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Coney Flats
From Dirtopia, The Off-Road Encyclopedia
 Photo: Through the "lake" near the far end of the trail | |
| Off-Road Information | |
| Other Names: | |
|---|---|
| Terrain: | dirt road/4x4 |
| Off-Road Use: | |
| Difficulty: | Moderate(6) |
| Camping: | {{{camping}}} |
| Geography | |
| County: | Boulder County, CO |
| Nearest Cities: | |
| Map Links: | Google Map |
| Satellite Map: | {{{satlinks}}} |
| Special Map: | |
| GPS Coords: | 40.136539/-105.583218 |
| Google Earth: | Coney_Flats.kmz |
| Climate: | |
| Area Size: | |
| Elevation: | |
| Last Visited: | {{{lastvisited}}} |
| Open/Closed/Date: | {{{openclose}}} |
| Season(s): | {{{seasons}}} |
Excerpt borrowed with permission from TrailDamage.com
This trail is close to Boulder and is very popular run with the Middle St. Vrain trail. It's more challenging than Middle St. Vrain, with bigger rocks and a lot more water. The big finale is the Lake at the far end.
The Lake can be deep (close to going over a stock Wrangler's air intake) or relatively shallow (up to the bumper) but it's always a guess. You can estimate how deep it is based on the walkway that runs along the side of the Lake. If the water level is closer than a couple feet to the bottom of the walkway you're taking a risk.
Like driving through all water, you should drive fast enough to create a low wake in front of your vehicle, but not so fast to splash any water.
If you run Middle St. Vrain first you will have a more challenging run because the section between it and the Coney Flats "lake" will be uphill. If this is the direction you run it in, the trail will start from almost the far end of Middle St. Vrain. You will see a sign pointing to Coney Flats, which is an immediate uphill to your left.
This hill is very steep, rocky, and too narrow in most places to pass another vehicle. Because the trail is run in both directions there is a chance you will find someone else going the other direction. There are places to pull off to the side, but if two large groups meet someone will most likely have to back up to get out of the way (uphill has the right of way, as always, but smaller groups should try to get out of the way if possible).
There is a series of rocky obstacles in the middle of this hill toward the top. It starts out with a dug-out area that requires a flexible suspension and good tire placement. Then you come around a corner to find some good-sized rocks you must negotiate. This section is wider so there are a few lines you can take.
The trail levels out and you find yourself at the "lake" -- not really a lake but a section of the stream that is wide and still. There is a wooden walkway that allows you to walk to the other side, but vehicles must drive through it. Stay in the middle of this lake -- you can see the trail on the other side. Do not wander off into the other areas as this is not part of the trail. Also, portions of the lake to the sides are much deeper than it is in the center of the lake and you could very easily cover your air intake or get stuck.
You can tell how deep the lake is by viewing the level of the water under the wooden walkway that crosses it. A portion of the walkway is 2x4 boards over soft ground. If this is under any water then you can expect the water level at its deepest to cover the bottom inch or so of rocker guards on a Jeep Wrangler with 33" tires. There is another portion of the walkway that consists of heavy logs with boards attached to the tops to walk on. If the water is touching the logs the lake is too deep for the same Jeep Wrangler.
No matter what, the first vehicle through the lake should go slowly and directly through the lake in a straight line. The lake is fairly flat along this line. Someone can stand on the walkway to watch the depth of the water along the front of your vehicle and make recommendations as you go. You should know where your air intake is before you drive into the lake, no matter how deep it is.
There is another smaller water crossing and a large area where many vehicles can park and have lunch. The rest of the trail is downhill and not particularly challenging. Even stock 4x4 vehicles can start at the other end and work their way to the lake if they want to check it out.
The trail ends (or starts) at Beaver Reservoir where there is a small amount of parking. This is a trail everyone can enjoy because of this water crossing!
Maps and GPS Coordinates
A comprehensive list of GPS waypoints and tracks in Google Earth format can be found here: Coney_Flats.kmz
Coney Flats Coordinates: 40.136539° -105.583218°
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Find nearby Geocaching locations
- Find this location with Google Earth
External Links
TrailDamage.com pictures, movies, maps, GPS coordinates and additional trail information.
