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+ 99

Holy Cross Loop

Mountain Biking Trail

Extreme
6.52 mi
841 ft
A perennial crowd pleaser that winds through beautiful rock formations.

The Lunch Loops Trail System is filled with an endless array of singletrack, to the point that it's tough to say what crowd favorite is here. But if you had to choose one trail that's a perennial favorite and that exemplifies the character of this trail system, that trail would be Holy Cross. Mapped here is a short, efficient loop that's perfect for hitting Holy Cross on your lunch hour.

The ride mapped here follows the most popular climbing route via Pet-E-Kess, High Noon, and a portion of Tabeguache before dropping into Holy Cross. In true Lunch Loops fashion, as you're dropping in, you'll spot a sign warning users to *not* modify the trail to make it easier. Holy Cross (and most of the trails at Lunch Loops) have been designed and built to be difficult and challenging *on purpose.* This trail system is renowned for its gnar, and riders come here specifically for the technical challenge.

Holy Cross itself is plenty gnarly, with boulders, rock gardens, small rock slabs, and optional drops. However, it remains a local crowd-pleaser because it is far from the most difficult trail in the trail system. While it still gets a black diamond rating on the signs and a "Severe" FATMAP rating, Holy Cross is child's play compared to nearby Free Lunch, Pucker Up, Eagle's Wing, and The Ribbon.

If you're an advanced rider, don't let that dissuade you from riding Holy Cross! This is an absolute gem of a trail, with one of the highlights being the creative trail routing that winds its way between massive rock boulders and under overhangs. While the trail tread itself is entertaining, the landscape that Holy Cross passes through is one of the true marvels of the Lunch Loops trail system.

As with any ride at Lunch Loops, there are several possible endings to this loop, but the one mapped here climbs up to the ridge above the trailhead, rolls along the ridge, and then descends Curt's Lane to finish. If you're running short on time and need to get back to work, for a quicker departure from the ridge you can descend Bentonite Hill instead. Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
Power Lunch (Ped-e-kes, Holy Cross, & Kurt's)5.71 mi-541 ft-0.2%
Pedekis to Flat Rock1.58 mi492 ft5.9%
Pedekis to Flat Rock1.70 mi469 ft5.2%
Ped-e-kis1.28 mi377 ft5.6%
Benchwarmer (first half of Pedekes climb)0.54 mi151 ft5.1%
Pedeful (Pedekes, 'guache to 'guache)1.44 mi361 ft4.6%
Upper Ped-e-kes0.76 mi207 ft5.1%
Wattchurner (second half of Pedekes climb)0.87 mi210 ft4.3%
Betwixt Ped and Tabby0.17 mi-20 ft-0.9%
End of Ped to Flat Rock0.23 mi115 ft9.0%
Betwixt Ped-e-kes and Prenup0.39 mi115 ft5.2%
Holy Cross (all)2.45 mi-427 ft-2.8%
Holy Cross1.76 mi-361 ft-3.9%
Holy Flow0.40 mi-164 ft-7.7%
Holy Cross - Main DH from Pre-Nup to Holy Bucket1.60 mi-358 ft-4.2%
Holy Cross from prenip1.47 mi-344 ft-4.4%
Holy Trinity (all the jank incl. the 3 "moves")0.28 mi-56 ft-2.3%
HC - Just the Middle0.65 mi-72 ft0.0%
Apocalypse (The End of all Holy DH)0.51 mi-197 ft-7.0%
Final climb out of Holy Cross0.34 mi59 ft3.1%
HC to Ali's0.24 mi95 ft7.5%
L.L. Downhill Finish #2 (Ali-Alley to Curt's Lane)1.24 mi-230 ft-3.4%
Ali-Alley Down0.17 mi-23 ft-2.4%
Where it HURTS (GE Stage 3 Sprint, Raven's to Kurt's)0.35 mi36 ft0.5%
Reroute0.33 mi-82 ft-4.7%
neW sKooL and Old School (Flow&Tech)0.58 mi-187 ft-6.0%
Drop down from ridge 0.61 mi-220 ft-6.5%
Curt's down to junction0.23 mi-66 ft-5.4%
Curt's Down0.11 mi-56 ft-8.7%
Kurt's Last Stand0.29 mi-125 ft-7.8%