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Foothills Trail

Difficult Difficult
 2.9 (65)
  1. Areas
  2. CO
  3. …Front Range
  4. …Fort Collins
  5. Pineridge Natural Area
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“A tour of the foothills just outside Fort Collins, CO. ”

Bryan Vernetson
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9.3

Miles

15.0

KM
Singletrack

5,659' 1,725 m

High

5,104' 1,556 m

Low

904' 276 m

Up

1,008' 307 m

Down

4%

Avg Grade (2°)

17%

Max Grade (9°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Description

You can ride south to north or north to south since the trail rides well in either direction. You can park at Dixon Reservoir or Claymore Lake and ride the full length or you could start in the middle and do two out and back rides as well to spice it up and get a good mix of ascent and descent.

In between College Lake and Reservoir Ridge there are some pretty technical sections for the uphill and steep downhill.

Through the Maxwell area section there are some technical areas with skinny singletrack and significant obstacles, but all doable for an intermediate rider.

Other than these two areas, the trail is flowing single and doubletrack with good speed and awesome views.

Contacts

Local Club: Overland Mountain Bike Club

Land Manager: City of Fort Collins, Colorado

Shared By:

Bryan Vernetson with improvements by Steve Shallenberg
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  2.9 from 65 votes

#1

in Pineridge Natural Area

#363

Overall
  2.9 from 65 votes
5 Star
12%
4 Star
20%
3 Star
29%
2 Star
25%
1 Star
14%
Trail Rankings

#1

in Pineridge Natural Area

#123

in Colorado

#363

Overall
21 Views Last Month
7,666 Since Jul 24, 2013
Difficult Difficult
3%
2%
11%
8%
71%
6%
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Photos

Looking northwest at Horsetooth - summer 2020 during the fires.
Oct 12, 2020 near Laporte, CO
The post that separates Foothill and Maxwell trails. Go right and up the hill to Rotary Parking lot. Cross over CR23
Jun 16, 2020 near Laporte, CO
Head left on the re-entry to foothills trail, down hill and next to the lake all the way back.
Jun 16, 2020 near Laporte, CO
The first of a few rock stairways as you head back to Sunrise Parking lot.
Jun 16, 2020 near Laporte, CO
The view south from near the top of Maxwell Trail
Jul 20, 2013 near Laporte, CO
Maxwell Natural Area
Nov 25, 2015 near Laporte, CO

3 Comments

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 26 days ago
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Nov 11, 2025
Brooks
Jan 10, 2025
Anonymous
Feb 24, 2024
Chuck Maker
Nov 27, 2022
Alex Wright
Jun 20, 2022
Amalia Mason
May 7, 2022
Stefan Feider
Apr 1, 2022
Shawn Vogler
Started at the Bobolink Spur trailhead. Worst trail I ever rode in the Fort Collins, Loveland area. Overland Mountain bike group should look into r… 4.5mi
Aug 24, 2021
Josh Faversham
No flow. Some very scenic and beautiful spots but most of the time you are navigating over an endless array of milk crate size rocks. Big bummer.

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