The Bucyrus Dredge Loop is a major jumping off point for several fantastic mountain bike rides in the Breckenridge area. It also happens to be a historical site, once the home of massive 500-ton dredges that operated when the creeks and gulches around Breckenridge were alive with mining activity in the late 19th century. The remains of one of these gigantic dredges can still be found trapped in the pond it created in its gold-hungry wake.
This area ride, like the Bakers Tank Trail, is a temporal tour through the remains of mines and the scars on the landscape from years past. It begins near the actual remains of Bucyrus Dredge and winds up though the huge debris fields left by the behemoth. After picking up the Hay Trail you will be rewarded with a fast, flowing downhill to a converted mining camp in the mountain valley that is currently a summer getaway. Then you'll have a massive 3-mile climb to the Colorado Trail, where spectacular views of the Ten Mile Range await. The final few miles of the Colorado Trail are an amazing twisty trek through the lush high-altitude pine forests, a fantastic reward for all the effort.
The Bucyrus Dredge Loop is a great primer for the Breckenridge area, and there are a wide variety of mountain bike trails to pick up from there to create any number of loops or out-and-back rides.
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