Chris
August 7th, 2010, 04:24 PM
Barbour Fork is te first trail adopted by Front Range 4x4 in cooperation with the Forest Service. The trail itself is in Idaho Springs and is an easily accessed and fun trail which we've enjoyed maintaining and will continue to do so. It's an elk calving area so it's closed from closed from December 2nd until June 14th every year. Below is a clipping to show the trail map.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/barbourfork.jpg
Directions to Barbour Fork: From Denver take I-70 west taking the first Idaho Springs exit.You'll then be on Colorado Boulevard which you follow until you see a road veer off to your left. Take Miner Street to Soda Creek Road which ends at the trailhead.
As you can see from the map it's basically a loop. It has some variety of terrain, great camping areas and fantastic views. There's a good variety of climbs and descents that will keep you happy and enjoying the trail from start to finish. Besides being among the closest trails to Denver it's also one of the easiest trailheads to find since the residential access road ends at the Barbour Fork Picnic Ground which provides space for meeting and airing down.
It starts out as an easy dirt trail that lures unprepared vehicles to give it a try but they are quickly deterred by a small rock obstacle so take a quick look before proceeding. This loop can be run in either direction and we tend to prefer the clockwise direction to permit us to play on one particular obstacle as a descent rather than ascent. There are lots of trees and the trail is narrow with sharp turns occasionally that are more than likely going to provide you with some Colorado Pinstripes. Don't be fooled by the ease of the trail at the beginning because there are some There are a some rocky sections and steeper climbs I've seen give more than a few people trouble.
Please note the trail does pass through some privately owned property so be respectful of that. You'll see a gazebo of sorts and an outhouse at some point depending on which way to choose the run the trail. That's part of the private area so do not use these facilities.
When going clockwise you'll encounter an obstacle that drops fairly quickly. The bypass is the left side and the right has a fairly deep hole towards the bottom. If you put your left wheel in the hole you can easily flop so make sure you go to the left onto the rock. This is the correct tire placement.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/TyeRidingtheBronc.jpgobstacle_correct.jpghttp://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/obstacle_correct.jpg
And here's the incorrect line to take putting the left front wheel in the hole.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/obstacle_incorrect.jpg
Our initial conversation with the Forest Service quickly identified the need of this trail to be adopted since it's a multi-use trail and had a major eyesore for at least 7 years prior to our offer to adopt. Here's a photo of the Bronco II that was abandoned wedged between a couple trees and completely trashed and filled with trash.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/broncoII.jpg
The day prior to the removal Tye & Scrubicon removed it from the trees and brought it to a clearing for us to be able to finish the removal.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/broncoII_step1.jpg
Tye made one final valiant effort to remove the Bronc under it's own power but despite his best efforts it wouldn't budge.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/TyeRidingtheBronc.jpg
The following day the rest of the crew met to dismantle the truck and haul it away in pieces. There was great satisfaction in removing this truck from the trail which was commented on by hikers and horseback riders on the trail that day. It was nice to have them thank us and offer their assistance too which is what's always nice to see on multi-use trails.
We didn't limit ourselves to removing this truck but removed any number of large trash bags filled with junk people had left over the years including an awful lot of broken glass, beer cans, general trash and a lot of brass left behind by shooters. We continue to maintain this trail by cleaning it at least twice a season and while it's gotten easier it's still a shame to see how much we pull out every year.
We added a few signs to encourage keeping the trails clean, staying the trail and naturally giving ourselves credit with a small sign designating this as an adopted trail by Front Range 4x4. Below are some pics of the signs as well as the good people that repeatedly help main Barbour Fork.
Some of the adults involved in erecting the signs.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/adults.jpg
Some of the kids involved in many of our activities.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/kids.jpg
Our Adopt-a-trail sign.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/smallsign.jpg
We hope you enjoy Barbour Fork trail and please do your part in keeping it clean!
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/barbourfork.jpg
Directions to Barbour Fork: From Denver take I-70 west taking the first Idaho Springs exit.You'll then be on Colorado Boulevard which you follow until you see a road veer off to your left. Take Miner Street to Soda Creek Road which ends at the trailhead.
As you can see from the map it's basically a loop. It has some variety of terrain, great camping areas and fantastic views. There's a good variety of climbs and descents that will keep you happy and enjoying the trail from start to finish. Besides being among the closest trails to Denver it's also one of the easiest trailheads to find since the residential access road ends at the Barbour Fork Picnic Ground which provides space for meeting and airing down.
It starts out as an easy dirt trail that lures unprepared vehicles to give it a try but they are quickly deterred by a small rock obstacle so take a quick look before proceeding. This loop can be run in either direction and we tend to prefer the clockwise direction to permit us to play on one particular obstacle as a descent rather than ascent. There are lots of trees and the trail is narrow with sharp turns occasionally that are more than likely going to provide you with some Colorado Pinstripes. Don't be fooled by the ease of the trail at the beginning because there are some There are a some rocky sections and steeper climbs I've seen give more than a few people trouble.
Please note the trail does pass through some privately owned property so be respectful of that. You'll see a gazebo of sorts and an outhouse at some point depending on which way to choose the run the trail. That's part of the private area so do not use these facilities.
When going clockwise you'll encounter an obstacle that drops fairly quickly. The bypass is the left side and the right has a fairly deep hole towards the bottom. If you put your left wheel in the hole you can easily flop so make sure you go to the left onto the rock. This is the correct tire placement.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/TyeRidingtheBronc.jpgobstacle_correct.jpghttp://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/obstacle_correct.jpg
And here's the incorrect line to take putting the left front wheel in the hole.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/obstacle_incorrect.jpg
Our initial conversation with the Forest Service quickly identified the need of this trail to be adopted since it's a multi-use trail and had a major eyesore for at least 7 years prior to our offer to adopt. Here's a photo of the Bronco II that was abandoned wedged between a couple trees and completely trashed and filled with trash.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/broncoII.jpg
The day prior to the removal Tye & Scrubicon removed it from the trees and brought it to a clearing for us to be able to finish the removal.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/broncoII_step1.jpg
Tye made one final valiant effort to remove the Bronc under it's own power but despite his best efforts it wouldn't budge.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/TyeRidingtheBronc.jpg
The following day the rest of the crew met to dismantle the truck and haul it away in pieces. There was great satisfaction in removing this truck from the trail which was commented on by hikers and horseback riders on the trail that day. It was nice to have them thank us and offer their assistance too which is what's always nice to see on multi-use trails.
We didn't limit ourselves to removing this truck but removed any number of large trash bags filled with junk people had left over the years including an awful lot of broken glass, beer cans, general trash and a lot of brass left behind by shooters. We continue to maintain this trail by cleaning it at least twice a season and while it's gotten easier it's still a shame to see how much we pull out every year.
We added a few signs to encourage keeping the trails clean, staying the trail and naturally giving ourselves credit with a small sign designating this as an adopted trail by Front Range 4x4. Below are some pics of the signs as well as the good people that repeatedly help main Barbour Fork.
Some of the adults involved in erecting the signs.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/adults.jpg
Some of the kids involved in many of our activities.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/kids.jpg
Our Adopt-a-trail sign.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vault/pics/smallsign.jpg
We hope you enjoy Barbour Fork trail and please do your part in keeping it clean!