Trail Log · Saturday, July 11, 2026

Ironclads to Coney Flats

1Ironclads2.3 mi
2T-33 Crash Site4.1 mi
3Middle St. Vrain3.4 mi
4Coney Flats6.0 mi

Trails in order, from Bunce School Road

In the Roosevelt National Forest between Allenspark and Ward, Colorado. Bunce School Road to Peaceful Valley in the morning, then Middle St. Vrain and Coney Flats in the afternoon, on trail 9:44 AM to 3:10 PM in Sucia, a 2021 Jeep Wrangler JLU Sport.

Distance23.3 mi

Moving time4h 24m

Total time5h 26m

Climbing3,600 ft

High point9,877 ft

Steepest pitch27% downhill

onX track on a UTM zone 13N 1 km grid. Ironclads below the split, T-33 and a side road were driven out and back, and the first mile doubles back on Bunce School Road, so the track traces over itself there. Hover the track to read elevation and time.

Elevation

Feet along the track, from onX’s elevations (USGS 10 m model)

Ironclads
T-33 Crash Site
Middle St. Vrain and Coney Flats
Bunce School Road

The day

9:44 AM–3:10 PM · moving 4h 24m, stopped 1h 02m across 14 stops

Ironclads
T-33
Middle St. Vrain, Coney Flats
Bunce School Rd
Stopped

Four trails in one day

Bunce School Road links the morning: up Ironclads and around its split, then up T-33 to the end of the trail and back, and down to Peaceful Valley. The afternoon recording picks up at Peaceful Valley and runs up Middle St. Vrain and back over Coney Flats.

Ironclads0.7 mi up from Bunce School Road to where the trail splits, 1.0 mi around the split, up one side and down the other with a high of 9,035 ft, and 0.6 mi back down.
T-33 Crash Site2.0 mi up from Bunce School Road to the end of the trail at 9,328 ft, and back down the same way.
Middle St. Vrain and Coney Flats3.4 mi west up Middle St. Vrain from Peaceful Valley to 9,603 ft, then 6.0 mi over Coney Flats, topping out at 9,877 ft, and east to the end of the recording.
Bunce School Road1.3 mi to the Ironclads turnoff, 3.3 mi from there to T-33, and 1.9 mi down to Peaceful Valley, plus a 1.1 mi side road off T-33.

Trail review

From our run, the track, and the published guides

The trail

Bunce School Road, part county road and part forest road, runs about five miles from Highway 7 near Allenspark, past the historic Bunce School, down to Peaceful Valley, and two harder trails branch off it. Ironclads climbs to a split where a rocky switchback and a forest line rejoin below the ridge; Trails Offroad rates it advanced, with “ledges, steep ascents and descents, rock gardens, and narrow sections,” and FunTreks says the toughest spot is a steep climb at the beginning of 216A. T-33 climbs to where a T-33 trainer jet crashed on June 27, 1965, killing both Air Force officers aboard; FunTreks rates it difficult for “large embedded boulders mixed with loose rock” and “challenging tight maneuvering through trees.” From Peaceful Valley, Middle St. Vrain follows the creek west toward the Indian Peaks Wilderness, and Coney Flats loops back east; FunTreks calls the pair a “popular loop separated by deep water crossing.”

Our run

Saturday, July 11: four trails in one day. From the start on Bunce School Road at 8,325 ft, Sucia went up Ironclads and around the split, topping out at 9,035 ft, then followed Bunce School Road 3.3 mi southwest to T-33. T-33 climbs 2.0 mi to the end of the trail at 9,328 ft, with its high point, 9,361 ft, just before. Back down, we took a side road out and back and rolled down to Peaceful Valley. A second recording picks up there at 1:05 PM and runs 3.4 mi west up Middle St. Vrain, then 6.0 mi back east over Coney Flats, where the day tops out at 9,877 ft. About 3,600 ft of climbing in all.

“We ran Ironclads → T-33 → Middle St. Vrain → Coney Flats in one day”
The title of our YouTube video from the run

Good to know

Trails Offroad lists Ironclads as open year-round and says it draws crowds “nearly every weekend.”
FunTreks recommends 35-inch tires, a short wheelbase and a rear locker for T-33. Sucia, a four-door JLU, runs 35s.
The seasons differ: T-33 opens June 15, Middle St. Vrain runs June 15 to October 15 on Trails Offroad, and 4x4Explore says the Coney Flats gates may not open until late June or early July.
4x4Explore warns that Coney Creek “can be deep in the spring during run off,” and FunTreks suggests watching others cross first if you’re unsure.

▶ Watch Ironclads → T-33 → Middle St. Vrain → Coney Flats on YouTube

Leg by leg

Leg	Road	Time	Distance	Moving	Stopped	Elevation
Bunce School Road to Ironclads	Bunce School Road, CR 105	9:44–9:54 AM	1.31 mi	10 min	0	8,325 → 8,534 ft
Ironclads, up to the split	Ironclads, FS 216	9:54–10:09 AM	0.66 mi	8 min	8 min	8,534 → 8,705 ft
Ironclads, around the split	Ironclads, FS 216 and 216.1A	10:09–10:25 AM	0.99 mi	15 min	0	8,705 ft, high 9,035 ft
Ironclads, back down	Ironclads, FS 216	10:25–10:45 AM	0.62 mi	14 min	5 min	8,697 → 8,528 ft
Bunce School Road to T-33	Bunce School Road, FS 105	10:45–11:15 AM	3.27 mi	28 min	2 min	8,528 → 8,836 ft
T-33, up to the end of the trail	T-33, FS 203.1	11:15–11:45 AM	2.00 mi	30 min	1 min	8,836 → 9,328 ft, high 9,361 ft
T-33, back down	T-33, FS 203.1	11:45 AM–12:42 PM	1.85 mi	24 min	32 min	9,328 → 8,856 ft
Side road, out and back	Side road	12:42–12:49 PM	1.07 mi	7 min	0	8,856 → 8,838 ft
T-33, down to Bunce School Road	T-33, FS 203.1	12:49–12:51 PM	0.23 mi	3 min	0	8,838 → 8,850 ft
Bunce School Road to Peaceful Valley	Bunce School Road, FS 105	12:51–1:05 PM	1.89 mi	14 min	0	8,850 → 8,733 ft
Middle St. Vrain, west from Peaceful Valley	Middle St. Vrain road, FS 114	1:05–1:51 PM	3.39 mi	39 min	7 min	8,733 → 9,603 ft
Coney Flats, east toward Beaver Reservoir	Coney Flats Cutoff and FS 507	1:51–3:10 PM	5.98 mi	1h 12m	7 min	9,603 → 8,966 ft, high 9,877 ft
Total		9:44 AM–3:10 PM	23.3 mi	4h 24m	1h 02m	+3,600 ft