South Park - Burning Bear Loop

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Not Allowed

This is a proper adventure ride. If you want to feel 'out there' and don't mind doing some hike-a-bike and lots of climbing, this is a spectacular backcountry loop.

From Georgetown, you can drive up and over Guanella Pass, then down the back side. Parking can be found at the Abyss Trailhead or Duck Creek picnic area.

From here, ride Geneva Road up to the junction with NFSR 119. Take a left onto NFSR 119 and keep climbing. The road is a gradual uphill, giving you a good warmup before the more challenging climbing starts!

About 5 miles into the ride, you'll come to the South Park Trail #600. Turn left onto the trail, You'll encounter a lot of hike-a-bike on this section and the trail can be faint, eroded, and somewhat overgrown at times. Note, it is also possible to descend Bruno Gulch Trail back to Bruno Gulch Road #118.E for a shorter loop route or bailout alternative.

Eventually the 600 trail will intersect the Red Cone Jeep Road. Head left on this.

For a jeep road, this descent is incredibly fun. It starts off with high-speed descending through bermed turns, root drops, and rocks. Towards the bottom, it turns into one giant rock garden. If you choose a hard tail for this ride, you'll be regretting that choice right about now. Follow the fast, loose, chunky descent to the dirt road.

Turn left through the campground and watch for the Burning Bear Trail #601 on your left, across from a private driveway. It would be VERY easy to blow past this turn.

Climb Burning Bear Trail #601 over rocky terrain that gets steeper towards the top, but is mostly rideable. Finally, drop down the Burning Bear Trail #601 descent which is probably the best part of the ride. As the trail flattens out, head right through a cattle gate and back to your car.