5.1 miles
Distance
990 ft
Climb
-19 ft
Descent
00:59:22
Avg time

Picture Rock Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Heil Valley Ranch
    Lyons, Colorado
  • Difficulty Rating
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Direction
    Both Directions
  • Climb Difficulty
    Blue
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • eBike Allowed
  • TTFs on Trail
    Berm, Rock Face
  • Global Ranking
    #9219 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #31692 in Trail Running
    • #37512 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    75 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 60 in Trail Running
    • 30 in Hiking
  • Land Owner
    Boulder County Parks & Open Space

Picture Rock is a critical link trail out of Lyons. It's insanely popular, but for a good reason. Want to ride out of town and do some miles and come back for a beer? This trail has your name on it It's sort of a Jekyll and Hyde trail. The bottom half (after an impressive boulder "gate" that signals the beginning of the real trail) is a smooth as butter swoop-fest. Climb is easy with great views and the trails is wonderful for beginning riders. Pass "the silo" (that's a big round tower for you folks visiting from cities. Sort of like Rapunzel's tower or the tower in the Dark Tower (nerd)) and it's a different beast. Still a blue climb, but now it's full of sharp pointy rocks (look at the bones!).

There's some great history on this trail. Right after the silo, you'll pass an old quarry with a dead car in it. There's heaps of old ranching walls (both buildings and fences) made from the local sandstone. Really cool stuff to stop and look out if you need an excuse for getting off the bike for a moment or two (don't give away my secret about this one).

Downhill is a bit choppy up at the top. When the trail was new, the rocks had a great flow to them. Now, there are enough poking through that they tend to slow you down (not necessarily a bad thing). The lower section (the aforementioned swoop-fest) is amazing on the way out. Watch out for blind turns through. There are several sections where tall bushes can obscure a hiker, or biker, or zombie horde until the last second.

Disclaimer

Picture Rock is open through the lower, undamaged area of Heil. Please respect all trail closures.

Local Trail Association
More Stats for Picture Rock mountain bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    970 ft
  • Altitude min
    5,401 ft
  • Altitude max
    6,372 ft
  • Altitude start
    5,402 ft
  • Altitude end
    6,371 ft
  • Grade
    3.6%
  • Grade max
    -7.3%
  • Grade min
    21.5%
  • Distance climb
    5 miles
  • Distance down
    1,532 ft
  • Distance flat
    899 ft
  • Avg time
    00:59:22
  • Avg reverse time
    00:41:19
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Feb 11, 2025
Avg: 3.91 (18 votes)
Your vote: 0

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Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
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  • hiking (1 year)
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      Directions to picture-rock trailhead (40.211340, -105.272930)
      update trails status or condition

      Picture Rock Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Feb 11, 2025 @ 9:16am
      Feb 11, 2025
      Trail is open. Please update conditions if you ride
      Jan 29, 2025 @ 10:57am
      Jan 29, 2025
      Trail closed for muddy conditions. Status will be updated when trail reopens.
      Dec 23, 2024 @ 8:35am
      Dec 23, 2024
      A couple of wet, slick spots near the bottom but no real mud to speak of.
      Dec 20, 2024 @ 11:10am
      Dec 20, 2024
      A couple of wet spots this afternoon, was frozen in the am.
      Nov 28, 2024 @ 6:21am
      Nov 28, 2024
      Trail closed for muddy conditions. Status will be updated when trail reopens
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 0 rides
      •  
      6 Months
      • 55 rides
      • 13 miles avg distance
      All
      • 394 rides
      • Last: Jan 22, 2025

      Photos

      more »
      648 |
      Feb 27, 2015 @ 11:08am
      Feb 27, 2015
      2 |
      Dec 24, 2024 @ 1:10pm
      Dec 24, 2024
      82 |
      Sep 20, 2023 @ 8:23am
      Sep 20, 2023
      66 |
      Aug 9, 2023 @ 7:00am
      Aug 9, 2023

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      Lil' Burrito featured41 miles
      Pondarosa Loop from Picture Rock featured16 miles
      Picture Rock to Wild Turkey featured14 miles
      The Little Burrito38 miles

      Trail Products

      3 Reviews & Comments


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      Videos

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      Picture Rock - Heil Valley Ranch - Lyons -...
      3:53 | 567 | Sep 7, 2021 , Lyons
      youtuber Mountain Biking at Heil Valley Ranch - Lower...
      1284 | Aug 31, 2016 , Lyons
      youtuber CO MTB  | Heil Valley Ranch - Upper Picture...
      960 | Aug 31, 2016 , Lyons
      • By toddTF Pro Trailforks & contributors
      • #13704 - 9,278 views

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