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Coal Creek Trail

Easy/Intermediate Easy/Intermediate
 3.5 (19)
  1. Areas
  2. CO
  3. …Front Range
  4. …Boulder
  5. Marshall Mesa
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“An all-weather doubletrack connecting towns of Superior, Louisville, Lafayette and Erie. ”

Mike Van Abel
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12.4

Miles

20.0

KM
Doubletrack

5,476' 1,669 m

High

5,049' 1,539 m

Low

112' 34 m

Up

533' 163 m

Down

1%

Avg Grade (1°)

6%

Max Grade (4°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Allowed

Open dawn to sundown. E-bikes allowed per Boulder County ( bouldercounty.gov/open-spac…).

Description

This all-weather surface doubletrack follows the coal creek and connects the towns of Superior (and Dirty Bismarck ride) to the town of Louisville and Lafayette and Erie to the east. It's also a key segment of the Rock Creek Farm loop ride. Continuing northeast the trail connects to Erie Forest trails.

This trail was heavily damaged in the 500 year flood in Sept., 2013. Most of the trail has been repaired.

Contacts

Local Club: Boulder Mountainbike Alliance

Nov 17, 2025: Trail Update: South St Vrain

Nov 14, 2025: Another Step Closer to new Betasso Connector

Oct 24, 2025: Boulder County Moves One Step Closer to a Safer Boulder-to-Betasso Connection

Land Manager: Boulder County, CO - Parks and Open Space

Shared By:

Mike Van Abel with improvements by Evan Albers and 1 other
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  3.5 from 19 votes

#1

in Marshall Mesa

#10801

Overall
  3.5 from 19 votes
5 Star
16%
4 Star
37%
3 Star
37%
2 Star
5%
1 Star
5%
Trail Rankings

#1

in Marshall Mesa

#1,037

in Colorado

#10,801

Overall
14 Views Last Month
5,606 Since Feb 3, 2015
Easy/Intermediate Easy/Intermediate
65%
12%
24%
0%
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0%
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Photos

Long's Peak
Feb 3, 2015 near Lafayette, CO
Flicker on the Broomfield trails.
Feb 3, 2015 near Lafayette, CO
Orographic Wave Clouds
Feb 3, 2015 near Lafayette, CO
The Coal Creek trail, following the Coal Creek, of course.
Feb 2, 2015 near Louisville, CO
The Coal Creek and its riparian corridor. Water flows year-around to the east.
Feb 4, 2015 near Lafayette, CO
At this junction, head northeast to Erie or to the southwest to complete the loop. Watch out for the prarie dogs.
Feb 2, 2015 near Lafayette, CO

1 Comment

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 84 days ago
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Jun 8, 2024
sss S
Jul 16, 2023
Paul Kaptchen
Nov 22, 2022
Peter Tiley
Jun 23, 2022
Daniel Solorzano
With uncle bob 12mi — 1h 20m
Nov 8, 2020
Chris Walson
Aug 8, 2020
Daylene York
22.8mi
May 18, 2020
Steven B
Apr 29, 2020
Logan Bergh
11.4mi — 1h 00m

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