MCCALL, Idaho — The Goose Creek Trail is an expert trail deep in the Payette National Forest that features a technical ride over roots and rocks next to a beautiful cascading creek.
The ride ends at Last Chance Campground, but it begins just below Brundage reservoir making it logistically difficult to shuttle and ride. Brundage Mountain Resort aims to fix that by providing a shuttle for mountain bikers on this trail in the Payette National Forest.
WATCH|Check out the video to see highlights from our ride on this backcountry trail
"Part of our goal as a resort is to get people in touch with these wonderful backcountry experiences," said April Whitney of Brundage Mountain Resort. "It is really special to Idaho and the shuttle service just puts that in reach for a bigger group of people who maybe don’t have time or the logistical planning to be able to put that together for themselves."
Brundage has two shuttles that cost $20 per person and they can transport up to four people. Brundage will do this for the Goose Creek Trail and also the Brundage to Bear Basin Trail that opened three years ago. For an additional ten dollars riders can take the lift up to the top of the Brundage and make it an epic ride.
"It’s so convenient, being able to book it online for 20 dollars and jump on the lift and have that amazing downhill experience at the top of the bike park all the way to Last Chance Campground, you really can’t beat it," said Carolyn Rogers.
We rode from the top of Brundage through the expert terrain of Hidden Valley onto a cross country trail called Grouse and outside of Brundage Mountain Resort. A gravel road took us all the way to the beginning of Goose Creek Trail.
"It has some great technical sections with the roots and rocks, you have some slabs and there is actually a section where you cross the river and you are walking across the log," said Rogers. "It is really magical for me and there are also a few sections where you can stop and see some waterfalls."
Goose Creek Trail is also an expert trail that keeps riders on their toes on this six-mile trail. This trail is beautiful, but it is also out in the backcountry with no cell service so riders need to keep safety in mind. There were no big jumps or drops and anything riders don't feel comfortable with they can walk, but it is pretty continuous when it comes to the tech.
Overall, we rode about 12-miles from the top of Brundage to Last Chance Campground and it was pretty much all downhill with some pedaling, but with no sustained grunts and I ended up having a fun day with Brett and Carolyn who escorted me through this journey.
These shuttles add to the 30-miles of single track trails at Brundage Mountain resort and they are all open season. Summer operations are underway at Brundage where people can enjoy food and drink, hiking, scenic chairlift rides and live music.
