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Old Ute

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.6 miles
Difficulty: Easy
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 7631 - 7704 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: West Mount Falcon
Fee: none
Attractions: Forest hike/bike




The Old Ute trail is located in the Mount Falcon Park near Morrison, Colorado. The trail begins off of the Meadow trail where it begins a lollipop loop that takes it around a nearby hill. Near its midpoint the Devil's Elbow trail branches off on a loop of its own. Because of their layout it is common for both the Old Ute and Devil's Elbow trails to be completed together.


To get to the trailhead drive south on Highway 8 from its junction with Highway 74 for 2 miles. Keep right and merge onto Highway 285 and continue for 2.58 miles and turn right onto the Parmalee Gulch Road.  From there simply follow the signs for a little over 1.5 miles to Mount Falcon Park.


The Old Ute trail begins at the half mile point of the Meadow trail which just under 1 mile from the West Mount Falcon trailhead.


The trail starts out with a gentle climb along the forested hillside.


By the time the trail has traveled its first 300 feet it comes to the point where it begins a loop.


For this post we followed the left branch and traveled around the loop in the clockwise direction.


Rocky outcrops and baby heads add a few challenges for mountain bikers.


Once the trail reaches its highest point it begins to get a bit smoother.


As the trail travels around the east edge of the loop there are several grassy meadows that add a pleasing contrast to what the trail's roughly timbered slopes on the north side of the hill had shown.


The Devil's Elbow trail branches off on the left at the 0.4 mile point as the Old Ute trail turns back toward where it began.


After passing the point where the Devil's Elbow branches off the Old Ute trail does a little more climbing before beginning a downhill stretch that takes it all the way back to where it began.


It all comes to a quick end back at the Meadow trail where a pair of natural log benches await in an inviting setting for relaxation and reflection. The Mount Falcon Park has quite a few natural settings, including its many overlooks, that provide peaceful escapes from the busy city life below. On the day that we took the photos for this post we combined the Old Ute and Devil's Elbow trail to create a figure 8. The total round trip distance from the west trailhead comes out to around 3.5 miles. If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.