Bloomington Canyon Ride
Level of Difficulty: 5 Intermediate- Most of the trail is a 3 or 4, but there are a couple areas that are steep and a bit rocky. From mile 9-10 and 23-24 is the only real 5 on the trail, the rest would be 3 or less. (GPS data begins 10 miles into the ride so if you are looking at the actual data it would be just before 0 and miles 13-14.)
Elevations: 5073 ft to 8304 feet.
Starting Point Coordinates: N42° 11.09', W111° 25.57'
Length of Trail: 63 miles
Approximate time: 4 hours
Date of Ride: August 3, 07
The pushpin on map on the left takes you up to the top of the canyon. NF-425 is a good challenge for experienced rides who like a bit of rocks, loose dirt and ruts.
Bloomington is just North of Bear Lake on Highway 89, South of Montpelier, ID. Once in Bloomington, Look for the Bloomington Canyon Rd (NF 208) Click the map for point to point directions.
This Elevation profile actually begins at the top of the pass where Picture 1 is taken. (I forgot to turn on the GPS unit!)
This is an overview of the ride.
Picture #1-We were actually trying to stay ahead of the rain. It was a beautiful day to ride with no dust! This is looking South.
Picture #3-This is looking to the West, toward Dry Creek.
Picture #4-Same location, just looking down the trail.
Picture #5-This is looking over a steep embankment into Mink Creek Canyon. We were looking for a loop to return, but it turned out to be a dead end. Beautiful view however.
Picture #6-Same location looking more South. We ended up going back down to Highway 36, traveling about 9 miles when we met a local rancher who directed us up Birch Creek and gave us directions back to Paris Flats.
Picture #7-This is looking down from German Dugway Rd to the South into Birch Creek Rd. When we got to the top of the pass there was a fork with a sign marking German Dugway Rd.
Picture #8 - This is from the same location to the West up the road.
Overall this was a great ride. There was a bit of a climb coming up to the first pass where the first pictures were taken. There was also a portion between mile 21 and 23 of the ride that was pretty steep and rocky, dropping about 1500 ft in 2 miles. It was also pretty muddy as it had just rained. Much of the rest of the trail was like the one pictured above.