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Indian Creek Loop Mountain Bike Trail
Denver, Colorado
MTB TRAIL STATS
Avg Rating:   |
12 trail reviews |
|
Status: updated 7/27/09 by jwoolf |
Difficulty:  Advanced |
| Length: 29 miles | Global Rank: 378 |
| Tread: Singletrack | Configuration: Lollipop |
| Ridden: 72 | Wishlist: 66 |
| Avg. Speed: 7.46 mph | Avg. Time: 3hr 5min |
Directions:
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Description: The first and last 6 miles of this trail are on the gravel road that goes through Waterton Canyon, meaning your total off-road trail distance will be about 17 miles (29 miles total). Nonetheless, there is a lot of climbing and some route finding skills required, which means this ride has the potential to be MUCH longer than you anticipate. If you carry a good map with you, there should be few problems. If you grab the Trails Illustrated Map #135 for Deckers and Rampart Range, it has a blowup view of this entire trail system on the back and shows the loop almost perfectly.
The first 6 miles will take you up to the dam. You will continue on up the fire road until it ends and changes into singletrack (beginning the Colorado Trail). This will continue to climb for about another mile until you reach the bench at the top. From here you will notice a trail spur on the left just before you reach the bench, heading uphill. This begins a short, but intense climb to the next intersection which is about º mile or so from the bench. At this intersection you will notice the trail going left (back to Waterton) or to the right (uphill) heading onto the Indian Creek Loop. Begin climbing once again as the trail strives to get to the ridgeline for about the next half mile or so. You will finally reach a steep, loose section of trail which goes straight up, then to the left. Once you clear this nasty section, it levels off from there. This will be the last of the really bad climbs for quite some time.
Now that you are on the ridgeline, the trail does some gentle uphills interspersed with slight descents. Eventually you will roll off the east side of the hill and a quick, but steep descent puts you at a T intersection. Note that the left trail is NOT on the trails illustrated map. If you turn left into Stevens Gulch, this will take you down a fun, fast descent back towards the Roxborough Loop (make sure you make a left when you reach the homestead!). If you turn right at this T, this will continue you on the journey towards the Indian Creek campground (the mid-way point of this ride). Now, the trail becomes a fun downhill as it tracks down to the creek bed. Once you reach that point, you will start to gradually go back up as you follow the creek for another mile or so. This is a very scenic portion of the ride, and nice and cool in the shade of the forest. There will be some tiring climbs as you get closer to the campground, but they are mostly just long grinds on easy terrain. After a final little rock obstacle, you will be in the campground.
From here, proceed to the latrine and potable water faucet. You should see the clearly marked singletrack peeling off to the left, up the hill. Once you refill your water, head back up the trail and begin another set of climbs. Note that this section of trail is NOT on the trails illustrated map. The grade here is pretty gentle, although you will be going uphill until you reach the fire road. There will be several roads/trails at this intersection, but only one should be marked with the Indian Creek signage (as you come off the singletrack, look straight across and to the left down the hill). This next section is on a fire road, but it is fast and fun because most of it goes downhill from this point. You will come to a few odd intersections, but the trail is well marked the whole way. At one Y intersection there was some deliberation on our route because the sign has an arrow which points between the two roadsÖbut at this point you want to go up to the left. The left route was also well used in comparison to the right fork.
As you get closer to the Roxborough State Park, beware of the huge ìspeed bumpsî someone has put in all along the trail. These really are big jumps, but they are at odd intervals and around corners so they may take you by surprise if you arenít paying attention. Because of their sharp angles, they are extremely dangerous to hit at even medium speed. One guy in the group riding ahead of us broke his collarbone because he took these just slightly too fast. The fire road eventually begins to return to singletrack, especially once you reach the power lines. At this point, you will get some incredible singletrack, blasting you through the forest as you cheer in delight. You absolutely cannot miss the signage once you enter the State Park, but the singletrack generally continues along the creek bed here. Your fun will end as you reach another tough climb out of the canyon (luckily it is rather short). Your journey will go downhill again from here, and at one point you will come to an incredible meadow with just a ribbon of singletrack laid out before you. If you can force yourself to stop, this is a great place for a snapshot!
Once you reach the creek crossing, you will begin one more little set of climbs as you get ready to go back down into Waterton Canyon. Once you start the downhill again, it doesnít let up until you are back down at the Waterton Canyon gravel road. This section of trail is like a loose chute with lots of dust and loose rocksÖbut it can be a lot of fun as well. There will be one intersection you pass with a trail going off to your left as you get back on the Roxborough Loop, but just continue straight downhill rather than making a left. The signs all point you towards Waterton Canyon from here. Once we popped out, we all agreed that despite the amount of climbing we suffered through, the payoff was well worth the effort. Iím not sure if there is any merit in doing the loop in the reverse direction, although it is worth mentioning that I canít recall passing anyone in all those miles going the opposite direction. Also note this is an equestrian loop as well, so best practice is to dismount when you see horses, pull off the trail and be friendly to them.
Description: The first and last 6 miles of this trail are on the gravel road that goes through Waterton Canyon, meaning your total off-road trail distance will be about 17 miles (29 miles total). Nonetheless, there is a lot of climbing and some route finding skills required, which means this ride has the potential to be MUCH longer than you anticipate. If you carry a good map with you, there should be few problems. If you grab the Trails Illustrated Map #135 for Deckers and Rampart Range, it has a blowup view of this entire trail system on the back and shows the loop almost perfectly.
The first 6 miles will take you up to the dam. You will continue on up the fire road until it ends and changes into singletrack (beginning the Colorado Trail). This will continue to climb for about another mile until you reach the bench at the top. From here you will notice a trail spur on the left just before you reach the bench, heading uphill. This begins a short, but intense climb to the next intersection which is about º mile or so from the bench. At this intersection you will notice the trail going left (back to Waterton) or to the right (uphill) heading onto the Indian Creek Loop. Begin climbing once again as the trail strives to get to the ridgeline for about the next half mile or so. You will finally reach a steep, loose section of trail which goes straight up, then to the left. Once you clear this nasty section, it levels off from there. This will be the last of the really bad climbs for quite some time.
Now that you are on the ridgeline, the trail does some gentle uphills interspersed with slight descents. Eventually you will roll off the east side of the hill and a quick, but steep descent puts you at a T intersection. Note that the left trail is NOT on the trails illustrated map. If you turn left into Stevens Gulch, this will take you down a fun, fast descent back towards the Roxborough Loop (make sure you make a left when you reach the homestead!). If you turn right at this T, this will continue you on the journey towards the Indian Creek campground (the mid-way point of this ride). Now, the trail becomes a fun downhill as it tracks down to the creek bed. Once you reach that point, you will start to gradually go back up as you follow the creek for another mile or so. This is a very scenic portion of the ride, and nice and cool in the shade of the forest. There will be some tiring climbs as you get closer to the campground, but they are mostly just long grinds on easy terrain. After a final little rock obstacle, you will be in the campground.
From here, proceed to the latrine and potable water faucet. You should see the clearly marked singletrack peeling off to the left, up the hill. Once you refill your water, head back up the trail and begin another set of climbs. Note that this section of trail is NOT on the trails illustrated map. The grade here is pretty gentle, although you will be going uphill until you reach the fire road. There will be several roads/trails at this intersection, but only one should be marked with the Indian Creek signage (as you come off the singletrack, look straight across and to the left down the hill). This next section is on a fire road, but it is fast and fun because most of it goes downhill from this point. You will come to a few odd intersections, but the trail is well marked the whole way. At one Y intersection there was some deliberation on our route because the sign has an arrow which points between the two roadsÖbut at this point you want to go up to the left. The left route was also well used in comparison to the right fork.
As you get closer to the Roxborough State Park, beware of the huge ìspeed bumpsî someone has put in all along the trail. These really are big jumps, but they are at odd intervals and around corners so they may take you by surprise if you arenít paying attention. Because of their sharp angles, they are extremely dangerous to hit at even medium speed. One guy in the group riding ahead of us broke his collarbone because he took these just slightly too fast. The fire road eventually begins to return to singletrack, especially once you reach the power lines. At this point, you will get some incredible singletrack, blasting you through the forest as you cheer in delight. You absolutely cannot miss the signage once you enter the State Park, but the singletrack generally continues along the creek bed here. Your fun will end as you reach another tough climb out of the canyon (luckily it is rather short). Your journey will go downhill again from here, and at one point you will come to an incredible meadow with just a ribbon of singletrack laid out before you. If you can force yourself to stop, this is a great place for a snapshot!
Once you reach the creek crossing, you will begin one more little set of climbs as you get ready to go back down into Waterton Canyon. Once you start the downhill again, it doesnít let up until you are back down at the Waterton Canyon gravel road. This section of trail is like a loose chute with lots of dust and loose rocksÖbut it can be a lot of fun as well. There will be one intersection you pass with a trail going off to your left as you get back on the Roxborough Loop, but just continue straight downhill rather than making a left. The signs all point you towards Waterton Canyon from here. Once we popped out, we all agreed that despite the amount of climbing we suffered through, the payoff was well worth the effort. Iím not sure if there is any merit in doing the loop in the reverse direction, although it is worth mentioning that I canít recall passing anyone in all those miles going the opposite direction. Also note this is an equestrian loop as well, so best practice is to dismount when you see horses, pull off the trail and be friendly to them.
added on May 29, 2005 by 
SIMILAR TRAILS
Riders who liked this mountain bike trail also liked:Red Rocks/ Dakota Ridge in Denver
Buffalo Pass To Mountain View Trail in Steamboat Springs
Apex Park in Golden
Keystone Resort in Dillon
NEARBY TRAILS
- Waterton Canyon in Littleton (0 miles away)
- Colorado Trail / Waterton To South Platte in Littleton (0 miles away)
- Deer Creek Canyon in Littleton (4.8 miles away)
- South Valley Park in Littleton (4.8 miles away)
- Unknown in Highlands Ranch (4.8 miles away)
TRAIL REVIEWS review this trail
reviewed by flip8u on June 30, 2009
Great ride! Make sure to ride the loop counterclockwise. The section from the Roxborough loop cut-off to the Indian Creek trail head is definitely the most difficult. The sign says 3.5 miles but it's so slow that it feels more like 7. But you make up a lot of time on the long fast decent on the way back to Waterton Canyon. Don't take a beginner on this trail, they won't be pleased (or they might not be able to make it and end up hitch hiking from the Indian Creek parking lot).
* Review edited 6/30/2009
reviewed by quantumtreefrog on June 29, 2009
I just got back from this trail. It totally kicked my ass. It took me 8 1/2 hours. I'm busted up, aching and beat to hell. I have jelly legs and one arm doesn't work too good. This is a great trail, if you not new to mountain biking. You must be experienced. This should not be your first ride.* Review edited 6/29/2009
* Review edited 6/29/2009
reviewed by JABLOM on June 25, 2009
The reviews are right, great trail. When I first moved to Castle Rock in 2000, I had this trail all to myself - there was absolutely no one on the trails in this area except an occasional turkey hunter. Still not crowded but will see more riders. There are also a lot of good off shoot trails to explore. I will leave those to you finding them via exploring...
Similar Trail: Everything south of Denver - I have riden most. Nice uncrowded riding.
reviewed by stillfat on November 2, 2008
The trail description/directions are excellent - spot on. Also, the trail is very well signed - you shouldn't get lost. Although enjoyable, this was a bit disappointing. The climb was long, but not horrible - only a couple of steep, loose sections. The rest of the climb was manageable. The disappointment was in the amount of doubletrack/fireroad. There was one section of singletrack that was arguably among the prettiest I've ever seen, but it probably didn't last for more than a couple of miles at most. Everytime you got into the "flow" of the singletrack, you'd spit out onto some loose, dusty, rutted-out double track. Overall, an adventure, but not all I thought it would be.
reviewed by raleighman91 on June 24, 2007
Great trail... Neighbor just had his friend break his neck on this trail... everyone should be careful on this trail not to go alone way to dangerous to be by urself
reviewed by cmikesmith on June 19, 2007
Forest Service and others have done a massive tree cutting project on this trail system - there were a lot of trees! The trail is fully open. Thanks guys and gals!
reviewed by BobinConifer on May 13, 2007
This is one of the greatest trails within a short distance of the big city. Unfortunately the big storm of April 2007 has felled dozens and dozens of trees across the trail on what is often an awesome climb up Indian Creek from Waterton Canyon to Jarre Creek Canyon. The trees make for a unique challenge and as of yesterday most were not rideable and never will be. The first twenty-or-so were fun to climb over, under, through or some combination of all options, but it definitely gets old-- specially if you're hoisting a free ride bike and climbing around on hard soled shoes. I had a great time but got beat up bush-wacking as much as I did. The great downhill back to Roxborough is also littered with recent storm-kill trees but most of these are easy to ride around or at least relatively easy to get around (not necessarily the case on the climb in) I agree that the big ramps for erosion make for a great time. But you can't be lazy! If you're going fast, you have to plan a jump and not try to absorb the hit without air. The meadow ride with a few hundred yards of perfect single track still makes the whole ride, in any condition, worthwhile. Have fun but plan on this ride taking a lot longer than usual since there are so many dismounts. Long pants and a chainsaw might come in handy too.
Similar Trail: The Secret Trail
reviewed by Lancefan on December 1, 2006
This is my favorite trail, mainly for the return back to Waterton from the Indian Creek Parking Lot. The downhill sections on it are just amazing. P.S. What is everyone's problem with the jumps, that is my favorite section of the trail. Some may be out of place but others are placed perfectly and are extremly fun to jump off.
* Review edited 12/29/2006
reviewed by bonkedagain on August 13, 2006
This is a pretty nice singletrack loop. I was surprised at how lush the forest is (I don't see many fern gullies along the front range). The scenery is good, the trail is nice, excepting a couple short steep sections. I rode counter clockwise from the Indian Creek campground side. Starting at the campground eliminates about 13 miles of road riding from Waterton and makes the loop come in at about 17 miles, a reasonable half day ride. The doubletrack on this loop rides like single track, so don't be put off by the double lines on the map. From the campground side (pay parking area), go west, thru the gate, and immediately take a right on the singletrack that goes uphill. You will top out after almost two miles and then take about a four mile downhill till you hit a T intersection on the edge of Roxborough Park. No bikes allowed in Rox, so turn left. You get a couple more miles of nice downhill (but what is with those huge, sharp water bars??) till you start hitting intersections. I just went straight till I hit the bottom of the canyon (Platte River) and then joined the crowds of other people cranking up the road toward the dam. There are many trail options up on the north part of the loop. They all end up heading back south and completing the loop so don't get stressed about which one to take. The only thing you really need to watch out for is getting on the Colorado Trail and ending up heading to Buffalo Creek, so pay attention when you get to Lenny's Rest (a memorial bench on the trail). Take the eastbound fork and you are on your way back.
Similar Trail: Buffalo Creek
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