Village to Village Trail

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Features Fall Colors · Views · Wildflowers

This trail is subject to a USFS seasonal closure from 5/6 - 6/30 to protect deer and elk during calving season

The Village to Village Trail winds over the western slopes of Beaver Creek, through Bachelor Gulch and down to the Arrowhead resort. It is often done in sections as a way to connect other trails and is best traveled downhill, as mapped here. To get to the start, take Beaver Lake Trail to Red Tail Camp (at the base of the Larkspur and Birds of Prey chairlifts).

You begin on what must have once been a road, but is now a wide singletrack on a bench cut through aspen and pine groves. It's very smooth and peaceful. It then curves around and crosses a few ski runs and climbs up just a bit through a few switchbacks. More aspens... more ski runs... and then through a multimillion dollar residential area with a few road crossings that are all well marked. There's a tiny detour (Picnic Spot and Valley Overlook Trail) to a picnic table with a great view of the valley far below.

Now you're in Bachelor Gulch and will hike on a raised wooden platform over a boggy section. Continue on to the Arrowhead ski area which feels noticeably drier and the views turn more to the west. Once at the west end of the ski area, you have finished over 5 miles of flat hiking so prepare to descend a long way all the way to the base of Arrowhead Village. It's relatively steep, but the switchbacks are very wide and the surface is not too loose. The Village to Village trail becomes a wide service road at the end. Note: bikes are allowed on this trail.