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Longhorn Trail

Difficult Difficult
 4.5 (157)
  1. Areas
  2. CO
  3. …Front Range
  4. …Golden
  5. White Ranch Park
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“Steep, strenuous and sun exposed. ”

Matt Thoele
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3.0

Miles

4.9

KM
Singletrack

7,438' 2,267 m

High

6,338' 1,932 m

Low

626' 191 m

Up

1,164' 355 m

Down

11%

Avg Grade (6°)

32%

Max Grade (18°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Allowed

Features -none-

One Way Only: This is designated as a directional trail.

Description

This trail has some great technical features.

The portion of Longhorn Trail (0.9 miles) between Shorthorn Trail and Whippletree Trail is now designated single direction (west to east/downhill) only, mountain bike only. This section is steep and raw. Very fun for intermediate to advanced riders.

The part between Maverick and Shorthorn Trail is very fun. It's fast, with a lot of roots and rock drops with good corners. The final stretch between Shorthorn and Belcher hill has a couple of short steep climbs and then one last loose rocky descent with a couple of switchbacks.

Most people exit on Whippletree Trail but for a few extra feet of climbing you can catch a fast decent down Belcher Hill.

There are some amazing views of the Colorado front range.

Contacts

Local Club: Colorado Mountain Bike Association

Land Manager: Jefferson County, CO - Open Space Dept.

Shared By:

Matt Thoele with improvements by Mike Weingand and 1 other
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.5 from 157 votes

#1

in White Ranch Park

#31

Overall
  4.5 from 157 votes
5 Star
68%
4 Star
23%
3 Star
7%
2 Star
2%
1 Star
1%
Trail Rankings

#1

in White Ranch Park

#12

in Colorado

#31

Overall
53 Views Last Month
19,035 Since Jun 8, 2013
Difficult Difficult
0%
0%
1%
2%
87%
10%
Add a Photo

Photos

#followcamfriday on the Front Range's best descent with Dee Tidwell. Maverick to Longhorn.
Apr 28, 2017 near Golden, CO
Just a couple of Spot Bros cruising down the techy stuff
Jan 5, 2019 near Golden, CO
The last downhill section of Longhorn, before you cross the creek.
Jun 25, 2017 near Golden, CO
Longhorn's famous 'canyon drop'
Sep 22, 2017 near Golden, CO
Don't skip the top section of Longhorn. There are plenty of fun features to be played on!
Feb 18, 2017 near Golden, CO
Haulin' down upper Longhorn
Jan 5, 2019 near Golden, CO

14 Comments

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 17 days ago
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Check-Ins

Sep 17, 2025
Private User
May 4, 2025
Sameer Kumar
Rode the trail today. I consider myself an intermediate to advance rider and needed all of myself to clear all obstacles. If you can clear all drop…
Nov 22, 2024
Em Diaz
Lots of mud, lots of snow. Poor trail conditions for riding. 3mi
Oct 9, 2024
Brian K
Aug 15, 2024
Anonymous
Jul 22, 2024
Nolan Payne
May 27, 2024
Patrick Burns
Still the best the front range has to offer. Might be better terrain in LHC but nothing matches the quality and amount of vert. Always hard to ride.
Sep 20, 2023
Levi Roberts

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