This ride features spectacular views, meadows, technical downhill as well as smooth, fast, banked turns, rock gardens, root drop offs, tight turns and small stream crossings. But be assured it will have you smiling and yelling the whole 4,000+ feet of downhill.
This ride is best ridden as a shuttle ride, or if you can find an AWESOME friend getting dropped off at the top is the best possible experience.
This ride is a Colorado Springs classic. It may be ridden in entirety as shown or a shuttle may be used to drive up to park at Frosty's parking off of
Gold Camp Road or at the Jones 701 trailhead off of
FS 379.
The trail begins in Stratton Open Space. The map here demonstrates climbing the
Chamberlain Ridgeway Spur Trail, The
Chutes to
Gold Camp Road (GCR) - Top of
Chutes to Parking Access for 7 Bridges Trail. Any number of trails can be used in Stratton Open Space to reach GCR. Some prefer using the Upper Meadow Spur to reach GCR keeping the trail clear for descending riders.
Continue up
Gold Camp Road - Top of
Chutes to Parking Access for 7 Bridges Trail through tunnels 1 and 2 for 3.5 miles before hitting
Gold Camp Road. The trail climbs over the collapsed and gated tunnel 3, then the road continues upward steadily for another 13 miles until
FS 379. The road is an easy ride. Beautiful views over Colorado Springs can be seen from GCR.
Gold Camp Road will intersect with
FS 379. Turn right onto
FS 379 (there is a small parking area and a handful of signs about allowable use - the
FS 379 is a small vertical brown sign) and climb 1.7 miles to the Foresters Trail/ Jones #701 trailhead. There is another small parking area and the 701 trailhead is on the right. If you do not have a vehicle with high clearance, you'll want to park on
Gold Camp Road and ride up
FS 379 Foresters Trail / Jones #701.
Nelson's Trail #672 also feeds into this area.
The trailhead begins at this point through the gate labeled 701.
The next mile is downhill fun with jumps along the way. The
Pipeline Trail #668 turns to the right, so stay to the left. The trail is nearly all Pikes Peak granite, and good tires are a must. There are several stream crossings that keep the excitement going with rivulets coming down from the eastern edge of Almagre Mountain.
The second mile is all up, continuing on the Pikes Peak gravel and some dirt running through aspen groves. A few rock gardens give a good challenge along the way.
From this point on, the trail descends through pine and aspens, which are sure to make you grin like an idiot, all the way until it meets with the new
Jones Park #667.
Follow 701 in its entirety to intersect with Jones Park after three miles, then turn right and head downhill. After 2.5 miles,
Jones Park #667 crosses with
Pipeline Trail #668 again. Continue along
Jones Park #667 to Upper Buckhorn #667. It's about 2.5 miles from the
Pipeline Trail #668 intersection to the intersection with Upper Buckhorn #667.
This will intersect with High Drive, and the the start of
Captain Jack's. Fly down this exhilarating trail back to
Gold Camp Road. Follow GCR to The
Chutes. Head downhill right into the
Chutes and enjoy the grand finale to this epic downhill.
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