Hermosa Creek Shuttle

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Allowed

The Hermosa Creek Trail is an iconic mountain bike ride that has long served as a bucket list objective for riders from all over the country. This lengthy point-to-point ride runs along the bottom of a beautiful valley deep in the San Juan mountains.

While this is indeed a shuttle ride, do not think that this is a downhill shuttle. Instead, this is very much an up-and-down mountain bike ride, with plenty of climbing along the way. As long as you go into it with the right expectations, you're highly likely to have a good time.

This route is mapped as a point-to-point shuttle itinerary similar to the one you'll often ride if you use a local shuttle company, like Hermosa Tours. The ride begins on the Cutthroat Trail, which has recently seen some fresh reroutes to create a fantastic singletrack ride rolling through a mix of aspens and pines, with occasional views over Hermosa Park. As of 2023, the singletrack ends at the campground, but eventually, it's supposed to extend all the way to the Hermosa Creek trailhead.

Whether you take the dirt road the rest of the way or newly-built singletrack, take a left toward the Hermosa Creek trailhead and start heading down the trail.

Hermosa Creek is motor-legal the entire way, and it begins as a wide doubletrack ATV trail. After a few miles of ATV trail, you'll pass a sign and slip through some rocks, and the rest of the trail will be singletrack, albeit shared with motorcycles and e-bikes.

The bulk of the Hermosa Creek Trail runs through the depths of this stunning mountain valley. While a fire did burn most of this area, it's quickly growing back, with aspen saplings lining the length of the trail.

As you pedal through the valley, you'll enjoy some short, fast descents quickly followed by steep climbs up the other side.

The quality of the trail can vary dramatically through the year. If the trail has been very dry and seen a lot of moto traffic, it can be torn up and loose. But if you get it after a wet monsoon season, it can be stellar!

The route shown here descends the dirt road after the singletrack heads to a common shuttle pickup point. However, if you're self-shuttling, you can park higher up the dirt road at the very end of the singletrack.