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The "old A trail" ?

2K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  sharpshooter 
#1 ·
I was reading some of the older reviews of trails around Fort collins and noticed a few mentions of "the old A trail". Where was this at? Was it closed down because it was too close to the dam? Is it still there? Also someone wrote a review of "the tropics". Is this just another name for the trails at the end of Laporte ave.?
 
#2 ·
Old A Trail was closed down after the flood of '97 washed much of it away. It was ridden quite a bit after the flood, but then they started enforcing the closure more after 9/11 because of the proximity to the dam. The old trail is still there. I saw hikers on it yesterday, despite the closed signs. The trail to use here now is Maxwell.


I believe you are correct that the Tropics refers to the trails at the end of LaPorte, as that was the nickname for the climbing area at the base of the dam (that was also closed due to 9/11). These trails are known as part of the Foothills Trail.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the info sgltrak. I figured the closure had something to do with security of the dam. From the Maxwell parking lot I can kind of make out a diagonal line going south down the hillside from the A. Is that where the trail was? Was it a good trail?
 
#5 ·
Da Dook said:
Thanks for the info sgltrak. I figured the closure had something to do with security of the dam. From the Maxwell parking lot I can kind of make out a diagonal line going south down the hillside from the A. Is that where the trail was? Was it a good trail?
Yeah, what is that trail? There is a trail really visible crossing the slope to the south from the saddle just to the south of Maxwell. It is really obvious right now, even from Overland Trail. There appears to be a fence at the top to block access.

Is this the old "A trail" or something new being poached? :nono:
 
#7 ·
flash5twelve said:
The climbing area known as the Tropics ceased to exist when they did the dam reconstruction. They blew the rocks worth climbing all to hell.
Yup, I "climbed" there once (I don't climb but went with a friend from out of town heard so much about it) and it was pretty sweet local bouldering if you are into that. Apparenlty the way the sun hit it and the red rocks made the place a cooker, even in the winter you could climb with shorts/no shirt. I guess it was a popular front range place and well known.

Any of you guys remember the dirt jumps behind Albertsons off of Riverside? Those were pretty sweet too and went the way of the bulldozers....
 
#9 ·
Ahhh the original A trail. Thanks for bringing back great memories! Tattoo Lou and crew used to shuttle it back in the day. That was before shuttling caused e-arguments between trail users. Might've even been before mtbr! Quite the gnarly trail! Instead you now have Maxwell and Shoreline. Decent substitutes. Although I'm still bitter "they" closed down the trails around Pineridge/Dixon Rez.

I didn't know the tropics is gone. I was never really into climbing anyway. (did you get the pun?) ahaha...But def was a cool spot FWIW.
 
#11 ·
SylentK said:
Ahhh the original A trail. Thanks for bringing back great memories! Tattoo Lou and crew used to shuttle it back in the day. That was before shuttling caused e-arguments between trail users. Might've even been before mtbr! Quite the gnarly trail! Instead you now have Maxwell and Shoreline. Decent substitutes. Although I'm still bitter "they" closed down the trails around Pineridge/Dixon Rez.

I didn't know the tropics is gone. I was never really into climbing anyway. (did you get the pun?) ahaha...But def was a cool spot FWIW.
The upper parts of the old Tattoo Lou trails were still ridable as of last Summer. The damn constuction erased the lower sections of these trails, but there is still a run out trail there. The saddle trail with the fence at the top is in better shape than the Tattoo Lou trails.

XC riders please don't turn this into a stop poached the trails thread.
 
#12 ·
bikecruz said:
The upper parts of the old Tattoo Lou trails were still ridable as of last Summer. The damn constuction erased the lower sections of these trails, but there is still a run out trail there. The saddle trail with the fence at the top is in better shape than the Tattoo Lou trails.

XC riders please don't turn this into a stop poached the trails thread.
Mind if I ask where the entry for these two trails you mentioned - Tattoo Lou trail and Saddle trails - are? I have poked around the area a little but I don't think I know these two.

Re: A Trail: I called the city a couple years ago to inquire, and they said something vague about 9/11 and the dams. It makes literally no sense at all. There are numerous other places where you are allowed to drive over or otherwise get much closer than the A Trail. Total BS on their part, and it baffles me that they can't give a straight answer.
 
#14 ·
My understanding of the A-Trail is that starts at the first saddle south of maxwell and ends basically where the trail going south off maxwell takes a 90 degree left and hits that little canal jump thing. It isn't the big diagonal thing you see that heads towards the dam.

I would venture that it was closed due to bad trail design rather than the 9/11 stuff. I think it was closed before that dam security stuff happened.

I've ridden it a couple times and it's brutal. Pretty much really steep and rocky with plenty of three-four foot boulders to drop off of. Not really a whole lot of fun unless you have a big travel bike.
 
#15 ·
BillyBob said:
Mind if I ask where the entry for these two trails you mentioned - Tattoo Lou trail and Saddle trails - are? I have poked around the area a little but I don't think I know these two.

Re: A Trail: I called the city a couple years ago to inquire, and they said something vague about 9/11 and the dams. It makes literally no sense at all. There are numerous other places where you are allowed to drive over or otherwise get much closer than the A Trail. Total BS on their part, and it baffles me that they can't give a straight answer.
You have a PM.
 
#16 ·
Any of you guys remember the dirt jumps behind Albertsons off of Riverside? Those were pretty sweet too and went the way of the bulldozers....[/QUOTE]

Those DJ's were built by an old scholl BMX guy named James C. who was actually my childhood bully and used to beat the hell out of me on a weekly basis for about 6 years!:madman: Havent seen him in years, wish I could run into him now at the start line of a Super-D!!!:devil:
 
#19 ·
this one extends for quite a while at the end there is like a scenic lookout bench but, there is a trail that is overgrown that climbs a bit more and looks like it continues to a downhill and eventually would meet up with the timber trail. The last time i rode it was a couple of years ago
 
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