





+ 106
Smuggler Mountain -> Sunnyside Loop
Mountain Biking Trail
Hard
16.89 mi
3,386 ft
A big backcountry loop located right in Aspen's backyard.
While most of the best mountain bike trails in the Roaring Fork Valley are located closer to Snowmass, the Smuggler to Sunnyside loop is right in Aspen’s backyard. This loop begins by climbing up Smuggler Mountain and then connecting to the Hunter trail, VanHorn, Hobbit, Secret, and ending by descending Sunnyside. []( calls it "one of the must-do routes within the Aspen area.”
Most of the climbing on this loop takes place on dirt roads—most notably the initial climb up Smuggler Mountain. Once on top of the ridge, the ride switches to singletrack. Here, a mostly mellow backcountry trail traverses up, down, and along the ridge crowned by 10,414-foot Red Mountain. Most of this traverse trail is smooth, flowy, classic singletrack bobbing and weaving through beautiful aspen groves and wide-open meadows.
The final descent down Sunnyside ratchets the difficulty up quite a bit, with more challenging rock features and a steeper trail pitch. Thanks to its south-facing aspect, gone are the massive aspen groves, with dry grass and low scrub oak replacing them. Consequently, the dirt on this section of trail is much drier, rockier, and dustier than other trail segments along this route. The mountainside here is also quite steep, with some respectable exposure on the downhill side of this narrow trail.
Sources:
Written by Greg Heil
While most of the best mountain bike trails in the Roaring Fork Valley are located closer to Snowmass, the Smuggler to Sunnyside loop is right in Aspen’s backyard. This loop begins by climbing up Smuggler Mountain and then connecting to the Hunter trail, VanHorn, Hobbit, Secret, and ending by descending Sunnyside. []( calls it "one of the must-do routes within the Aspen area.”
Most of the climbing on this loop takes place on dirt roads—most notably the initial climb up Smuggler Mountain. Once on top of the ridge, the ride switches to singletrack. Here, a mostly mellow backcountry trail traverses up, down, and along the ridge crowned by 10,414-foot Red Mountain. Most of this traverse trail is smooth, flowy, classic singletrack bobbing and weaving through beautiful aspen groves and wide-open meadows.
The final descent down Sunnyside ratchets the difficulty up quite a bit, with more challenging rock features and a steeper trail pitch. Thanks to its south-facing aspect, gone are the massive aspen groves, with dry grass and low scrub oak replacing them. Consequently, the dirt on this section of trail is much drier, rockier, and dustier than other trail segments along this route. The mountainside here is also quite steep, with some respectable exposure on the downhill side of this narrow trail.
Sources:
Written by Greg Heil
Route and Elevation
Segments
Name | Distance | Elev. Diff. | Avg. Grade |
---|---|---|---|
The Smuggler Switchbacks | 0.55 mi | 279 ft | 9.4% |
ACC - Smuggler TT | 1.48 mi | 823 ft | 10.5% |
Smuggler Climb | 1.83 mi | 955 ft | 9.6% |
housewife hill | 1.24 mi | 728 ft | 11.1% |
SmugglerMidPart | 1.82 mi | 722 ft | 6.3% |
2-minute hill | 0.37 mi | 92 ft | 4.3% |
Old School | 0.48 mi | -259 ft | -10.2% |
Lower Plunge Climb | 0.95 mi | 502 ft | 9.9% |
Red Mtn Van Horn Reverse Hobbit Climb | 3.16 mi | 1,194 ft | 7.2% |
HC Overlook Singletrack Up | 0.76 mi | 236 ft | 5.8% |
Hobbit East to West | 1.59 mi | 256 ft | 0.3% |
Hunter Creek + Hobbit UH | 0.42 mi | 285 ft | 12.9% |
Hobbit-Secret-Jedi-Sunnyside XC | 5.48 mi | -295 ft | -0.2% |
Hobbit DH | 1.17 mi | -253 ft | -3.6% |
Jedi E-W | 1.57 mi | 233 ft | 2.0% |
Secret to Plunge | 0.61 mi | 154 ft | 3.2% |
Secret-Jedi-Sunnyside-XC | 3.39 mi | -305 ft | -0.1% |
Ewoks and StormTroopers | 0.22 mi | -59 ft | -5.2% |
Sunnyside Enduro | 5.02 mi | -2,159 ft | -7.7% |
Sunnyside gut punch | 0.12 mi | 89 ft | 13.1% |
Sunnyside DH | 2.87 mi | -1,893 ft | -12.4% |
From Spring Snow to Parking DH | 2.11 mi | -1,316 ft | -11.8% |
Just the tech | 0.18 mi | -203 ft | -20.7% |
Watch out for hikers! | 1.96 mi | -1,217 ft | -11.8% |
Tech to ditch | 0.69 mi | -472 ft | -12.8% |
Ditch 2 Ditch | 0.59 mi | -394 ft | -12.5% |
SunnySide Bonus | 0.16 mi | -121 ft | -13.7% |
Rio Grande: Cemetery to trail | 0.46 mi | 33 ft | 1.4% |