Barr Lake: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Quick Ride Summary: Date - April, 30 2009. Nine miles around the lake. Elevation change near zero. Weather sunny, temp. 60, wind 4-6mph from the west. Trail surface included gravel, dirt, mud, ruts, and other.

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This morning I did a 15 mile training ride and thought that since I had never done the Barr Lake ride it would make a nice afternoon outing and an interesting write-up for this blog.

I parked at the Barr State Park Nature Center at about 2:00p.m., unloaded and began the circuit of the lake in a clockwise direction. The trail was crushed rock but not particularly well maintained. In the first mile or so there were very nice blinds for watching wildlife, Boardwalks out into the wetlands and the lake (one with a gazebo).


At about mile two I saw a sizable snake crossing the trail (my first of the season). He was 6 or seven feet long and not quite as big around as my forearm. I was glad to put him behind me. A little further along I saw a herd of Mule Deer. Some were lying down and some walking around. You can tell by their ears why they are called Mule Deer.

There was an abundance of waterfowl; ducks, geese, blue herons and others I didn't know the names of. I didn't take any pictures of them.

At about mile 2.5 the trail began to deteriorate to dirt and sand ruts. That might be OK for a bike but is a disaster for a trike. The ranger had told me the trail was crushed gravel so I thought this was a temporary problem.

WRONG! The condition of the trail continued to deteriorate and at one point actually ran along the railroad track easement. It was so rough that one of my fender broke loose from its mounting and I had to use electrical tape to re-afix it temporarily. So on the west side of the lake the view is mostly of a giant concrete slag heap, the railroad, some cattle, and other uninteresting stuff.

Once I crossed the dam and re-entered the actual state park property the trail again became crushed rock, but I was long passed being interested in anything except getting off that damned trail.

I do not recommend this ride, even for mountain bikes as at least 5 miles of it are just plain ugly.