Lincoln Lake Full Tour

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

Our trail system is all hand built singletrack. The trails pass through towering bluffs, hardwood forest, a pine forest, and passes by many caves. There are great views of the lake throughout the ride.

The trails are rated intermediate to advanced riding as there are some technical sections. The Spillway/Piney Loop are beginner friendly, however. The entire trail system can be ridden as one loop with no backtracking, or one can break it up and ride individual loops or just a 4 mile ride around the lake.

Moore Creek on the back side of the lake can be a seasonal wet crossing but is rarely over a foot deep.

Start in the main parking lot and head back out to the highway, turn right on the highway and cross the bridge. Watch for an iron bridge on the right, this is the Lake Loop starting point. Cross the bridge and head up the hill. You'll travel above the parking lot and into the woods.

The trail is well marked, just follow the arrows. About a quarter of a mile in you'll start seeing beautiful rock formations and will be riding beside them until you come out of the woods onto the dam. Turn right on the dam and ride across. From here you'll have great views of the lake and you may be able to spot an eagle or two. At the end of the dam you'll notice a trail sign that says spillway loop straight ahead, lake loop, and piney loop to the right.

At this point you can turn right and ride around the lake, or go straight and take in the Spillway/Piney Loop. Continue straight for the Spillway Loop. As the trail descends from the dam there is a small iron bridge that is very narrow to negotiate. You are now at the spillway and can take in views of the Moore Creek Valley. Continue on the trail as it winds through the woods for about a mile to another trail intersection to the left is Piney Loop straight will take you back to the Lake Loop. Go left, follow this trail through many cedar thickets and you'll climb up a berm and enter the piney woods.

This trail winds through a pine forest where you'll cross a few bog bridges with a very fun fast slalom type descent back to the lake trail. At the lake trail turn left and continue around the lake. This part of the trail system is technical and can be difficult riding. You'll pass through large bluff lines and go by many caves where Native Americans once dwelt. Stop take a look around and take in the beauty. Continue on this trail to Moore creek which can be a wet crossing.

After crossing Moore Creek you'll go through a lowland bottom area. Just before the trail begins to climb again you'll go across another narrow iron bridge and begin the ascent through the bluffs. Ride through the bluffs to the next trail intersection which is the lower Eagle View Trail. Turn right here and ride this one mile hourglass loop which passes under massive bluff lines. This also is a technical trail and can be difficult. Well worth the effort. The lower Eagle View Trail comes back out to the lake trail where you'll take a right and head uphill. Follow the arrows and they will take you to the Eagle View overlook another place to stop and take in the beauty.

You'll notice a trail split here. For a little more excitement take the upper Eagle View Trail. Watch your head as it passes tight under a bluff line and then comes back out onto the lake loop where you'll take a right. From here you'll have about a half a mile of tight, rocky, exhilarating descent. Don't daydream here, or a tree might reach out and bite you. The trail dumps out at the lake view overlook where you can ride out to the edge and see the entire lake. Now just follow the trail back to the parking lot which is about half a mile.

Lincoln Lake was a water source for the city of Lincoln many years ago. Before flooding this area the U of A excavated the area and marked the rocks where Indian artifacts were found. If you see large painted numbers on the bluffs this is what they used to mark the sites they dug and found artifacts. The dam was completed and the lake was filled around 1960.