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Located in the northern Front Range, west of Lyons, Bunce School Road is a popular trail because of its close proximity to town along with the availability of dispersed camping. While dispersed camp spots may get filled quickly in the peak summer months, there are a lot of other trails in the area to explore. This trail is also a popular place for winter wheeling as the snow does not get extremely deep between snow storms and does not present any dangerous situations such as shelf roads or off-camber drop offs. Only the last mile of trail is seasonally closed, making this off-road trail highly traveled by not only 4wd vehicles, but also small OHV users such as ATVs, Side by Sides, and motorbikes. A little history about Bunce School Road. In 1888, Joseph Henry Bunce built the first area school, which is still known as the Bunce School and still exists today.
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Start a 7-day Free TrialBunce School Road is an extremely busy and heavily trafficked trail nearly year-round. This trail is best traveled from north to south starting at the historic Bunce School. The first 4 miles of the road surface are well-packed dirt and gravel with some small sections of exposed rock. You are likely to pass through many shallow water holes if there has been any kind of moisture. The trail passes several campsites and a few trail spurs, including the popular Ironclads trail, before it hits a seasonal gate at mile marker 4.14. If the seasonal gate is open, you can continue down the last mile of the trail, where you will pass Park Creek and the popular T-33 Plane Crash trail.
The difficulty of this trail is very dependent on how far you travel and what time of year you travel it. The north end of the trail to the seasonal gate is relatively easy throughout but does have a few moderate spots, including steep sections with loose dirt and protruding rocks. The last mile of the road is the most difficult section of Bunce School Road and is consistently moderate. Drivers must make their way downhill over round, volleyball-sized river rock boulders making the progression much slower than it had been up to this point. Eventually, you find yourself in Peacefully Valley, where there are a couple of great campgrounds.
This is a great trail to check your vehicle's capabilities, and good for new off-roaders as well as experienced off-roaders. Overall this is a great trail close to town and suitable for any stock 4x4 with good ground clearance.
From this point, the trail starts becoming rockier, with many exposed rock sections where the soil has simply eroded away. This rocky section is an example of one of the rock obstacles you will see as you travel farther west. This rocky section is easily navigated with a good line choice and some slight off-camberness.
Another exposed rock section with a small v-notch developing in the center of the trail. The granite here is extremely chunky. It is a good idea to use 4-lo at this point to control your tire speed as you traverse over the uneven terrain. To your right, tucked off the road, is the last dispersed camping opportunity before the seasonal gate. This spot is ideal for vehicle or hammock camping as the ground is extremely rocky and not very level.
* Note that beyond this point, dispersed camping is not allowed for the next mile.
Here you will find a significantly exposed rock face with multiple lines, including a 2-foot ledge on the southeast edge of the trail that can tilt your vehicle to an uncomfortable angle. The ledge can be mostly bypassed by taking a line closer to the northwest edge of the trail, where you will need to straddle a rut running down the trail and careful negotiate small triangle shaped rocks protruding from the hillside.
Dispersed camping is allowed along the majority of the trail, but not allowed the entire length. This is due to private land ownership on both sides of the road. Dispersed camping is allowed between waypoints 3-7, 9-10, and 12-13. Please refer to the Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) for specific dispersed camping locations. Camp Dick at the south end of the trail is an improved campground.
From the Longmont
Head west on Hwy 66 into Lyons, CO. Once you get into Lyons turn left at the west edge of town onto Highway 7 and continue west. Approximately 1/4 mile past Highway 72 there will be a "Point-of-Interest" sign pointing to the left. The "Point-of-Interest" is Bunce School Road which is the start of the trail.
From Estes Park
Take Highway 7 south through Allenspark. Before you get to the turn for Highway 72 you will see a sign for a "Point-of-interest" a brown sign with arrows. This point of interest is the Bunce School Road, where the trail starts.
Bunce School Road is a straight-through trail, however the south end by Camp Dick has a seasonal gate. Bunce School Road is under close observation due to people constantly going off trail, so PLEASE "STAY THE TRAIL!!
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