Overall, this is a nice mellow ride that feels somewhat remote, despite being right on the edge of town. There's a decent amount of climbing, so the ride isn't trivial, but it's not technical, and it's straightforward to follow.
From the North Table parking lot, this trail heads due southeast and starts a brutal gravel road climb... Once you're nearly at the top, the trail passes
Tilting Mesa Trail and then tops out at its high point. Be sure to soak up the views!
Shortly after cresting the climb, the trail descends. Slightly at first, and then almost as steeply as the initial climb. This descent is raucous and winding, but be sure to keep an eye out for other trail users heading up the hill. At the bottom of the descent, North Table Loop contours on bench cut trail back to the north, bypassing
Neighborhood Access Trail on your right and
Cottonwood Canyon Trail on your left.
Continue straight, as the trail winds and rolls its way around the table's east side. Eventually, you'll come to the second largest descent of the ride, where you'll be greeted with some very tight switchbacks. Once at the bottom of this descent, you'll be at a junction with
Lithic Trail, a short neighborhood access trail. Stay left to continue on the ride.
From
Lithic Trail, the ride climbs and then continues to contour the table. This section of the ride is fast, flowing, and fun. So, open it up and really get some speed going! Eventually, after bypassing
Table Rock and
Mesa Top for a second time, you'll be at the North Table parking lot.
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12 days ago
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North Table Loop
Unknown Hometown
I would highly recommend doing this track the other direction / counter clockwise. The recommended direction takes you up the technical parts and the big drop at the end is just a dirt road. You will also be riding against most traffic too. If you take it the other direction you have a big climb up the road to start and then down the technical with some technical climbs. I use the term technical for this track loosely. There area few good technical spots. Jul 18, 2015
Unknown Hometown
Definitely better as a counter-clockwise loop. One ball-busting climb followed by a long, fun descent. Jul 22, 2015
Unknown Hometown
I concur with the previous posts. I rode it clockwise, but a small spill and my lack of athletic prowess, required that I turn around about halfway. I think counter clockwise would have been more fun. Jul 25, 2015
Unknown Hometown
Yep. Ride it counterclockwise. The descent after the steep road climb is fast and fun. The rest of the trail flows nicely this way, too. Wasting perfectly good downhill vert on a road is just stupid. Oct 1, 2015
Arvada
This is such a quick fun getaway as a Denver resident. Riding it CCW is 10-fold better than CW. The steep section is simply a hard-packed gravel road that takes about 6-8 minutes to climb. Once at the top you're greeted with some flat terrain and then a long fun downhill with a few short technical sections. May 19, 2016
Boulder, CO
Thanks for the feedback. I just edited the ride to go the other way. Not sure why I rode it CW...! :) May 20, 2016
Unknown Hometown
I'd rather get the climbing outta the way early, personally. Aug 17, 2016
Unknown Hometown
Tim Speciale It looks like they may have updated this. Originally it had you climb the trail and drop the fire road. Aug 17, 2016
Unknown Hometown
How long would it take to complete the full loop, for a novice rider? Aug 23, 2016
Unknown Hometown
Just did it today, pretty leisurely pace (apart from the long uphill start, which pretty much has no leisurely pace) and we did it in about an hour, hour and a half if you take your time and have some stops. Also if you are a novice I would watch out for the southern half, I would say the trails there are blue/black. 2/3 of the trail is nice and smooth, though. Aug 29, 2016