Beaver Ridge

Alma, Colorado (Park County)

Last Updated: 11/04/2017
4 / 5 ( 4 reviews )
Information
Nearby Trails
Status: Seasonal Closure
Typically Open: 06/15 - 10/31
Length: 15.7 miles
Highest Elevation: 12048 feet
Duration: About 4 hours
Shape of Trail: Straight Through
Best Direction to Travel: North
Nearest Town: Alma
Nearest Town w/ Services: Alma
Official Road Name: 184, 441, 659
Management Agency: Pike National Forest
District: South Park Ranger District
Showing 0 trails within 2 miles

Highlights

Highlight: Beaver Ridge
Highlights for this trail include amazing views of South Park Valley, Alma, Montgomery Reservoir, and two Colorado 14er's: Mount Bross and Mount Lincoln. This trail also offers some great chances to see Colorado's mining history.

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Weather

7 day forecast for Beaver Ridge

Route Information

Technical Rating:
( EASY - MODERATE )

Read more about our rating system

Waypoints

1. 285 Trail Head (0 mi)
This trailhead is reached via 285. There is an open area just past the trailhead prior to the first gate.

Directions to Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates: 39.259888, -106.020049

Starting Point: Fairplay

There are two trailheads available. This guide was written starting from 285. Starting from 285: From the D & S Convenience Store & Sinclair Gas Station on 285 in Fairplay, head NE and turn West onto Co Rd 3. Go .5 miles and turn right onto Bogue St. After .2 miles, this becomes Beaver Ln. At .2 miles continue onto Beaver Creek Rd for another 2.4 miles till you reach the trailhead on your right. Starting From Highway 9: The trailhead starts as an unmarked east turn between mile marker 69 and mile marker 70, just north of the Mountain Comfort Bed and Breakfast. If you pass through gates and immediately turn north to find a big hill climb, you've found the right trail.

Camping

Dispersed

Trail Reviews (8)

Author:
Mike Keller
Status: Open
Offroaded on:
Tried to run this trail today, but was disappointed as soon as we pulled up to the trail head. It is CLOSED to all motor vehicles NOT street legal. We have a Jeep and a Side by Side, so we moved on down to Buckskin Joe about 20 minutes down the road.
Author:
Carlo Donzelli
Status: Open
Offroaded on:
Rating:
We ran this trail just before Mosquito Pass since it was on the way to get there. It's a fairly easy trail with the most difficult section being from waypoint 21 on (the rocky hill), nothing hard though. Really great views at the top!
Author:
Philip Jimenez
Status: Open
Offroaded on:
Started from the NW south of Alma. The initial hill was fun, fairly steep with a ton of exposed boulders. Minimum lift here would be 3" without having to worry about bottoming out. After that it was really nice with a single track all the way up to waypoint 14. Did not go up to the top due to it getting late and weather has already set in. As soon as we started south from there towards Fairlplay it cleared up and was beautiful. There are plenty of places to camp across from a stream as you get further south near waypoint 7. Don't miss the turn off for 7 if you are traveling south, otherwise it is just a dirt road straight shot to 1. Plan on doing this again and going all the way up to 17. There were some really good views from waypoint 14.
Author:
Tim Burge
Status: Open
Offroaded on:
Rating:
I went up this road (from Fairplay) in my 2010 Subaru Outback to scout out camping locations. I found the spots and the road when on so I did too. At the junction with the road to Alma, I met Trint out doing a video. He pointed me forward and then showed me the road down to Alma with a "it's pretty steep right here". Went out to the end, and when I got back to the intersection I thought "what the heck?" and headed down to Alma. Let me tell you, if you're taking this road do NOT go in an Outback. This car is a great vehicle for heading out to the wilderness, but it wasn't designed to take that road. I thought I was done when the road leveled out but then I got to the "pretty steep" part and thought for sure I'd break something. I didn't and I have a good story to tell. It's a beautiful spot to go see. But take a Jeep or a 4Runner.
Author:
Karl Rentel
Status: Open
Offroaded on:
Rating:
Trail was enjoyable. Starts of as flat dirt road (when starting from Fairplay) but then gets into hillclimb and a rocky descent when heading back to CO-9. 2019 Tacoma Offroad, no lift
Author:
Lee
Status: Partially Open
Offroaded on:
Rating:
A terrific Father’s Day weekend jaunt to get the cobwebs off the suspension. Blocked by snowdrifts at a heavily shaded spot just below timberline, about 2.5 miles in from the entrance about 1/4 mile south of Alma. Initial mile or so is very steep, roughly graded road requiring all of my stock Rubicon’s ground clearance to maneuver around the boulders. Once past the initial steep grade, we had outstanding views, and it was a fun 2-track trail through the forest up top. Can’t wait to go back after full snow melt.
Author:
Andrew
Status: Open
Offroaded on:
There were only a few small spots of snow near the top of the trail making for an easy day on the trail. Although a bit windy, and cool the weather allowed for amazing views of Montgomery reservoir as well as the surrounding mountains. The trail looks to be in pretty good shape as well with only a few pieces of trash picked up along the way.
Author:
Bill Andrews
Official Crew
Status: Open
Offroaded on:
We ran Beaver Ridge as part of Calvary 4-Wheelers' annual Aspen Viewing trip on September 23, 2017. The weather was cloudy and cool with occasional sprinkles but no heavy rain until we were off the trail. The higher peaks around us had a light dusting of new snow. The aspen trees along the lower portions of the trail were in full glory and the tundra, once we passed timberline, also sported beautiful fall colors.

Questions & Answers (1)

Q: You should add in the write-up that there's also a great view of Mt. Bross & Mt. Lincoln- two of Colorado's 14er's right above Alma. We really enjoyed this trail!
–John W Post (09/28/2018)
–Tracy Barker (10/08/2018)

Writer Information

Trint Ladd

Mapping Crew - Colorado
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Trint grew up riding dirt bikes in the creek beds of the Texas Panhandle. While attending college in Colorado in the late 1990's, he saw a magazine article about a Ford Explorer four-wheeling club. He never saw his Explorer as an adventure vehicle before, but quickly joined up and caught the bug. With his engineering background, Trint has always respected the factory design of a good truck (and recognized when manufacturers put cheap parts into something marketed for off road use). "A good driver, with a well built, stock truck can do trails that would break a $50k, built-up rig with an inexperienced driver." He put that 1st gen Explorer though hell and it always held up, earning great respect from the "big dawgs" in the club. (And earning the nickname, "The Idiot Stocker.") The truck was christened "BamBam" because of the frequent sounds ringing out from the factory skid plates. Now that Trint is "grown-up" (quotation marks intentional), he's a bit less inclined to dent up his pretty Toyota Tacoma, but still feels the same way about superior engineering. Trint's love for the mountains was ingrained at a very early age. 8mm film exists of 18-month-old Trint in a backpack on his dad's back while riding dirt bikes through the mountains of Red River, NM. Although Trint does enjoy a good, tough, technical rock trail, he can often be found on easier, winding, Alpine roads just taking the glory of God's country.
For individual use only, not to be shared.

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