Panther Gulch - Imperial Connect

Total Miles
1.4

Elevation

2,353.12 ft

Duration

0.5 Hours

Technical Rating

5

Moderate

Best Time

Fall, Summer, Spring

Trail Overview

This short but moderately challenging connector trail starts on a saddle at the intersection with Howard's Trail and goes along an exposed spine with no trees on a narrow trail with lots of loose rock. It goes up and over several rolling hillsides as a ridge line trail, with several climbs and descents up to the top of each hill from each saddle between the hills. There is one really long steep hill with loose rock on loose dirt that is a bit rutted and requires lots of throttle and clutch control to go up. There are a couple of sections of chunky jagged embedded rock in the trail creating little ledges that are not too difficult because there are multiple lines to choose from. The south end of the trail crosses the switchbacks of Panther Gulch Road as it connects with this road. This is a great connector trail to take from the northern part of the Greenhorn trail system to access the southern trails off of Deer Creek Road, or to access the northern trails if camped on Deer Creek Road.

Photos of Panther Gulch - Imperial Connect

Panther Gulch  - Imperial Connect
Panther Gulch  - Imperial Connect

Difficulty

Intermediate difficulty due to long climb (or descent) with loose rock on loose dirt surface.

Technical Rating

5

Status Reports

There are no status reports yet for this trail.

Access Description

The Greenhorn trails are an extensive trail system south of Ketchum Idaho that get a high amount of use from various recreational users including mountain bikers and horses and hiking in addition to dirt biking. There's a decent sized parking lot at the staging area for Greenhorn Trails, that can accommodate trailers, but doesn't allow camping, and gets full even on weekdays. The trails can also be accessed off of Warm Springs Road to the north and Deer Creek Road to the south, which both have places to camp. It's an extensive system with trails of varying difficulty from easy to advanced. This area can get really hot in the summer and doesn't have much shade. This area is very well signed and maintained, but most of the area doesn't have cell service, so download your maps ahead of time.

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