Mayflower Gulch: Biking In for an Adventure Session

Oct 21

I’d been seeing photos from Mayflower Gulch for a while, and I wanted to see it myself. It’s not far from us in Breckenridge, even closer as the crow flies. My friend Shelley had been wanting pictures of her family, and she’s always up for an adventure. So we turned the scouting trip into a day out.

This wasn’t a traditional family session. It was much less planned, required many more snacks, and lasted hours… which made it a both more fun and chaotic! I brought my camera and documented the whole thing: the journey, the rock jumping, the snacks and maybe a few tears.

Getting up there

From the trailhead to the old cabins is about a mile and a half, and it climbs the entire way. Walking that at sunset with a five-year-old and a three-year-old wasn’t going to happen. So we biked. Also not an easy task either—less taxing on the kids, but more so on the adults.

My husband and our two-year-old came along. The two little guys rode up front in kid seats, Shelley’s husband towed their five-year-old, and Milo the dog trotted along with us. It’s a steep ride. We stopped (a lot) more than once. We made it.

At the top

One of the reasons I was drawn to this place was the jagged peak cliffs. I feel like you don’t see much of that in Summit County and it made it feel like were even deeper into the wilderness. Once you get it the valley, it opens up all the way around you. The rocky cliffs are on one side, a green valley and colorful peaks on the other. A few old log cabins from the Boston Mine days sit right in the middle. We barely saw anyone else.

Shelley’s kids came prepared: they packed costumes for the trip, fairy wings and a dragon. So we had a fairy and a dragon running between old mining cabins at 11,000 feet. The kids found every rock worth jumping off. We had plenty of snacks and only a few tears, which I’ll take as a win that close to bedtime.

The ride out

Going home was all downhill, and the kids loved it. Everyone took off so fast I could barley keep up, let alone get a photo. So you’ll have to take my word for it: the ride down was the best part of the day.

Tough on toddlers? Yes. Worth it? Also yes. But, probably better for couples and older kids. Either way, I’m already planning to go back.

Thinking about Mayflower Gulch for your family?

The trailhead is on Highway 91, just past Copper Mountain.
It’s about 1.6 miles each way with roughly 600 feet of climbing.
On foot it’s a lot for little kids. Bikes with kid seats, or a good carrier, make it doable.
It’s high up and cools off fast once the sun drops. Bring layers, and more snacks than you think you need.
Weekday evenings are quieter.

If your family would rather spend a session exploring than standing still, this is the kind of day I love to plan. Learn more about mountain session here.

XOXO

And some photos of my fam behinds the scenes below :)