Mountain Bike Riding at Happy Jack
Maps:
How to get there:
Ride your bike.
Dental work is more fun, but you can ride up I-80 east out of Laramie and exit at the Lincoln Monument. You can also ride up Pilot Hill starting in Laramie and take the Forest Service road at the top of the ridge south to the Upper Tie City parking lot at Happy Jack. This is quite a ride in and of itself (roughly 13 miles one way with better then 2000' of climbing) and going back is no picnic. For your average or even above average rider, you won't want to expend much energy tooling around the great trails at Happy Jack if you want to make it back to Laramie un-bonked.
Drive your car.
I know this is a bit sacreligious, but a short drive up to the Summit on I-80, parking your car in either the Lincoln Monument Rest Area, Upper Tie City or Happy Jack parking lots will leave you with plenty of energy to cruise some great single track. There's lots of parking at the Lincoln Monument just off the interstate, and the Headquarters Trail begins just north of the parking lot. To get to Upper Tie City or Happy Jack parking lots, exit at the Lincoln monument and head north on Happy Jack Road (Wyo 210) about 1 mile (Upper Tie City) or 2 miles (Happy Jack) and turn right into the respective parking lots.
What the riding is like:
Between the cross country ski trails and the Headquaters trail, there's about 20 miles of single track cutting through aspen groves, stands of pine and fir, and mountain meadows. There is some climbing involved if you drop down from the "top" to the base area of the old ski area that was once there (300 to 400 vertical feet). Otherwise, the terrain is mostly flat or rolling. It's not hard to get "a little bit lost" as the trails loop around and cross one another frequently. However, it's hard to get "really lost" so the best thing is to just go out and ride.
It's possible to start your rides at Happy Jack and go to Vedauwoo and back. There are hundreds of miles of dirt roads and trails in the Pole Mountain area of the Medicine Bow National Forest. Do yourself a favor -- get a map and go exploring.
Return to Mountain Biking in Laramie
Riding at Vedauwoo
PT 12/97
