Point to Point Race Course

The route starts at the ski area, rolls on some of your favorite trails and finishes at the St. Louis Creek Campground. What makes this unique is that the direction is opposite of what we normally ride. Along the way you will have challenging climbs, quick descents and exhilarating single track.

To start take a leisurely spin to the Winter Park Resort. This will make nice warm up for the ride. At the ski area you begin your ride. Start up Turnpike. For those of you who have never ridden up Turnpike but have skied it in the winter it is much steeper than you could imagine! Continue on Turnpike past Tunnel Hill and through the gate to access the ski area. A quarter mile s past the gate you will see a sign for the Upper Cherokee. Turn right here. Tturn right and ride down Upper Cherokee. Upper Cherokee is a great ride. Tight single track with a bit of speed. The trees have overgrown the trail giving you the feeling of riding through a tunnel. At the end of Upper Cherokee turn right on Tunnel Hill then turn left and continue your plunge down Lower Cherokee. Lower Cherokee is a rocky yet somewhat fast descent that twist and winds down the mountain. Compete with banked turns, high speed and rocky technical sections Lower Cherokee will keep your heart pumping.

Lower Cherokee bottoms out at the tracks trail and now you begin your next set of climbs. Turn left on the tracks trail, this is a great time to drink some water and take a few deep breaths. Your next left is Ice Hill. Ice hill is a short but awakening climb. A bit steep at first then rolls down a great singletrack etched into the hillside. Connecting to an old road bed then up and over a rocky downhill. Look ahead, there are enough rocks that you may flat a tire.  At the end of Ice Hill cross Little Vasquez and continue up Blue Sky.

Blue Sky is one of my favorite trails in the valley. Usually ridden as a downhill it rides great as an uphill too. Blue Sky is a great two track with just enough rocky and root sections to challenge you a bit and give it a high fun factor. The climb is just enough to work to challenge you a bit, yet allow you to have a true feeling of accomplishment when you reach the top.

At the top of Blue Sky turn right and head to the Vasquez Ford. At this point you will cross Vasquez Creek. Most days find this to be a challenge other days it just makes you wet. I found the right side to be a bit more accommodating than the left. After you conquer the creek turn right and Vasquez Road and enjoy a bit of downhill until your next climb up D4.

Turning left on D4 will begin one of the harder sections of ride. Two track, rocky and steep enough to let your legs know it is time to work. The upside is that the hardest part of D4 is at the bottom. The closer you get to the top the “easier” it becomes. Near the top of D4 is WTB. Named for a few locals who developed the trail WTB is one of our nicer single track rides. Technical at the top, a challenging climb in the middle and a great downhill at the end. If you haven’t ridden this you really should.

WTB ends at D2. D2 at one time rode much like WTB. Road improvements by the Forest Service turned this one time single track into a wide open road. Fast with several waterbars you need to pay attention. The chance for a high speed disaster is high. Continue on D2 until you reach Elk Meadows which is a couple of hundred yards past the bottom of D2..

Turning right on Elk Meadows you roll slightly downhill, through a meadow then to an old road. Elk Meadows ends at Elk Creek Road. Here turn right again then left onto Chainsaw.

Chainsaw is one of our most popular trails. Climbing slowly through aspens and pine Chainsaw lets you escape into the woods. The top of Chainsaw crest gently and then starts to gradually roll downhill. Gentle at first then gradually becoming steeper. Ruts and  a steeper grade combined with an ever moving trail make this one of my favorite descents. Keep an eye open for riders coming up the trail as it is easy to become caught up in the thrill of the moment. You will pass two ponds along the trail. Do take the time to stop and look as moose are regularly seen here. Chainsaw will roll gently at the bottom connecting to Flume Trail.

Flume Trail is one of the most popular trails in our area. Be sure to be aware of users traveling downhill towards you. Flume trail climbs gently while twisting through a pine forest. If you have never ridden up Flume, it rides entirely different than the more popular method of riding down. Legs will burn at this point and your lungs will let you know you have been riding at altitude. Flume trail ends at the King Creek Road. Turn right here, cross St. Louis Creek then take the next right on Creekside.

Creekside while being a gentle grade is one of our more technical trails. Rocks and roots are the norm. Be especially careful when wet. This trail can be nasty. While dry you will be challenged making other trails seem much easier! Creekside follows St. Louis Creek (hence the name) while being a single track. About a mile into the trail Creekside turns into a road that will take you to the parking lot at St. Louis Creek Campground.

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