4 miles
Distance
656 ft
Climb
-656 ft
Descent
00:38:09
Avg time
Trail Supporters, Builders & Maintainers of Horsethief Bench Trail
  • BLM
    BLM
    Land Manager

Horsethief Bench Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Kokopelli's Trail
    Fruita, Colorado
  • AKA
    Horsethief
  • Difficulty Rating
    Blue rate
  • Voted Difficulty
    Blue (3 votes)
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM
  • Trail Usage
    Biking Primary
  • Direction
    Both Directions
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • TTFs on Trail
    Drop, Rock Face, Rock Garden
  • Global Ranking
    #273 in Mountain Biking
  • Local Popularity
    100 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 75 in Trail Running
    • 95 in Hiking
  • Land Manager
    BLM

This trail is a must for riding at the Kokopelli trails. The descent from Mary’s is typically hike-a-bike, or a super-challenge for you downhill junkies. Drop down onto the single track and experience fast-flowy riding with several tricky obstacles. The south side of the bench provides you with incredible red-rock views rising above the Colorado River. There is another section of hiking pleasure along the north-west side of the rim, but the ride through the washes on the north –side are bermed and fun. Ride either direction, but be aware that traffic typically flows clockwise.

Local Trail Association
More Stats for Horsethief Bench mountain bike trail
  • Altitude min
    4,494 ft
  • Altitude max
    4,742 ft
  • Altitude start
    4,742 ft
  • Altitude end
    4,742 ft
  • Grade max
    -43.354%
  • Grade min
    39.486%
  • Distance climb
    2 miles
  • Distance down
    2 miles
  • Distance flat
    761 ft
  • Avg time
    00:38:09
  • Avg reverse time
    00:44:52
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jul 22, 2020
Ideal
Avg: 4.35 (47 votes)

view (3,120)
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  • Layers  w
  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail 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%
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
ContributeDetails
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

LEGEND
Trail Difficulties
  • Access Road/Trail
  • White
  • Green
  • Blue
  • Black
  • Double Black Diamond

Trail Report Status
  • Clear / Green
  • Minor Issue / Yellow
  • Significant Issue / Amber
  • Closed

  • Land Owner Overlay
  • Wilderness (typically no bikes in USA)
  • BLM (public)
  • USFS (Wildlife sanctuaries darker than usfs)
  • State land
  • Indigenous
  • Military
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
  • Map Markers
  • trail Trail Head
  • photo Photo
  • place Directory Listing
  • region Riding Area
  • TTF TTF
  • Parking Parking
  • Viewpoint Viewpoint
  • Information Information
  • Warning Warning
  • Directions Directions
  • Sight Sight
  • Restrooms Restrooms
  • eBike Charging Point eBike Charging Point
  • Water Fountain/Source Water Fountain/Source
  • Gate Gate
  • Trail Sign Trail Sign
  • Table or Bench Table or Bench
  • Ladder Ladder
  • Stairs Stairs
  • Bridge Bridge
  • Camping Camping
  • Cabin Cabin
  • Lodge Lodge
  • Bear Cache Bear Cache
  • Dock Dock
  • Ranger Station Ranger Station
  • Summit Summit
  • Other Other
      Directions to horsethief-bench trailhead (39.171820, -108.851250)
      update trails status or condition

      Horsethief Bench Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jul 22, 2020 @ 9:23am
      Jul 22, 2020
      Jul 22, 2020 @ 9:19am
      Jul 22, 2020
      Jul 6, 2020 @ 10:48am
      Jul 6, 2020
      May 26, 2020 @ 7:18am
      May 26, 2020
      May 24, 2020 @ 3:27pm
      May 24, 2020
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 10 rides
      • 12 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 477 rides
      • 13 miles avg distance
      All
      • 1,960 rides
      •  

      Photos

      more »
      8 |
      May 20, 2020 @ 9:21pm
      May 20, 2020
      8 |
      May 20, 2020 @ 9:21pm
      May 20, 2020
      22 |
      May 5, 2020 @ 9:59am
      May 5, 2020
      25 |
      May 5, 2020 @ 9:54am
      May 5, 2020

      Routes with this trail

      titleratingdistance
      The Best of Kokopelli Trail System
      		22 miles
      29-mile KoKo loop
      		29 miles
      Horsethief to Utaline
      		30 miles

      2 Reviews & Comments

      • + 0
      flag wgwestervelt (Apr 15, 2019 at 15:48)
       Spectacular trail. I would rate it a 4.5 for the trail itself and about a 12 for scenery.
      [Reply]
      • + 1
      flag bryanw18 (Oct 15, 2019 at 6:19)
       The famous and infamous. Yes it is gnarly, but if you are like me and like to keep your deductible in check, just walk the bench and enjoy the rest.
      [Reply]

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      Videos

      more »
      youtuber I CLIMBED HORSETHIEF BENCH | Shredit VS Reality
      10:09 | 268 | May 30, 2019 , Fruita
      youtuber Dropping into Horsethief Bench.. here's what...
      9:54 | 238 | May 23, 2019 , Fruita
      youtuber Horsethief Bench 2018 (Fruita, CO) Mountain Biking
      11:37 | 323 | May 24, 2018 , Fruita
      youtuber Rock Pile Ridin' - Mountain Biking Horsethief...
      6:31 | 531 | Apr 19, 2017 , Fruita

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