Description

This loop in the Cement Creek zone mashes up a few popular trails with a little-ridden singletrack gem that's totally legal but stays well under the radar.

Part of the reason this trail, Waterfall Cutoff, stays under the radar is that this loop demands a challenging 3,500 feet of climbing with plenty of hike-a-bike mixed in—enough to scare away plenty of riders. The route begins on the beautiful Walrod Cutoff trail, providing the first section of climbing through stunning fields of wildflowers in the early summer.

After turning onto Point Lookout, the climbing continues in earnest, and you can expect to see more people during this middle section of the ride.

Even though you'll be suffering, the views from this beautiful trail are absolutely stunning, with incredible vistas toward Mount Crested Butte and beyond. After dropping down some burly motoed out singletrack on Doubletop, you'll connect into the faint Waterfall Cutoff trail.

The turn onto the grassy singletrack can be difficult to spot, as it's a bit hidden to help keep the motorcycles off of it.

Be sure to download this map for offline use so that you can reference it and find the turn correctly.

Once you're several yards into the trail, you'll spot a trail sign that will indicate you that you're heading in the right direction. This remote singletrack gem is absolutely gorgeous, traversing through stunning aspen groves, alpine meadows, and exposed cliffside singletrack.

The descents are fast and furious, but you'll still have to pay with a few short but steep climbs.

The trail itself is narrow and somewhat overgrown in places, but it's still quite rideable.

This old-school trail is what mountain biking used to be: adventuring deep into the mountains on faint trails, seeing how far you could push both your bike and your body!