Pronghorn is a fantastic singletrack loop right in Del Norte, CO. The trail was purpose built for mountain biking in 2016 and they did a brilliant job. The area has a mix of rock features, canyons, and big vistas of San Francisco Creek, the San Luis Valley and the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range. We …
Buried in the Rio Grande National Forest, close to nothing, we rode a loop of 22.3 miles with 3,034′ of climbing. This one honestly felt like that much climbing! We started out on a nice wide gravel Forest Road 271 that climbed up into forest. The climbing keeps going and going, and then we hit …
Our mountain bike exploration loop today was 27 miles with 2331′ of climbing. We left from the Penitente Canyon area and rode a series of county and forest service roads, rugged two-track, and even a bit of singletrack out towards Boot Mountain. After a short road climb section we hit county gravel and entered Hellgate, …
Not far from Del Norte is Creede, Colorado. I read about Creede last year in Pam Houston’s book Finding Hope in the High Country and was intrigued. Creede is a small town with, it claims, a population of 300. However, it’s a touristy town and swells with outdoor enthusiasts this time of year. A lot …
From camp we rode the super fun trails Limekiln and Speedway over to the Stone Quarry trail system. Stone Quarry stretches across canyon and high alpine desert lands with superb views. There, we rode Vision Quest, Window, Monster Slayer and Duran Land before returning the way we came. The day was 23 miles with 2190′ …
Day 3 of riding here in Del Norte, Colorado was a blast. Penitente Canyon Trails are just north of the town. This is an amazing Bureau of Land Management Recreation Area. The canyon got its name from Los Hermanos Penitentes, a Spanish religious sect that favored Penitente Canyon for its solitude in the 1880s. I …
Wow! Today’s ride was a beast. Middle Frisco Trail starts not far from where we are camped. We rode this as an out and back to Bennett Peak and IT WAS TOUGH. 16.4 miles with 3,404′ of climbing and we reached a high elevation of 12,737‘! The trail follows along the Middle Fork San Francisco …
Our new spot in Del Norte, CO is drastically different than our last spot. We’re still boondocking at about 7800′ but it’s high desert without all the trees and a river. We are off on our own in a large spot up against a little mesa and it’s very quiet. From camp we mountain biked …
Quartz Meadow Ride With the sun shining brilliantly, we decided to ride from camp again. This time we headed out to the end of the road a bit past Quartz Meadow. The road really did just end above a picturesque meadow. Mountain bikes were necessary because the road is very rough. Our out and back …
Pagosa Gravel Ride What better way to see the mountains and forest surrounding Pagosa Springs then by bike? Our gravel loop was 49.3 miles with 3677’ of climbing. We started out from a park in town and road pavement up into the neighborhood hills a bit before heading out into the forest. First observations? There …