Tick Alley

Total Miles
2.4

Elevation

2,360.32 ft

Duration

0.5 Hours

Technical Rating

3

Easy

Best Time

Fall, Spring

Trail Overview

Tick Alley is a fun single track in the Hardscrabble Trail system by Gypsum, Colorado. From the south end of the trail, it drops almost 1000 feet over 2.5 miles. At the intersection with Itch trail, it starts on a road-width trail close to ATVs and Jeeps, then comes to an intersection with the Yellow Chair, an old chair that has been sitting in this area for years. The trail on the right is mountain bike only. Follow the left trail to an intersection with Tick Alley and Fast Times. From here it's a steady downgrade the whole time until it drops into the sagebrush valley below. The downhill is loose and rocky compared to some of the other trails in the area that are more smooth. The downhill is also on a ledge the whole time, but is a wide ledge, so the exposure is not too bad. At the bottom of the downhill, the trail continues through the valley and side hills on some small dirt hills with moderate exposure in spots. It comes to a tee indicating left to access Hockett Gulch, and right is mountain bike only. Follow the left for Hockett Gulch to finish the Tick Alley trail. The last segment parallels above a ravine and under power lines on a wider trail with big whoops before ending at Hockett Gulch.

Photos of Tick Alley

Tick Alley
Tick Alley
Tick Alley

Difficulty

Tick Alley is an overall easy trail. The most difficult part of the trail is the steep and loose rocky hills. There are no major obstacles and mild ledge exposure.

Technical Rating

3

Status Reports

There are no status reports yet for this trail.

Access Description

The Hardscrabble Trail System is located at the Gypsum exit from I-70 on the south side of the highway, off of Spring Creek Rd. There is a small staging area and several dispersed camp sites on the BLM land. Most of the trails in the area are of easy to moderate difficulty, and can probably all be ridden in a day. This trail system is seasonally open from 4/16 - 11/30, because the trails go from low desert sage brush to higher alpine, so have potential for snow in early spring and late fall. This is a great riding area for a day trip from Denver, or an afternoon ride for the locals.

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