Upper Bench Trail

Trail Overview

Upper Bench Trail is an 8.4-mile-long single-track in the Uncompahgre National Forest west of Montrose, Colorado. It traverses along the side of the ridge at around 9,000 feet elevation, with epic views looking out towards the La Sal Mountains the whole way. It goes through old growth, aspens, and shrubbery, with a few muddy crossings that are like mud bogs and all chopped up from heavy cattle use. Riders have piled up logs across the mud to help cross, but make sure you don't dunk a bike into the mud! The trail also has a couple of small logs across the trail that you have to get over. The trail is fast and flowy in between all the mud crossings and logs, so it's overall a pretty easy trail. There isn't much elevation gain on this trail since it only goes up and down by a couple hundred feet, so it's relatively flat. The smooth sections of narrow dirt trail make for an epic ride, especially in fall when the trees are changing color and the air is perfect riding temperature. This trail is open from June 1 to October 3.

Photos of Upper Bench Trail

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Difficulty

This is an easy/intermediate single track with downed logs and mud crossings.

Technical Rating