| Written by: | Jeff Bakke (Walking Eagle) | |
| Trail ran: | 9/04/2005 | |
| Vehicles in attendance: |
Cory, 85 Bronco
| |
| Trail difficulty: | 4-6/10 depending on vehicle. Stock height vehicles will scrape the undercarriage, and wider vehicles such as an F-150 will hit tree branches. | |
| Location: | North of Nederland, CO | |
| Time on trail | 4 hours. | |
| Directions: | If driving from Denver, head northwest on 36 to Boulder. Take Boulder Canyon Blvd (119) west to Nederland. In Nederland take 72 north approximately 16 miles. Just before you reach Peaceful Valley, look for Camp Dick on the west side. Travel through the campground staying on the main road. Middle St. Vrain trail starts at the end of the campground. |
These two trails are similar and are located near Peaceful Valley, CO, about 16 miles north of Nederland on Hwy 72. These two trails connect and either one can be run first with both having access from Hwy 72. However, it is strongly suggested to do Middle St. Vrain first and then at the end of the trail you can turn onto Coney Flats trail.
Here is the start of Middle St. Vrain located at the back of Camp Dick campground.
Middle St. Vrain is the easier of the two trails. There are a few small water crossings that will not cause any problems unless you are on the trail during the Spring time snow melt.
The trail is wide and allows plenty of room for vehicles to pass.
There are a few rock outcroppings along the way to negotiate over and around. Also in a few places there are small logs laying over the trail to climb over. Middle St. Vrain is about 4 miles long and as you approach the end, you will see the Coney Flats trail off to your left. It is a sharp turn onto the Coney Flats trail (almost 180 degrees) and it may be easier to go to the end of the Middle St. Vrain trail for another 300 feet where there is plenty of room to turn around.
Coney Flats is definitely more difficult. If coming from Middle St. Vrain, the trail will go up a long, narrow incline with very little to no passing room if oncoming traffic is met. As you go up this hill there are several small rock obstacles. Shortly after you pass over the top, you will approach a small pond to cross. I recommend this as a good place to take a break as there is plenty of parking and after crossing the pond, there are few places to pull over. This water could be very deep, especially during the Spring snow melt. There is a wooden bridge along the right side. I've been told as long as the water is about two feet below the bridge, stock vehicles should not have a problem.
Here we are crossing the pond, kind of unique for Colorado since the climate is arid and most trails are dry.
After the pond crossing, the trail continues on and is much different than Middle St. Vrain. Coney Flats is narrow from start to finish. There are no cliffs, but lots of evergreen tree branches to dodge. The trail is also much more rocky with different rock obstacles to negotiate. After approximately 5 miles, you will reach Beaver Reservoir, take a left here to head back out to Hwy 72.
Here's Beaver Reservoir
