Bunce School Road

Total Miles
5.2

Elevation

2,718.56 ft

Duration

3 Hours

Technical Rating

5

Moderate

Best Time

Summer, Fall

Trail Overview

Bunce School Road is a moderate trail that can run with high clearance 4x4 vehicles. Most of the trail is mild and can be done in 2wd with 32" tires. There are some sections, especially on the lollipop loop section, where both front and rear lockers were used and I scraped skid plates with 35" tires on a 6 gen Bronco. The lollipop loop is definitely the most exciting portion of the trail and a spotter is handy, especially on a couple of the steep ledge declines heading downhill. It's a good place to practice driving with 3 wheels on the ground. There is a lot of water runoff this year in early June and there were a few water crossings that came up to the bottom of the doors. There are several off-shoot trails that can add some additional mileage, as well as some off-map trails that lead into different sections of the mountain. The T-33 plane crash site is on this trail, but the snow prevented us from climbing up to see it. There are several off-shoot trails that have some fun rock obstacles to play on. You could spend hours exploring the additional off-shoots and scrambling over rock outcroppings. In addition, there are several places with excellent natural backstops if you want to bring out the firearms and have some fun with target practice. There are several excellent areas for dispersed camping along this route.

Photos of Bunce School Road

Bunce School Road
Bunce School Road

Difficulty

The main trail is relative mild with a few loose rock ledges. Most of the difficult lines have a bypass that can be handled by 2wd vehicles. The most difficult portion of this trail is the lollipop loop section that some people call the flat irons. This section requires a lifted vehicle with 35" tires. I used both lockers on this section as the ledges had a lot of loose rocks.

Technical Rating

5

Status Reports

Christopher Mcmahon
Jul 21, 2024
2024 Ford Bronco
Open
Muddy/Wet
Great trail, rained today, so some mud
Chris Khros
Jun 29, 2024
2019 Jeep Cherokee
Open
Normal
Konstantin G
Jun 28, 2024
SxS
Temporarily Closed
Posted Sign
Closed to UTV’s/ATV’s going West at Cave Creek. Private Property sign posted not allowing UTV’s/ATV’s past that point. There is also a Horse sign. Possibly louder vehicles like UTVs/ATVs can spook the horses.
Braiden Patrick
Jun 01, 2024
Open
Normal
Moderately hard trail not recommended for a stock vehicle. If you’re into camping there’s not a whole lot of campsites along the trail, but there are some spots on the trails that veer off (tan color). Overall amazing conditions right now, good weather, and a dry trail.

Access Description

This is an easy drive coming out of Lyons, CO. There is parking right at the trail head if you want to ditch a trailer or car pool through the trails.

Popular Trails

Go Farther

Try onX Offroad Elite for free for a week — no strings attached. Get access to thousands of off-road dirt trails and snowmobile trails across the nation. View your favorite zones in 3D. Send trails to friends. Start planning the trip of a lifetime now.