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A thorough but manageable taste of the best scenery and riding in the Adams Gulch area.


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Map Key

11.0

Miles

17.7

KM

100%

Singletrack

7,213' 2,198 m

High

5,965' 1,818 m

Low

1,923' 586 m

Up

1,910' 582 m

Down

7%

Avg Grade (4°)

27%

Max Grade (15°)

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Unknown

Overview

This is a loop that's easy to get to from town - you can avoid the car altogether if you're so inclined. It's a popular set of trails, but this loop gets you well away from the busy stuff close to the trailhead, and gives you a nice taste of all the terrain here in a relatively short blast.

There are some fantastic big mountain views on this ride, especially as you get up to Harper's Trail and Adam's Gulch Loop.

Need to Know

This ride, as with many of the rides in the area, is exposed for much of the way. It gets hot and dry, so be prepared with water!

Description

Start at the Adams Gulch trailhead, or take a look at Heidelberg trail as an alternative entry if you want to ride the bike from town and avoid your car. The ride starts up Adams-Lake Creek Connector, which gets the climbing started right away. It rolls pretty well, but it's a consistent climb with a short fun descent right in the middle to break things up before climbing the rest of the way up to Harper's Trail.

Harpers Trail climbs steadily up a series of switchbacks. It's still rollable, but consistent - getting a bit steeper as you near the top. You'll gain a few hundred feet, then enter into more wooded terrain for the last bit up to Adam's Gulch Loop. You could choose to go left at the intersection for a fast descent back down, but for this ride, we'll take a right.

Ride along Adam's Gulch for a little over 1/2 mile until you come to another intersection with Griffin Butte Connector trail. Feel free to stay right on Adam's Gulch for a much bigger ride, or to follow the intermediate route, stay straight/left onto Griffin Butte Connector. In this direction, the trail descends quickly. Let it rip, but keep an eye out for uphill traffic and hikers here.

Ride past Citizens Trail on your left, and continue to the next intersection where you'll merge back in with the bigger Adam's Gulch Loop. Continue a bit further and you'll see another intersection with Eve's Gulch. Now you'll take a right, and start a mellow climb, getting slightly steeper as it gets into the woods again. This is a nice climb, getting you up to the top of the most entertaining descent of the ride.

As you climb, you'll pass the exit of Forbidden Fruit Flow Trail on your left. Then you'll climb a bit further and see a sign for what looks like the start of Forbidden Fruit. Continue past that as well, and at the 3rd intersection, take a left onto a short connector trail (called Serpent) that gets you to the true start of the flow.

The connector will dump you right onto Forbidden Fruit Flow Trail. This trail is a downhill blast with big berms and good flow. It's way too short, but let it rip here and you might just feel like climbing back up to do it again!

At the bottom, merge back onto Eve's Gulch and descend into the valley until you see a trail branching off to the right. That's Shadyside Trail. Take this trail and enjoy a fun cruise, mostly descending through the trees. Be careful again here - there are often riders and hikers along the way. Ride all the way to the end of this trail and at the end, take a left to descend a few hundred yards back to the trailhead.

Contacts

Shared By:

Michael Ahnemann with improvements by Nathaniel Frantz and 1 other

Trail Ratings

  3.5 from 17 votes

#2444

Overall
  3.5 from 17 votes
5 Star
6%
4 Star
53%
3 Star
29%
2 Star
6%
1 Star
6%
Recommended Route Rankings

#88

in Idaho

#2,444

Overall
1 Views Last Month
8,665 Since Aug 1, 2014
Intermediate/Difficult Intermediate/Difficult

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Photos

Harper's is a super fun trail, with amazing views across the valley
Oct 10, 2019 near Sun Valley, ID
Dry trail, but amazing scenery just north of downtown Ketchum
Aug 16, 2018 near Sun Valley, ID
Wildflowers everywhere on Adam's Rib!
Jul 9, 2019 near Sun Valley, ID
Awesome berms on the Forbidden Fruit downhill.
Jul 31, 2014 near Sun Valley, ID
Almost to the top of Harper's
Jul 31, 2014 near Sun Valley, ID
Beautiful contour riding on Adams - Lake Creek Connector
Jul 31, 2014 near Sun Valley, ID
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Weather


Current Trail Conditions

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