Buck Ridge at Lake Hensley

Dogs Unknown

Features Lake · River/Creek · Views

The trail follows along rolling hills covered in oak woodland next to Hensley Lake. It features some nice singletrack and a couple of very short technical rocky sections which require caution. The fire road climb on the way in is sure to get the heart and legs pumping; short but tough.You are never more than a couple miles from the parking lot so if your endurance is still developing, it won't take long to get back. The trails all interconnect so it may be confusing at first but the main central trail leads back to the parking lot.

Parking is $4, but a season pass is available.

Starting out on the Buck Ridge Purple Loop, and after a short stretch progresses on the Buck Ridge Blue Loop, Here, the hike really begins with some climbs up the Three Sisters, which are really three hills. Each one gets progressively steeper as you go. From there, the trail comes to the crossover part of the figure 8 near the gravel road, a right turn takes you through more oak trees along a drainage followed by a climb straight up a rock and onto the Buck Ridge Green Loop. From here, there are rolling hills to go up and down then out to the back of the loop for a last big uphill.

This is fairly steep with little rock sections to navigate through. Enjoy the view of the river as it flows down the canyon into the lake. Once back to the figure 8 crossover turn right this time. Contour along next to the lake where there are some rocky sections to scramble through. The trail meets back at the gravel fire road where you can return back to the parking lot or take the trails right to climb the two camel humps. Enjoy a nice round of disc golf while you are there too!

This is a trail that was worked on by the local club, the Army Corps of Engineers and the IMBA Subaru crew several years ago. This is a shared use trail among bikers, hikers, runners, and horses.