5.8 miles
Distance
1,032 ft
Climb
-183 ft
Descent
01:13:55
Avg time
Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of South Cottonwood (Lower) Trail

  • USFS
    Land Manager

Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
    • Horse
  • Riding Area
    Northern Gallatin Range
    Bozeman, Montana
  • Ref Number
    #424
  • Difficulty Rating
    Blue rate
  • Voted Difficulty
    Blue (1 vote)
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T1 Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC, Fat
  • Direction
    Both Directions
    Popular in reverse
  • Climb Difficulty
    Blue
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Season
    June-October
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • Ride in Rain
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #89876 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #2926 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    95 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 5 in Trail Running
    • 95 in Hiking
    • 5 in Horseback
  • Land Manager
    USFS

Mostly a scenic, rolling, wide singletrack that follows South Cottonwood Creek for 6 miles to the Fox Creek Ranger Station. First half of this trail maintains a moderate grade (with a short steep climb out of the parking lot) and would be fine for beginner to intermediate bikers. After about mile 3 the trail becomes more rocky, rooted and steep. This gets worse as you head farther out. While the beginning of the ride is a solid intermediate trail, the later half should be labeled as an expert trail. I'm only rating it as blue so people riding the first part aren't scared off.
Keep in mind there are a few short climbs on the way out so save a little energy. This topography and soils in this drainage hold moisture longer than most trails in the region. Give it plenty of time to dry out and avoid riding when wet.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for South Cottonwood (Lower) bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    849 ft
  • Altitude min
    5,746 ft
  • Altitude max
    6,596 ft
  • Altitude start
    5,746 ft
  • Altitude end
    6,594 ft
  • Grade
    2.8%
  • Grade max
    -30%
  • Grade min
    37.6%
  • Distance climb
    5 miles
  • Distance down
    5,148 ft
  • Distance flat
    1,050 ft
  • Avg time
    01:13:55
  • Avg reverse time
    01:19:45
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Sep 5, 2021
Ideal
Avg: 2.5 (2 votes)

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  • 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
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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
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  • < 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
Contribute Details
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.
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  • popular
  • less popular
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ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches

Radar Time
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
      Directions to south-cottonwood-lower trailhead (45.539930, -111.092470)
      update trails status or condition

      South Cottonwood... Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Sep 5, 2021 @ 9:41am
      Sep 5, 2021
      Aug 8, 2021 @ 11:48am
      Aug 8, 2021
      		 Trail riding great after recent moisture. A large downed tree between bridges 3-4 at the base of the big root climb, and another one about 1/2...
      Jun 15, 2021 @ 12:15pm
      Jun 15, 2021
      		 reporter
      Cleared by SWMMBA crews from History Rock to South Cottonwood TH on 6/12/21. Roughly 70 trees between the timber at the top of Fox Creek and a...
      Jun 8, 2021 @ 3:18pm
      Jun 8, 2021
      		 Tree down at mi ~2.6.
      May 11, 2021 @ 11:20am
      May 11, 2021
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 5 rides
      • 11 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 160 rides
      • 12 miles avg distance
      All
      • 264 rides
      •  

      Technical Trail Features (TTF)

      Photos

      more »
      25 |
      Aug 26, 2020 @ 5:36pm
      Aug 26, 2020
      40 |
      Jun 25, 2020 @ 6:44am
      Jun 25, 2020
      44 |
      Jun 13, 2020 @ 7:06am
      Jun 13, 2020
      90 |
      Jul 29, 2017 @ 5:54pm
      Jul 29, 2017

      Trail Lists

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titleratingdistance
      DT BZN > Sourdough > History > South Cottonwood
      		45 miles
      Bogart > History > Blackmore > Wheeler > Bogart
      		57 miles
      Blackmore to South Cottonwood
      		17 miles
      Fox to S. Cottonwood
      		13 miles

      Trail Products

      2 Reviews & Comments

      • + 0
      Zaner3 (Sep 9, 2020 at 12:11)
       Trails dry, a 2 downs trees.
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      masonskis (Aug 13, 2021 at 20:44)
       Not that great, no flow. Good connector though for big loops incorporating Wheeler, History, Blackmore, etc etc.
      [Reply]

      Post a Comment



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      Nearby Trails

      Northern Gallatin Range

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