meadow.