Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Greenhorn Trail
Wood River Trails CoalitionSponsor
USFSLand Manager- Ketchum Ranger District Trail CrewMaintainer
Greenhorn Details
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Activities
- Mountain Bike
- E-Bike
- Horse
- Hike
- Trail Running
- Dirtbike/Moto
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Riding AreaGreenhorn
Hailey, Idaho -
Ref Number#156
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AKA7156, Mars Ridge
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Difficulty Rating
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Hiking SAC ScaleT1 Hiking
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Trail TypeSingletrack
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Bike TypeAM
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DirectionBoth Directions
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Climb DifficultyDouble Black Diamond
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Physical RatingHard
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Trail VisibilityAlways easy to follow
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Season01/01-12/31
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Alpine TrailYes
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Dogs AllowedYes
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eBike AllowedYes up to Class 1
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Global Ranking
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Local Popularity75 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 85 in E-Biking
- 70 in Trail Running
- 80 in Hiking
- 80 in Dirtbiking
- 5 in Horseback
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Land OwnerUSFS-Ketchum Ranger District
*New section at beginning! In April of 2024 the new section was built to take the trail out of the riparian area. It now starts on the North side near Cow Creek Connector.
Greenhorn Trail #156: Great for an out-and-back or to use as part of one or more loops that branch off of the trail. The trail departs the trailhead to the south and crosses Greenhorn Creek over a series of footbridges as it meanders up the drainage. A very long trail that gets very demanding and can be taken for about 9 miles to the head of the canyon at Mars Ridge.
Much of the Greenhorn Gulch drainage burned in recent fires, but the trails in the area are on the rebound. Repair and restoration efforts by the Forest Service, Wood River Bike Coalition, Wood River Land Trust, and other partners and volunteers for the Ketchum Ranger District were carried out during the summer of 2014. The trails were reopened after an intensive season of rebuilding.
The trail crosses through a pleasant patchwork of riparian vegetation and aspen trees before climbing through dense pine and fir forest to a high ridge. The views of the Pioneer Mountains from the top are outstanding.
Loops are possible via the Imperial and Mahoney trails, or by using this trail as part of deeper explorations to places like the rather distant Mars Ridge region.
The Greenhorn Gulch drainage, which includes Cow Creek, Lodgepole Gulch, Mahoney Gulch, Greenhorn Creek, and Imperial Gulch has the highest concentration of multi-use trails in the valley. Much of the northern half of the drainage was burned quite severely during the Castle Rock Fire in 2007. A lot more of the area burned intensely during the 2013 Beaver Creek Fire.
Use extra caution when planning outings in areas impacted by the recent fires. Storms can create flash floods, debris flows, and falling timber. Check the weather and keep your eye on the skies when you are headed out for a hike or ride. Travel is not recommended in burned areas when threatening weather conditions exist. Burned, standing trees can come down in any weather, but when windy conditions develop the situation becomes especially dangerous. When in doubt stay out.
The trails in the drainage pass through a wide variety of terrain. They pass through dense forest, open grasslands, flower-covered slopes, meandering ridgelines and, more recently, burned and limbless forests recovering from the fire. The interconnected nature of the Greenhorn trails allows for a wide variety of loops as all of the drainages are linked along the western divide.
For hikers, some of the available loops may be longer than they might wish to cover in a day. However, there are several shorter options between the Cow Creek and Mahoney Gulch trails. Out-and-back hikes are also a great option on both the Greenhorn and Imperial Gulch trails.
Please keep in mind that all of the trails in Greenhorn Gulch are multi-use and open to motorcycles, and the motorcycle community stays involved in the maintenance of the trails. They help make possible the prompt opening of the trails by cutting out the vast majority of the downed trees that litter the trails each spring. Its also good to keep in mind that through the purchase of the State of Idaho's Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Use sticker fees, the motorized community is instrumental in the funding for many of the trail improvements on our shared-use motorized trails. In the late '70s and early '80s funds for the development of many of the trails in Greenhorn came from such fees.
Local Trail Association
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trail development & maintenance.
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Greenhorn multi-use trail trail
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Altitude change2,420 ft
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Altitude min5,899 ft
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Altitude max8,510 ft
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Altitude start5,913 ft
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Altitude end8,333 ft
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Grade5.5%
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Grade max-26.1%
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Grade min86.2%
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Distance climb6 miles
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Distance down1 mile
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Distance flat2,425 ft
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Avg time01:13:49
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Avg reverse time01:28:37
- view trail stats
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
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
- < 2 days
- < 1 week
- < 2 weeks
- < 1 month
- < 6 months
- > 6 months
- Downhill Only
- Downhill Primary
- Both Directions
- Uphill Primary
- Uphill Only
- One Direction
- Description
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- popular
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- mountain biking recent
- mountain biking (>6 month)
- hiking (1 year)
- moto (1 year)
- Downhill Ski
- Backcountry Ski
- Nordic Ski
- Snowmobile
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Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail
- 0 rides
- 53 rides
- 15 miles avg distance
- 320 rides
- Last: Oct 13, 2024
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Nearby Trails
- Greenhorn Gulch Rd 125 ft
- Cow Creek 486 ft
- Cow Creek Connector 486 ft
- Greenhorn Old Route De-commissioned 702 ft
- *old Imperial Gulch De-commissioned 2,762 ft
- By jandashetler & contributors
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