Monarch Crest to Fooses Creek

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Features Views

A relatively short 4-5 miles of climbing on the Monarch Crest trail gets you to the Fooses Creek descent. You'll drop ~3,000 feet on fast and extremely fun singletrack.

Start this ride the same as you would for the Monarch Crest ride - park at the parking lot on the east side of Monarch pass. This ride is best done as a shuttle, so you'll park a car or have someone pick you up about 8 miles northeast of Monarch pass on Hwy 50.

To start the ride, go up the dirt road behind the tram building. Stay right to get onto the Monarch crest singletrack.

After a little under 5 miles, you'll come to a clearing with some big mountain views and the Fooses Creek trail intersection on your left. Keep your eyes open because it's not obvious if you're not looking for it. Go downhill onto Fooses Creek trail.

Don't be deterred by the steep, loose scree at the start of the trail - that only lasts for a short section. After that part, you'll get into some moderately technical singletrack with a few roots and rocks. Soon enough after that comes the fast flowy section, which lasts for the remainder of the singletrack. To finish up, you'll take the dirt road down to highway 50.

For a big day, this ride can also be combined with Colorado Trail segment 14 from Highway 50 to the Chalk Creek trailhead.

The upper stretch of the Fooses Creek Trail was rerouted in 2023. In 2024, the old section of Fooses Creek will be rehabilitated and closed.