Directions to trail
From the south:
To get to the Waterton Canyon trailhead, take C-470 to the Wadsworth exit.  Go south on Wadsworth all the way almost to Lockheed Martin all take a left on Waterton Road just as the road veers right.  Go up to the second parking lot on the right and park anywhere.

GPS coordinates
Latitude (dd): 39.49119
Longitude (dd): -105.09376

Gotchas
On the weekend, Waterton Canyon's 6 mile easy road can be packed with fisherman, runners, families, etc.  Many people turn around at the dam and never experience the great Colorado Trail 1776 loop that lies beyond.

Elevation at parking lot
Around 5512ft

Trail description
The Colorado Trail 1776 loop at the top of Waterton Canyon is a great trail in the south foothills.  Often a person can see bighorn sheep, deer, and whatever else.  The ride out of Waterton Canyon's parking lot includes a very gentle 6 mile gravel road ride alongside a river.  It's great for a warmup, but can be sort of long if you are looking for singletrack.  Once at the dam the road gets pretty steep as it goes to the Colorado Trail 1776 trailhead.  Once there the opening climb is rocky and abrupt to the first bench.  After that things get gentler continuing uphill and the trail is mixed with occasional rocks, switchbacks, and lots of fun.  The "top" has a haven where it's not unusual to find a dozen or more mountain bikers hanging out in the summer, deciding where they'll go next...  With a couple of short and steep ups, from here one pretty much descends for quite awhile.  Some of the descents are 8 inch roots drops, others are long and sweeping as they cross streams.  After the descent it goes abruptly upward again in a furrowed trail.  Not lasting nearly as long this time, it drops quickly back to the road to complete the loop.  The road can either be a nice prize on a calm day or a real pain in the ass on a windy one.  Overall this trail has lots of places to test your skills and aerobic endurance and is highly recommended.

Included trails
Colorado Trail 1776
Indian Creek
Roxborough