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A go-to ride from town when you have 1 or 2 hours. A good mix of terrain.


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Map Key

13.1

Miles

21.1

KM

95%

Singletrack

5,462' 1,665 m

High

5,095' 1,553 m

Low

776' 237 m

Up

777' 237 m

Down

2%

Avg Grade (1°)

16%

Max Grade (9°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

Until you cross the canal bridge, you are on city property. Dogs must be leashed. After that you can let 'em run. Make sure they are cactus savvy and/or have tweezers.

Overview

A favorite ride from Cody. Makes use of sections of numerous trails to offer a bit of everything from purpose built trail, classic Wyoming sage brush cow trails, badlands, and some slickrock. These are lonely trails with many variations (cows wander and trails come and go as they do their cow thing). None of these trails are currently marked.

These trails pass through mucho prickly pear cactus. Locals ride tubeless with liquid latex in their tires. If you're using tubes, be prepared.

Description

Start at Beck Lake Park across from the first fishing pier. Ride the NE side of the Beck Lake Loop through the olive trees. Turn left at the gate and cross the canal bridge. Follow the trail to your left. It turns into very old doubletrack in a few feet. Follow the doubletrack to where the singletrack intersects on your right. This point is marked by a fence corner on the left side of the doubletrack.

You are now on Prickly Pear. Continue on this up and over the climb through the low point in the ridge line. After you crest the ridge aim to the left side of the large pipe gate. You are now on Red Snake.

Follow the singletrack downhill, keeping the cattle trough on your right. Cross the dirt road and aim for the power poles, keeping them on your right. Head directly to the SW and pass through the low point in the rock ridge. After a short descent, the singletrack intersects another trail you take a hard left on.

Continue on Red Snake until you hit the major dirt road. Stay on the road for about 50 feet and pick up the cow trail on your left. This trail quickly intersects the red dirt berm surrounding the usually dry pond. After proceeding about 1/3 of the way around the pond, you connect with singletrack again. Ride. Cross the fence and enter grassland. Continue South until this trail intersects a major dirt road.

At this point you have a choice of turning around or adding a few more miles by continuing on the trail immediately on the other side of the road, the Oasis Loop.
Continue South and East, aiming for where the dirt road you just crossed bisects the ridge line. Pick up the road across the top of the ridge line and immediately after the summit pick up the singletrack on your right for a ripping fun little downhill.

You are now on the "dump road". After a few hundred feet you'll notice trail to your left that aims you toward a cattle pond. Ride on down to the cattle pond and follow the singletrack past the pond to the South.

This singletrack crosses a couple of dirt roads at oblique angles and begins heading back to the West. This is a fun, big chain ring, swoopy run through the sage brush. You cross a little ravine (10 feet deep) and turn back to the NW. There are a number of cow trails in this area. You need to stay to the right until you are heading true North.

Recognize where you are? This trail intersects the road you crossed 20 minutes ago, but about 75 feet to the NW. Turn right on this road until you come to the trail you have already ridden on your left. You can either retrace your route or head off on the trail to the right that takes you into a fun badlands/hard packed clay area.
Retrace your tracks until you go past the red pond you and hit the major dirt road. Follow the road for a few hundred feet, take your first right on the doubletrack heading up the hill. We are now on new trail.

Stay on the doubletrack until you summit. Take a hard left and proceed into the rocky, very narrow gully. Yes, you are going to ride this (it serves as a great barrier to ATV entry) before turning into some of the best swoopy riding around.
You reach the top of the "rock garden." It's a slab of rough slick rock. Descend it in any manner you chose until it bottoms out back at the trail you came out on. Turn right.

Retrace your trail past the cattle water trough and up to the top of the saddle. Then, either continue down from where you came, or head to the left (North) up the doubletrack on the crest of the ridge. This is the "Red Light District".

Climb the ridge until it peaks and you see a brown BLM carsonite post with the number 11 on it. Turn hard right onto singletrack. Follow the rock cairns. At the highest point, veer left, watching for the trail that curves right and start a 40 mph downhill to the next summit.

Oly's Trail is difficult. It takes you back to the canal bridge. Stay on the trail paralleling the fence. Take the first right fork. This returns you to Beck Lake Park.

Contacts

Local Club: Park County Pedalers

Land Manager: BLM Wyoming - Lander

Shared By:

John Gallagher

Trail Ratings

  3.5 from 2 votes

#3420

Overall
  3.5 from 2 votes
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Recommended Route Rankings

#52

in Wyoming

#3,420

Overall
5 Views Last Month
4,087 Since Jun 11, 2013
Intermediate Intermediate

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Photos

The biggest alt line on Prickly Pear.
Nov 6, 2015 near Cody, WY
When you get into the trails past the developed bike park and purpose built trails, things change. There are no trail markers. Only your sense of direction and MTB Project in your pocket.
Mar 12, 2021 near Cody, WY
The big wall ride on the jump lines.
Jul 11, 2017 near Cody, WY
The big jump line.
Jul 11, 2017 near Cody, WY
A sea of jump line options after the wall ride.
Jul 11, 2017 near Cody, WY
The Drop Zone. The right hand platforms are ramped. The left hand side last drop is a full 6 feet.
Jul 11, 2017 near Cody, WY
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