Bull and Brown

Rating: 
One-way Distance: 1.6 miles
Difficulty: Easy (going downhill)
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 9,320 - 10,057 feet
Cellphone: 0-2 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: Greenwood
Fee: none
Attractions: Multi-use forest trail

The Bull and Brown trail is located in the Grand Mesa National Forest near Grand Junction, Colorado. The trail begins off of the Greenwood trail where it travels south through a forest of mostly aspen trees coming to an end along Dirty George Creek where it meets up with Forest Road #110 the Dirty George Aqueduct trail.

The Bull and Brown trail branches off of the Greenwood trail 2 miles from the Greenwood trailhead on top of the mesa near Flowing Park and 1 mile from Little Battlement Reservoir at the junction of the Greenwood trail and the Granby Road.

The double track trail is easy to follow for its entire length.

The upper portion of the trail meanders through a chain of open meadows.

The meadows eventually give way to a forest of aspens.

This is about the most perfect place for a summertime hike.

The trail gradually loses elevation almost right from the start. Near the 1 mile point the grade begins increasing significantly.

As the trail nears its end there are glimpses of the opposite hillside that looks to be covered mostly with oakbrush. For the Bull and Brown trail the aspens hang on all the way to the end.

This is what the elevation profile looks like. Anyone doing the trail as an out and back will have a little over 700 feet of climbing to do to get back to the Greenwood trail. That's not a lot, even at this altitude, for someone that is Colorado fit.

After 1.6 miles of splendid hiking the Bull and Brown trail passes through a trail squeeze and comes to an end as it meets up with Forest Road #110 which we are referring to as the Dirty George Aqueduct trail since it has just such a feature for the first couple of miles.

Right at the lower end of the Bull and Brown trail is Dirty George Creek. This is a great place to stop for a rest and enjoy the peaceful ambiance of the cascading waters and the woodsy fragrance of the surrounding forest where the aroma from decades of decaying leaves and pine needles coupled with the heady smell of wildflowers like owls claw, a.k.a. orange sneezeweed and wild geraniums all mix together for a concoction that only Mother Nature can provide . On this trip we were doing a 16+ mile loop so that we could finally get this group of trails completed so we kept going from here by following FR #110. As far as the Bull and Brown trail goes if you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.