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Doctor Park Mountain Bike Trail
Crested Butte, Colorado
MTB TRAIL STATS
Avg Rating:   |
6 trail reviews |
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Status: updated 1/2/12 by GimmeAraise |
Difficulty:  Advanced |
| Length: 19 miles | Global Rank: #26 |
| Tread: Singletrack | Configuration: Loop |
| Ridden: 40 | Wishlist: 42 |
| Elevation Gain/Loss: +3,368/-4,979 ft | |
 1 trail check-ins |
Directions:
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Description: Doctors Park offers some fantastic downhill on the Gunnison Spur of the Colorado Trail. This trail can be ridden as a loop or you can use a shuttle if riding up eight miles of road doesn't appeal to you. Most people park at the bottom (North Bank Campground) and ride or shuttle up Spring Creek Road to Doctor Gulch (trail 554). After going about eight and a half miles up the road, where the canyon starts opening up into a wide valley, look to the right (southeast) and you will see doubletrack crossing thru Spring Creek and going up the gully. At the time of this writing there was a trail sign on the south side of the creek for 554. After leaving Spring Creek Road, at exactly one mile there is a right hand turn; trail 554 continues to the right. Go right and continue up, winding your way on the doubletrack to the top of the ridge. After about three miles you will come to heavy forest. This section of the trail can be a miserable root-infested mud pit after it rains so be prepared to grind and grunt your way thru slop if there has been rain. The misery is compounded if cows or horses have recently used the trail. Continue working your way along and after another mile you will break into a large open meadow; this is Doctors Park, and this is where the real singletrack and the fun begins. From here you have five miles of fast downhill. The top section is a bit steep and rocky, but it is a lot of fun. After a mile or so you get into some fantastic cruising thru aspen forest; this is the best part of the trail and probably some of the sweetest singletrack you will ever find. Fast, flowy, and full of variety. It rocks! Let your bike run and enjoy the miles. About a half mile from the bottom the trail gets steep and rocky with fun switchbacks on a steep sideslope. If you are tired, stop and take a break so that you are ready to work your way down the steeps. The trail can be a bit technical and the drop-offs are severe, so the penalty for mistakes is high.
Now, about alternate routes, the top of the ridge is crisscrossed with a few trails, and you really can't go wrong exploring as long as you remember that you want to work your way to the southwest corner. Just remember that most of the other trails allow motorized access so they are going to be more chewed up.
If you want to have an epic ride combine this ride with the Flag, Bear and Deadman trails (see review for "Reno / Flag / Bear / Deadman"). Instead of crossing Spring Creek to go up Doctor Gulch continue riding up Spring Creek Road past Spring Creek Reservoir until you get to the bottom of the Flag trail. Go a short distance up Flag and turn left on the Bear trail. Follow Bear to Deadman Trail where you take a left and follow it back down to Spring Creek Road. From there it is a .7 mile ride back up to Doctor Gulch where you can resume the ride described above. This makes a figure eight loop that tallies up to 34 miles of riding with almost 4,000' of vertical. Yeah, that qualifies as an epic day.
If you are into camping there are many formal and informal places to camp near Spring Creek, or the whole Taylor River Valley, for that matter. I highly suggest getting the Latitude 40 map for Crested Butte.
Description: Doctors Park offers some fantastic downhill on the Gunnison Spur of the Colorado Trail. This trail can be ridden as a loop or you can use a shuttle if riding up eight miles of road doesn't appeal to you. Most people park at the bottom (North Bank Campground) and ride or shuttle up Spring Creek Road to Doctor Gulch (trail 554). After going about eight and a half miles up the road, where the canyon starts opening up into a wide valley, look to the right (southeast) and you will see doubletrack crossing thru Spring Creek and going up the gully. At the time of this writing there was a trail sign on the south side of the creek for 554. After leaving Spring Creek Road, at exactly one mile there is a right hand turn; trail 554 continues to the right. Go right and continue up, winding your way on the doubletrack to the top of the ridge. After about three miles you will come to heavy forest. This section of the trail can be a miserable root-infested mud pit after it rains so be prepared to grind and grunt your way thru slop if there has been rain. The misery is compounded if cows or horses have recently used the trail. Continue working your way along and after another mile you will break into a large open meadow; this is Doctors Park, and this is where the real singletrack and the fun begins. From here you have five miles of fast downhill. The top section is a bit steep and rocky, but it is a lot of fun. After a mile or so you get into some fantastic cruising thru aspen forest; this is the best part of the trail and probably some of the sweetest singletrack you will ever find. Fast, flowy, and full of variety. It rocks! Let your bike run and enjoy the miles. About a half mile from the bottom the trail gets steep and rocky with fun switchbacks on a steep sideslope. If you are tired, stop and take a break so that you are ready to work your way down the steeps. The trail can be a bit technical and the drop-offs are severe, so the penalty for mistakes is high.
Now, about alternate routes, the top of the ridge is crisscrossed with a few trails, and you really can't go wrong exploring as long as you remember that you want to work your way to the southwest corner. Just remember that most of the other trails allow motorized access so they are going to be more chewed up.
If you want to have an epic ride combine this ride with the Flag, Bear and Deadman trails (see review for "Reno / Flag / Bear / Deadman"). Instead of crossing Spring Creek to go up Doctor Gulch continue riding up Spring Creek Road past Spring Creek Reservoir until you get to the bottom of the Flag trail. Go a short distance up Flag and turn left on the Bear trail. Follow Bear to Deadman Trail where you take a left and follow it back down to Spring Creek Road. From there it is a .7 mile ride back up to Doctor Gulch where you can resume the ride described above. This makes a figure eight loop that tallies up to 34 miles of riding with almost 4,000' of vertical. Yeah, that qualifies as an epic day.
If you are into camping there are many formal and informal places to camp near Spring Creek, or the whole Taylor River Valley, for that matter. I highly suggest getting the Latitude 40 map for Crested Butte.
added on August 8, 2006 by 
SIMILAR TRAILS
Riders who liked this mountain bike trail also liked:Mack Ridge in Fruita
Buffalo Creek in Pine
Monarch Crest Trail in Salida
Trail 401 in Crested Butte
TRAIL REVIEWS review this trail
reviewed by stillfat on September 25, 2011
I'd give this one six stars if I could - GREAT trail. (skip the shuttle).
reviewed by jmonnahan on September 22, 2011
It throws a little bit of everything at you with lung busting climbs, raging narrow singletrack, and puckering switchbacks
reviewed by trek7k on August 16, 2011
Classic Colorado riding! The jeep road climb is worth every drop of sweat as you zoom down the back side. The singletrack offers up a mix of loose, rocky stuff with stretches of singletrack so fast and smooth it's as if the soil was designed specifically for bike trails. Gorgeous wildflowers and aspen tree cover yields to ponderosa pine and a steep, tricky descent back to the trailhead. My 2-cents on the shuttle debate? I was exhausted at the start of the ride and would have gladly shuttled a vehicle. But in hindsight the portion that is shuttle-able really isn't the hard part - it's just time consuming. Still, the scenery is great and it's exercise so I say skip shuttling this ride.
Similar Trail: Sorta reminded me of Mt. Herman in Monument, CO.
reviewed by david_darling on July 22, 2011
A big ride. No shuttle. Sack up and ride the 8 plus miles up Spring Creek to the jct. with trail 554. The climb up is sustained with no real steep parts but you are at 10,400 feet with more climbing to go. A traverse through dense woods opens up to a meadow and the start of a major descent. There are some steep and rocky sections but mostly super buff and super fast. The last mile or so down the swithbacks is very sketchy. Call the doctor cause this trail is sick!
Similar Trail: Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman's
reviewed by baber3000 on September 7, 2010
A shuttle to the top was the way to go for some guys who had been riding for 9 straight days. once to the top we climbed for about 200 yards and dropped into the most flowy technical steep downhill trail we could have imagined. Sections looked like 401 and others were technical switchbacks down the side of an exposed mountain!!! Loved every second of it!!!
Similar Trail: 401 and Deadman Gultch
reviewed by LoboApo28 on August 22, 2010
I rode this mid-day after 40 miles of riding the previous day on a heavy hardtail 26", so I was pretty worn. BUT this is maybe the most fun you can have on a fast, smooth, winding downhill. The 8.5 mile climb up the dirt road is no problem, gradual and smooth - but the steepness starts after you cross the creek for the next 4+ miles. When you're in the forest at about 12 miles into it, be sure to go right at the sign marked "Spur" as it is the main route to take. This is FUN fast/technical downhill to begin with whooping fast smooth aspen cruising in the middle. The beginning of Trail 401 is more scenic and easier, but for pure awesome mountain bike riding this downhill is second to none! High alpine, to aspen groves, to rocky sand at the bottom - this trail's downhill has it all.
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