Pre-Riding the Biggie Courses
Many sections of the course are NOT open to the public, which means it is not possible to pre-ride the course as a whole ride. But there are many ways to pre-ride long sections, and below is a list of our suggestions.
General Rule: If something is not open to the general public, than it is NOT open for pre-riding.
If the trail is not on Trailforks, than it is not open for pre-riding. Period. There are no exceptions to this. Refer to the diagrams below for a visual summary. Read the full details regarding the Big Sky Resort area of our course, for information on how to pre-ride that area (you’ll need a lift ticket for the day).
BIG SKY RESORT: No Pre-Ride Zone
Red Outline indicates NO Pre-Riding Section.
Details:
- DO NOT pedal up to the top of Andesite Mountain to access Snake Charmer.
- You can purchase a DH Bike Lift pass and pre-ride Snake Charmer.
- Mountain to Meadow (and the M2M access climbing trail is fine to pre-ride as normal.
SPANISH PEAKS HOA: No Pre-Ride Zone
Red Outline indicates NO Pre-Riding Section.
Details:
We have a special-use permit for the day of the race only. Anyone seen pre-riding these trails puts the entire race in jeapordy. There are zero exceptions to this. Period.
Mountain to Meadow
For the 50 and 30 Mile Courses.
The Mountain to Meadow trail, aka M2M, is extremely popular in Big Sky. And once you ride it, you’ll understand why.
A great pre-ride loop would be to start in Town Center at our official start (right outside of BASE – Community Center) and ride the roads through Town Center, up Andesite Road, to where the Poop Chute double-track is, and then climb the Poop Chute -> Huff’s Track -> left on the Dam Road, and ride to the bottom of the Swiftcurrent lift. Then you can climb the Mountain to Meadow climb trail until you get to the Mountain to Meadow descent. You’ll end up at the bottom of the Poop Chute & Andesite road (where you started) and can easily pedal back to town.
The M2M descent is also easy to shuttle, which makes this an ideal pre-ride section for anyone who’s saving their legs, or is pressed for time.
The Yellow Mules
For the 50 Miler Course.
Pre-Ride Length: 18 miles (as a loop from Ousel Falls Trailhead)
Estimated Time: 3 – 4 hours
For the 50 Milers, you’ll be doing the Yellow Mules Loop in the race. In the 2025 race, you’ll ride up First Yellow Mule and down Second Yellow Mule. Your Aid Station #4 is located at the top of First Yellow Mule, aka the “Whiskey+Bacon Station”. There is another Aid Station about halfway down Second Yellow Mule, run by YC Patrol.
Directions:
The trailhead for this loop is the Ousel Falls Trailhead. You’ll ride the Ousel Fall Trail to First Yellow Mule, then turn left onto First Yellow Mule, ride that to the top of Buck Ridge, and then take a right and ride the buck ridge double-track until you arrive at the junction of Second Yellow Mule (turn right) and ride down Second Yellow Mule to complete the loop, and then take the trail back into Ousel Falls Trailhead. Your pre-ride is essentially a lollypop. This is approximately 18 miles with 3,000 ft of vertical gain. We recommend riding this early in the day, as we tend to get storms with electricity later in the afternoons on a regular basis. Bear spray or loud talking is also recommended.
Remember: Ride UP First, DOWN Second
Helpful GPS Map Links:
Second Yellow Mule on Trailforks
First Yellow Mule on Trailforks
Second Yellow Mule on MTB Project
First Yellow Mule on MTB Project
Ralph’s Pass to the Biggie finish
For all Biggie courses (50, 30, 15).
Ralph’s Pass > Uplands > Downlands > Gunny Hops > Hummocks
Pre-Ride Length: 8 miles (as a loop from Town Center)
Estimated Time: 1 – 1 1/2 hours
We highly suggest pre-riding this. It’s the final stretch of the race, and we think the difficulty of Ralph’s Pass may surprise some folks who didn’t save any gas for the end. There are some technical switchbacks that require some serious power, which after 50 or 30 miles, you will have to dig deep to find.
Racers will ride Ralph’s Pass (eastward) to Uplands. When you get to Uplands, you’ll go RIGHT and descend newer downhill flow trails (Downlands, Gunny Hops), turning left on Hummocks and out to the trailhead. From there, turn right and take the pavement (Aspen Leave Drive) into the finish at Town Center. A great way to pre-ride this would be to park at Town Center, and ride the Ousel Falls Trail to the Ousel Falls Trailhead, then get on Ralph’s Pass from there.
