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Hidden Mesa

RECOMMENDED ROUTE
Intermediate
 4.1 (140)
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  2. CO
  3. …Front Range
  4. …Castle Rock
  5. Hidden Mesa Open Space
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“A nice short lollipop ride with great front range views and fun rock features to try your skills on. ”

Stephen McLaughlin
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Map Key

6.9

Miles

11.1

KM

60%

Singletrack

6,509' 1,984 m

High

6,052' 1,845 m

Low

492' 150 m

Up

493' 150 m

Down

3%

Avg Grade (2°)

15%

Max Grade (8°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Allowed

Overview

This is a great ride that is close to the south side of Denver. It's not too long but has a little bit of everything: a good climb/downhill, slickrock, and slightly technical rock features to practice skills on.

The "Rocky Pass" section at the top of Hidden Mesa can get a little rough after a rain storm, but it also adds to the challenge. The only real downside of this trail is the first mile is on flat doubletrack or even paved trail as an approach.

Need to Know

There's a fair amount of horse traffic, so remember to be courteous and yield to horses.

Description

This trail is a great fun ride close to the South Denver Area. It will never make the top ride in the area, but it is a short, fun ride that is dry most of the year. It features a difficult climb and a fun slickrock area with ledges that are fun to practice your skills on.

The trail starts at the Hidden Mesa Trailhead just north of Franktown off of Parker Road. This ride starts out on the Farm Lane. The first half mile of the trail is more of an approach than a fun ride. After leaving the parking lot, Farm Lane is a short doubletrack road across a flat section before crossing Cherry Creek. After crossing Cherry Creek, the route takes a right and joins the paved Cherry Creek Trail.

After about 1/4 of a mile on the Cherry Creek Trail, a sign marks the junction where the route turns left off of the paved trail. You'll then be on a gradual uphill single/doubletrack for about a mile. Nothing difficult, just a nice steady climb. After a mile of steady climbing, you reach the "Rocky Pass" section. It is about a 1/4 mile steep, loose rock climb. The total climb is about 400 ft vertical.

At the top of the climb, you'll reach "Mesa Top Junction East" which marks the Rim Loop Trail and the lollipop loop section. Ride either way on the Rim Loop Trail. The top of the mesa is a fun rocky ride with quasi slickrock sections. Most of it is fairly easy, but there is one section with several rock ledges that will test your beginner/intermediate skills. The largest of the ledges are around a foot high.

The trail then reaches "Mesa Top Junction West" where you'll take a right (if riding clockwise) and follow doubletrack 0.4 miles back to "Mesa Top Junction East" where you'll hang a left. You'll now be back on the Hidden Mesa "Rocky Pass" Trail you climbed to get on the Mesa. It's a fun downhill all the way back to the trailhead.

Contacts

Land Manager: Douglas County, CO - Parks, Trails & Building Grounds

Shared By:

Stephen McLaughlin
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.1 from 140 votes

#1

in Hidden Mesa Open Space

#165

Overall
  4.1 from 140 votes
5 Star
29%
4 Star
54%
3 Star
14%
2 Star
4%
1 Star
0%
Recommended Route Rankings

#1

in Hidden Mesa Open Space

#53

in Colorado

#165

Overall
62 Views Last Month
24,632 Since Apr 22, 2015
Intermediate
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80%
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Photos

Boost this little drop at the top of the Mesa.
Feb 3, 2017 near Castle…, CO
Plenty of creative lines to challenge any rider.
Mar 4, 2016 near Castle…, CO
Fun on the rocks
Mar 30, 2018 near Castle…, CO
Rock drops
Jul 20, 2020 near Castle…, CO
Multiple rock drop lines.
Jul 20, 2020 near Castle…, CO
Lots of fun drops on the Mesa.
Oct 18, 2015 near Castle…, CO

8 Comments

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

Bad / Closed 17 days ago
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Check-Ins

May 2, 2023
Lilianna Houston
Great ride, would recommend going up pleasant pass and doing the loop counter clockwise. Found the rollers at the end pretty fun. 7mi
Nov 22, 2022
Peter T
Nov 7, 2022
Dominic May
Oct 16, 2022
Pat McDermott
Fun and pretty easy but still had to rest a few times on the climb. Could be a good / harder one for Maria 6.9mi — 0h 50m
Oct 16, 2022
Gina Frenette
Sep 23, 2022
Julia Hylton
Sep 5, 2022
Andrew Griffin
Super fun on top of mesa, lots of rock gardens and exposed rocks to have fun on 6.9mi
Jul 31, 2022
Patrick Wolfe

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