Bear Creek - Gutz Loop

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Features Drops/Jumps

For many years, Gutz was known as one of the rowdiest hush-hush mountain bike descents in the Salida region. The trail was eventually adopted into the official trail system, and with that adoption, a few of the steepest, unsustainable sections had to be rerouted. However, the vast majority of the trail was accepted into the official network as-is, including some of the best jumps and drops and the swooping section down the Gut that the trail gets its name from.

Begin the ride from the Burmac Trailhead just outside of Salida via the narrow singletrack paralleling the wash. Take a right before you reach the highway, and pedal the ditch singletrack until you're forced to join the pavement.

If pedaling from downtown, you can pedal out via CR 105 and then turn left on the highway to pick up the route.

After pedaling a short way down the highway, take a right onto Bear Creek Road, climbing the dirt road all the way to the end. This road contains the bulk of the climbing for this route—and you'll grind uphill for 6 miles, gaining over 2,000 vertical feet.

Once at the top, take a right onto the Bear Creek section of the Rainbow Trail—it's all singletrack from here! The Rainbow Trail rolls up and down along a bench at roughly 9,000 feet, providing flowy singletrack and gorgeous views. Note that the upper Rainbow Trail is open to motorized traffic, so expect to encounter dirt bikes.

Right before the junction with the next dirt 4x4 road (FS 108), take the now-signed right turn down the Gutz trail. Get ready for a fast, rowdy descent filled with steeps, jumps, drops, swooping corners, and some tight squeezes.

At the 4-way junction with the Sol Trains, take Sol Train East down to the Little Rainbow Trail for a delightful dose of modern flow trail ripping. Take a left on Little Rainbow to pedal over to Lost Trail, finishing on this sweet, sweet trail, ripping all the way back to the Burmac Trailhead.