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Beautiful views on the start to the Monarch Crest trail, then fun, fast descending on Fooses Creek.


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Map Key

13.9

Miles

22.3

KM

90%

Singletrack

11,961' 3,646 m

High

8,824' 2,689 m

Low

638' 194 m

Up

3,152' 961 m

Down

5%

Avg Grade (3°)

29%

Max Grade (16°)

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Unknown

Overview

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.

Description

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.

Contacts

Shared By:

Holly Borowski

Trail Ratings

  4.5 from 57 votes

#2

in Monarch Pass

#263

Overall
  4.5 from 57 votes
5 Star
65%
4 Star
25%
3 Star
9%
2 Star
2%
1 Star
0%
Recommended Route Rankings

#2

in Monarch Pass

#84

in Colorado

#263

Overall
58 Views Last Month
16,070 Since Jul 27, 2014
Difficult Difficult

0%
0%
6%
9%
83%
2%

Photos

Monarch Crest
Sep 7, 2016 near Whitepine, CO
Somewhere on the Monarch Crest Trail
Jul 13, 2015 near Salida, CO
There's snow in them hills!
Sep 25, 2017 near Whitepine, CO
Optional Fooses Fun
Jul 30, 2018 near Whitepine, CO
Beautiful summer morning on the 'crest
Aug 10, 2016 near Salida, CO
Riding above treeline. Probably the highest I have ever ridden my bike. Lung busting altitude.
Oct 12, 2016 near Whitepine, CO
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Current Trail Conditions

Unknown
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