Three trails in Beavers Bend you won't find on the map

Beavers Bend is well-trodden for a reason, but the best walks here are the ones the rangers don't print.

The Old CCC Trail follows an unmarked grade behind the campground — start at the second pull-off past the spillway, look for the rock cairn. Twenty minutes in, the trail opens onto a sandstone bench with a clean view down the Mountain Fork.

The Beaver Pond loop is on no signage but well-trodden. Park at the Cedar Bluff trailhead, take the right fork at the second junction, and you'll loop around a beaver pond that's most active at dawn. Forty-five minutes total.

The Pine Ridge connector links the David Boren Nature Center back to the lake's north shore — find it by walking north from the back of the nature center parking lot. No signage; just follow the worn path.

Bring water, bring boots, and leave your phone in the cabin.