Magic Meadow

It checks all the boxes on paper: alpine scenery, fast bits, berms for days, but I found it lacking character. There’s no real pay off for climbing all the way up there.

An impressive feat of trail building, this trail loses 1100' of elevation while going uphill the entire way.

There are moments of promise, especially in the second half, but this would ride much better as a descent if the pointless meandering in the first 2-3 miles was eliminated.

Fantastic trail. Great choice in the Telluride area if you don't want to buy a bike park pass. Access from the Alta lakes area with a shuttle, ride up the road, ride up the trail, or use the Gondola before 9AM or after 5PM (2023) Although the Gondola access is not possible until July 1st as Prospector Basin trails are closed for elk calving until then.

We accessed from the Alta lakes area by riding up Boomerang road then down from the Boomerang/Prospector/Magic Meadows junction. We were fortunate enough to have a driver for shuttle and continued across the highway to Sunshine and were picked up at the bottom of it on the 63L road. This made for a great ride.

Rode this with my dad, brother, and nephew who are all intermediate riders - I'm more advanced than them and we all loved the trail. There is a great combination of flowy fast sections, cruisy xc, beautiful meadows, and amazing views of the surrounding mountains. There's nothing technical or chunky on the trail, but plenty of opportunities for fun.

I hardly leave comments but was having a tough time finding a trail to get the whole family out without spending a fortune on bike park passes - Very happy we found this one and I hope more people do the same!

*The description states this trail is closed until July 1st for elk calving - This is out of date and according to the local map and signage Magic Meadows is outside of the closure area this year.