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Trail Name: Bucktail Draw Loop
Best Use: Mountain Biking, Hiking (for the first few miles)
Best Time for Use: Spring, Summer and Fall
Difficulty: Mountain Biking – Intermediate icon-intermediate Hiking – Beginner icon-beginner
Length: 21.9 miles (35.3 km)
Start Elevation: 6,741 ft (2,055 m) Maximum Elev Gain and Loss from Start Elev: 563 ft, (172 m) gain – 961 ft. (-292 m) loss
Trail Surface and Use: Unmaintained 2-track roads combined with the CCC ditch bank. Rarely used.
Trail Head Access: Good for 2wd via County Highway 25 from Nucla. Park at the National Forest boundary where the road changes from asphalt to gravel.
Trail Head Coordinates: 720,685E; 4,244,500N UTM WGS84 Zone12
Best Feature: Solitude, great views of the San Juan Mountains to the southeast.
Cautions: Few. A short hike-a- bike crossing along the bottom of Bucktail Draw and several short rocky sections during the descent to the CCC ditch (from about mile 7.1 to mile 8.6 (km 11.4 to km 13.8)). Riding/hiking during wet weather should be avoided. When riding along the ditch, stay away from the siphons, flumes and edges of the ditch bank.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF VERSION, GPX VERSION, OR KMZ VERSION OF THE BUCKTAIL DRAW LOOP.

Description: From the trailhead, follow the two track road roughly easterly until you drop into Bucktail Draw. Make your way upstream for about 500 yards (450 m) along a faint trail trace, then climb out on the east bank until you intercept a 2-track road. Follow the road east and then south through a combination of pinion-juniper forest and a couple of burned and cleared areas. Don’t worry, this burning and clearing was done 20 to 40 years ago. The road drops fairly steeply to the ditch through a few rocky sections, so caution is advised. When you hit the ditch, follow the ditch bank road downstream back to First Park, where you divert from the bank to a gravel road. Follow this road to 30.90 road, then west on the paved CC road, then north on 29.00 rd. 29.00 Rd turns into County Highway 25, which you will follow about 5 miles (8.1 km) northeast to the trailhead. 29.00 road skirts the east edge of Nucla. Turn to the west on 5 th or 4 th Avenues for a ½ mile (.8 km) to the town center if any services are needed. Alternatively, one can start in Nucla and take Hwy 25 to the National Forest boundary.