Derek and I rode the Alpine Trail Loop outside of St. Elmo, Colorado about 16 years ago and remembered how cool it was so we decided to ride it again. Our loop was 20.5 miles with 2890′ of climbing reaching a high point of 12320′. We waited for a day when there was zero chance …
Starvation Creek Trail is fantastically primitive and challenging. We looped it by climbing up Marshall Pass, riding the Colorado Trail for a bit, and then hanging a left to descend Starvation Creek. What a beautiful loop! 24.5 miles with 3,206′ of climbing. Marshall Pass is a fairly easy climb up a good gravel road. We …
We like mountain lakes and on the map, this ride had a couple. Plus, it passes through yet more beautiful mountain scapes via high alpine riding. Our ride to Hancock Lake wasn’t very far but it was very challenging. 11.4 miles with 2468′ of climbing. We started up by Monarch Pass and climbed FS 230 …
Last year when we were in Salida for July we rode some of the trails on Methodist Mountain. These trails are purpose built for mountain biking and very close to town. The other day we rode out there again and put together trails amounting to 21 miles and 2657′ of climbing. We started by riding …
Our new boondocking home for the next couple weeks in Poncha Springs, Colorado is coincidentally the exact same spot we stayed in last year. It’s nice and quiet with good views of the mountains. We wasted no time in picking our first ride in the area. Last year there was way more snow and a …
Our last two rides in Del Norte were versions of rides we already did. We rode another day out at Penitente Canyon but added on a trail called Lunch Gut, and did a full loop of Blue Sky as well. Again, I can’t say enough good things about this trail system! Primo stuff. Today, after …
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 …