Trail Stats & Information

Nearby City: Bozeman

Length: 23.8 miles

Trail Type: Point to Point with shuttle or loop [ for loop add 8 miles to total length ]

Skill Level: Aerobically: strenuous; Technically: easy

Duration: 4-6 hours

Trailhead Elev: 5,560 feet

Top Elev: 7,950 feet

Book Description

A relatively new trail to the area, the Baingtail Divide trail was completed in 2003. The trail spans from the Brackett Creek Trailhead to Stone Creek for a total of approximately 23.8 miles. The trail is well built and hardly technical, but due to the length, is considered an intermediate trail.
Built with bikers in mind, the trail has excellent descents on both ends of the trail with a couple big grassy meadows that provide a great view of several mountain ranges to include the Briders, Crazies, Absaroka, Gallatin, and Madison.
There are several different ways to ride the trail. You can car shuttle from one end to the other, you can ride it as a loop if you add about 7 or 8 miles of highway riding, or you can ride it in sections by using Olson Road which puts you onto the southern part of the northern 1/3 of the trail. The most common choice is to ride from the southern to north (Stone Creek to Brackett Creek)

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My Experience

Trailhead is easy to find, the trail is well marked. There is a lot of climbing on this trail, but it is definitely doable, just put your steed into low gear, switch off , and enjoy the climb. This trail is in my books technically easy, but it is a long ride and a long walk out if anything goes wrong, so go well prepared. I did this trail as a P2P (point 2 point) starting at Stone Creek and finishing at Bracket Creek, however this trail can be done from both directions.

Conclusion

Oooohhh yes!! this trail is what mountain biking is about, not too strenuous, 23 miles of sweet singletrack through stunning scenery. The trail is well maintained and well marked. The scenery is fantastic, and it came with the smell of fresh pine and 1000′s of wild flowers. The 2-3 hour total climb is rewarded with a fantastic smooth downhill with in most places more than enough visibility to open up to a fair speed.. Don’t open up too much, cos there are a few very tight switchbacks that appear out of nowhere, and some have some pretty brutal drops that you definitely don’t want to hit going too fast.. If this trail doesn’t put a smile on your chops, then nothing will!

All in all, the Bangtail Divide Trail is a definite “Must Ride Trail”.. I did this one in 4 hours 29 min. and I enjoyed every second of both the riding and the scenery.

Other Info:

Traffic on Trail : 5 mountain bikers, one jogger, one hiker

Wild Life : I did not see anything

Scenery : 23 miles of scenery

Other : Take extra fluids, don’t forget the bug repellent there are ( were) lots of pesky horseflies.

My Trail Rating : 9.5 / 10

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The Dordogne is the most beautiful and diverse region in Europe. No where in the world can you travel through more than 460,000 years of history, all within 2 hours. From the Vezere Valley, that is the undisputed Prehistoric Capital of the World. The Vézère valley contains 147 prehistoric sites dating from the Paleolithic and 25 decorated caves. It is particularly interesting from an ethnological and anthropological, as well as an aesthetic point of view because of its cave paintings, especially those of the Lascaux Cave, whose discovery in 1940 was of great importance for the history of prehistoric art.

The Dordogne Valley is famous for her Medieval Towns & Villages, Bastides, Castles, Forts, Fortified Monasteries and other Medieval Jewels.

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The tours I guide are for Walking Dordogne, a small but extremely popular Outdoors Outfitter that specialize in Hiking, Canoeing, Horse Riding and lets not forget Mountain Biking, the groups are small, never more than 5, the rides are technically and physically moderate, the views are a stunning 5+, and as I said, 100% unique.

Our notorious trails to date are :

• The Devils Play Ground
• Satan’s Fury
• Devils Backbone
• Valley of Revenge
• Hells Gorge
• Dordogne Mayhem

Most Trails can be combined to make them longer or shorter.

The trails will take you through Prehistoric Caves and shelters, more than 20 times older than the Egyptian Pyramids and 90 times older than Machu Picchu , medieval villages, ancient merchant trails, dating back 1000′s of years, and ancient oak and walnut forests.

If you are a Mountain Biker that believes culture and unique scenery is more important than Grade 5 tech trails, and you are looking for some unique mountain biking, then take a look at Mountain Biking Dordogne or Walking Dordogne

Hopefully I will personally get to meet you in the Dordogne, if you have any further questions about Mountain Biking in the Dordogne, please let me know.
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More Info : Mountain Biking Dordogne or Walking Dordogne

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Sacred Rides has been the undisputed leader in Mountain Biking Trips Worldwide for over 13 years, and are the singletrack specialists and the #1 mountain bike adventure company in North America.

Sacred Rides offer excellent and unique Mountain Biking Tours tours / adventures in the following countries

• Canada

• Croatia / Slovenia

• USA

• Peru

• Chile

• Guatemala

They also offer a wide range of Skills Camps”

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At Sacred Rides Mountain Bike Adventures, we strive to make every ride sacred. We are the world’s #1 mountain bike tour operator, and we bring passion and inspiration to every trip and every ride.

We’ll take you to incredible places around the world, surround you with jaw-dropping scenery, give you amazing cultural experiences, and take you on the world’s most incredible mountain bike trails – all guided by the industry’s strongest environmental and social responsibility mandate.

For over 13 years, we have offered award-winning small-group adventures and skills camps around the world, backed by our SATISFACTION GUARANTEE!

What sets Sacred Rides Apart?

Sustainable Tourism: They have one of the most comprehensive social and environmental responsibility mandates in the business.

Experience: With over 13 years of experience leading mountain bike trips around the world, they have the experience and knowhow to deliver you the mountain bike adventure of a lifetime!

Local Knowledge: All of their trips are led by friendly locals with a passion for mountain biking and a love of the outdoors.

Their Guarantee: They are the only company in the mountain bike tourism industry that will back your trip with a comprehensive guarantee.

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For more info about Sacred Rides please visit their website : www.sacredrides.com

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Walking Dordogne is very secretive about their Trails, but, as Duke from Walking Dordogne states,

this is because we have spent years putting these unique trails together, and a lot of our trails are actually on private property.

Walking Dordogne’s notorious rides are :

•The Devils Play Ground
•Satan’s Fury
•Devils Backbone
•Valley of Revenge
•Hells Gorge

Walking Dordogne are planning to launch two Dordogne “EPIC” trails, an EPIC Trail is a trail that will take a whole day (if lucky) to complete, usually aboy 8+ hours.
These 2 EPICS will be finalized in about November, and will be added to the 2010 list of trips / tours.

To make it easier for Mountain Bikers around the world to find mountain biking in the Dordogne info, Walking Dordogne has launched a “Mountain Biking Dordogne” web page : www.mountainbikingdordogne.com

For all other Walking Dordogne Tours and Trips visit : www.walkingdordogne.com

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Mountain Bike Mayhem has lauched a 100% Mayhem street line, for PROUD Mountaintain Bikers to show the world they are proud to be a mountain biker.

Wear 100% Mayhem with Pride, and you will feel the Glory!!

For more info visit: 100% Mayhem Clothing