Maryland Mountain Complete Tour

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Allowed

Features Drops/Jumps · Views

This ride has it all - a bit of cross-country riding and some downhill trail riding, cool historic mining artifacts and beautiful mountain views.

From the Hidden Treasure Trailhead, head out on the Historic Gilpin Tramway. The Tramway surface is approximately 48" in width, with grades generally under 4%, making this trail accessible to everyone. Walkers, runners, strollers, leashed pets and kids on bikes will all enjoy the 2.7-mile route.

Continue on the Quartz Valley Trail for another half a mile, then take the right turn onto Easy Money. Climb all the switchbacks, cross the fire road and keep climbing. At the intersection with Claim Jumper, take a right and head down the first bike-optimized trail of the ride. Built with bikes in mind, this trail is multi-use and bidirectional but is most fun ridden downhill with a couple of challenging alternate lines that make the intermediate experience just a little more interesting.

At the bottom of Claim Jumper, take a left onto Paymaster Trail. This trail mellows out to more cross country style again and goes by several mining artifacts. There's a tricky section with some tight switchbacks but it's over quickly. At the bottom, take a left on Historic Gilpin Tramway and retrace your steps.

Go past the hiker-only Summit trail, the exit to Hard Money and then take the left onto Millsite Trail. This two-mile singletrack through the pines is one of the nicest ways to climb nearly 700 ft. If the altitude is hurting you, there's a great overlook at 1.6 miles in to catch your breath.

The top of Millsite hooks back up with Easy Money. Take the left fork on Easy Money to continue the climb, then cross the service road and keep going. Keep heading up Easy Money, up and up and past Claim Jumper and up some more. You'll have the option of two additional switchbacks if you want to see the summit of Maryland Mountain, otherwise take the left onto Hard Money.

Now here are the goods. Hang onto your saddle for two miles of you-won't-stop-grinning downhill fun. At the bottom, take a left on Historic Gilpin Tramway to get back to the trailhead.

Maryland Mountain has played a vital role in the history of Black Hawk since the City was founded in 1864. Located directly northwest of the Black Hawk central business district, it is bounded on the north and east by Hwy 119, Chase Gulch to the south, with private ranch lands to the west.

Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, this area was a bustling industrial site filled with mines, mills, roads, and tramway railroads. The mining scars have since transformed into a re-forested mountain landscape and in 2020 became home to a world class trail system.