Brookside-McCurdy Trailhead — Attraction in Bailey

Cool trail, nice scenery. Some elevation gain so not for everyone, but not super difficult. We only hiked in a little over a mile then back to lot. No one else was there, which was nice to not be on crowded trail but also can be unnerving! Only wildlife was a variety of birds and chippies. There was a large spine and ribs right by the parking lot though. Was also disappointed to see two poop bags along the trail. I don't understand why people do that. Otherwise it was a very clean trail, marked well. A bit of a drive on a dirt road up the mountain to get to...

We only hiked in 2 miles & followed the Payne creek extension. In and out with a brief sandwich stop took us 2.5 hours with our 12 & 10 year old children. It was beautiful with nice views and plenty of wildflowers. It was mostly uphill to begin with down & up throughout, which made it nice for the children on the way back. We also stopped at the cement slab/ homestead (?) We heard about. Almost missed it, ot was a great view...

Connects to the Colorado Trail. A few CMT's,(culturally modified trees) deer, and signs of mountain lion activity.(tracks, scat) Occasional birding opportunities. Mostly hairy/downy woodpeckers, white-breasted/red-breasted/ and pygmy nuthatches, dark-eyed juncos. Crossbills and Williamson's sapsuckers have also been seen. Great starting point for Bigfoot...