Review: Bear Basin is a single track trail system that has been developed by the USFS and CIMBA near McCall, ID. The area features two flow trails, a pump track and around 15 miles of beginner to intermediate XC single track with enough variety and features to make it interesting for a variety of riders. The access is near the Little Ski Hill at the Bear Basin Trailhead sign west of McCall on Hwy 55. There is also a Bear Basin sign at the corner of Forest Rd. 451(1.5 miles before Bear Basin Trailhead sign) that will take you on a 7 mile climb to the top of the Brundage Mountain Ski area lift served trails or to the top of the 6.5 mile downhill of the Backside Moto Trail partially described in the other review. On this road you also pass the Stealth Trails which offer some more unoffical trail fun on state land and the Payette Rim trails which is multi use trail overlooking Payette Lake. There are a variety of old roads and single track trails that start in the Bear Basin area(don't be afraid to explore) most of which can be found on the Central Idaho Adventure Map of trails. The map is available at Gravity Sports and the HUB outdoor center in McCall. Additional info on area trails can be found at the McCall Ranger District office on Lake St in McCall.* Review edited 4/30/2012* Review edited 4/30/2012

* Review edited 4/30/2012

Similar Trail: Boise Foothill trails

Review: This was a dirt road climb from Bear Basin up the back side and to the top of Brundage Ski Resort, followed by short and sweet sections of less traveled single track. We started at Bear Basin on FR451 and pedaled a forgiving dirt road up moderate grade for 5 miles to the 451-456 junction. We took FR456 to the top of Brundage Mountain Ski resort for another mile and excellent fall views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. We returned to the junction via 456, then took fresh single track (tr11 AKA Brundage Moto) down a 2.5 mile stretch of relatively new singletrack back to FR451. We then went downhill for about 1/2 mile to the beginning of the Payette Rim Trail, which starts out as a double track. We then took the first bit of single track, which was crowded by trees and had a few small jumps and also turned out to be a lark as it was only 1/4 mile before we were back at FR451. We decided that was too short, so returned went back up FR451 to the same exit and road it out longer until we found the actual Payette Rim Trail, which had a few creek crossings and eventually steered us through a logging area and back to 451 again. Total trip was 16 miles and 2500 feet elevation gain/loss.

* Review edited 10/16/2011