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+ 181

Deer Creek Loop (Deer Creek Upper Loop )

Mountain Biking Trail

Hard
25.27 mi
3,491 ft
A grueling cross country trail that rewards the rider with beautiful wild flowers and stunning views.

Deer Creek might be a cross country-oriented trail due to the lack of major downhills, but it's definitely NOT an easy mountain bike ride. This lengthy trail traversing the Crested Butte backcountry features some significant and steep climbs, along with rock gardens to keep you on your toes.

Similar to 403, simply accessing Deer Creek can be a challenge, which is why it's shown here as a mega-loop. Unless you can recruit a friend to shuttle you, you're in for a serious pedal if you want to tackle Deer Creek in its entirety. But of course, you could always ride a small portion of this trail as an out-and-back from either end.

If you DO decide to brave Deer Creek's rigors, it will reward you. "It has beautiful flowers, beautiful views, and a few really fun, albeit relatively short, downhills," according to "It also rides [great] in both directions and melts out relatively early in the spring before a lot of the other classic CB singletrack."

How early in the spring? Of course, that depends on the snowpack, but sometimes it's even rideable in mid-June, according to CBMBA. This route is also best ridden in the spring as this area is open to cow grazing beginning in late July, which can cause temporary (but annoying) trail damage.

Sources:

Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
Upper Loop DH to Tony's1.25 mi-325 ft-3.7%
Race you to Happy Hour!0.39 mi-95 ft-1.4%
up up-up deer18.04 mi1,759 ft0.1%
Happy Hour to Tony's0.86 mi-217 ft-4.7%
Upper - Happy Hour to Tony's0.84 mi-223 ft-5.0%
Tony's to Whetstone Vista1.43 mi240 ft2.4%
Old Upper to Bridges0.75 mi167 ft4.2%
Upper Upper West to East2.25 mi-413 ft-0.5%
Par Ln Climb0.76 mi390 ft9.7%
Upper Upper Loop Climb1.26 mi292 ft4.4%
Upper upper climb towards brush creek0.53 mi141 ft5.0%
Personal Jesus0.53 mi-387 ft-13.7%
Wildflower Rush - Aid1 to Aid212.84 mi1,604 ft0.7%
start of Deer Creek road climb to lunch spot4.77 mi1,696 ft6.7%
Climb to Teo/Deer Creek split1.84 mi531 ft5.3%
Bush Creek Rd Climb to the fork0.91 mi213 ft4.4%
Road Climb to Deer Creek2.20 mi794 ft6.8%
Pearl Pass Y to Deer Creek Singletrack1.63 mi669 ft7.7%
Deer Creek East to West8.49 mi-1,250 ft-0.7%
Deer Creek Climb (CCW)1.63 mi945 ft11.0%
main deer creek climb from BC1.69 mi843 ft9.4%
Deer creek steep climb0.77 mi459 ft11.2%
Pay Dirt0.65 mi-423 ft-12.1%
Unnamed Rd Climb1.08 mi400 ft7.0%
Deer Creek Downhill to Gothic2.98 mi-794 ft-4.9%
Gothic bridge to snodgrass parking (winter gate)3.10 mi259 ft1.2%
Up and Out 3171.82 mi207 ft2.2%