Mountain Biking Colorado: An Atlas of Colorado's Greatest Off-Road Bicycle Rides

by Stephen Hlawaty

Overview

Where else can mountain bikers complement a day's bike ride with a dizzying glissade down a mid-August snowfield? Where else can they descend nearly 40 miles through five biogeographical zones? Where else can they catch a major league game and be ripping along rocky singletrack 30 minutes later? Colorado, that's where. Snow in August, lighting above timberline, and 100 degree desert temperatures are all to be expected in the sport of Colorado mountain biking. As the country's highest state, Colorado offers its mountain bikers a unique perspective into the sport and raises the bar for all who ride. Under the expert guidance of local cyclist Stephen Hlawaty, come admire the beauty and revere the majesty that is Colorado. From this newly revised book, cyclists can expect exhaustive and comprehensive trail descriptions of more than 50 of the state's greatest mountain bike adventures, from beginner to advanced. Included are GPS-quality, digitally designed relief maps, and accurate route profiles showing the ups and downs of each ride. In addition, detailed directions get cyclists to the ride without getting them lost. Detailed mile-by-mile directional cues are also provided with difficulty ratings, elevation gain, trail contacts, and much more. More than 60 photographs round out this book's presentation. It's not just a mountain bike guide to Colorado. It's a guide to Colorado by mountain bike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493022496
Publisher:	Falcon Guides
Publication date:	06/01/2018
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	392,416
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., raised in Queens, N.Y., but mellowed in Colorado, Stephen Hlawaty has definitely found a home within the Centennial State's Rocky Mountains. His mellowing is a consequence of a certain peace of mind one finds in narrowing ones priorities. Loving his wife, Amanda, and sharing time together with their dog Moab in the mountains has left this one-time city slicker in a mellow mood. Writing for a variety of local and national outdoor and technical publications, Stephen still finds time to refuel his soul by mountain biking, backcountry skiing, and backpacking in the surrounding mountains near their Livermore cabin. When not offering his blood, sweat, and tears to the outdoors, he does so on the mat while training in Aikido, the Japanese martial art of self-defense.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xii

Introduction xiv

Getting Around Colorado xv

How to Use This Book xvii

How to Use These Maps xviii

Map Legend xix

The Rides

Northwest 1

1 Three Forks Trail 4

2 Palisade Rim Trail 9

3 Tabeguache (Lunch Loop) Trails 15

4 Chutes and Ladders 21

5 Zippity Do Da Loop 26

6 Troy Built Loop 32

7 Crag Crest Trail 37

8 Red Hill Recreation Area 42

9 Prince Creek Area 48

Honorable Mentions 54

A Dinosaur National Monument 54

B Gunnison Bluffs/Old Spanish Trail 55

C Three Sisters Park 55

D Mesa Top 56

E Boy Scout-Forest Hollow Loop 56

F Tall Pines Trail 57

Southwest 58

10 Sidewinder Trail 61

11 Aspen to Buck Trail 67

12 Ridgway Area Trails (RAT) 73

13 Deep Creek Trail 79

14 Wasatch Trail 84

15 Hermosa Creek Trail 90

16 Log Chutes Trail 96

17 Dry Fork Trail 101

18 Phil's World 107

19 Sand Canyon Trail 113

Honorable Mentions 119

G Portland Creek Trail 119

H Thunder Trails 119

I Red Canyon Loop 120

J The Y-11 Trail 120

K McPhee Overlook Trail 121

L Boggy Draw 121

M Horse Gulch and Telegraph Trail System 122

N Ute Mountain Tribal Park 122

O Geer Natural Area 123

North-Central Mountains 124

20 Bockman Campground Loop 127

21 Arapaho Ridge Trail 132

22 Base Camp to Mountain View Trail 137

23 Nipple Peak Loop 143

24 Lower Bear Trail 148

25 Hot Springs-Mad Creek-Red Dirt Trail Loop 154

26 Emerald Mountain (Front Side) 160

27 Emerald Mountain (Back Side) 166

28 Muddy Slide and Morrison Divide Trails 172

29 Tipperary Creek Loop 178

30 Wise Mountain and the Colorado Trail 183

31 Grand Traverse and Cougar Ridge Trail 188

32 Scarle Pass and Kokomo Pass Trail 194

33 The Snowmass Loop 199

Honorable Mentions 207

P Michigan Ditch Trail 207

Q American Lakes Trail 207

R 2A Trails Project (Flash of Gold) 208

S West Avon Preserve 208

T Peaks Trail 209

U Baker's Tank Loop 209

South-Central Mountains 211

34 Mount Princeton to Raspberry Gulch 214

35 Bear Creek to Methodist Mountain 220

36 Doctor Park 226

37 Deadman Gulch 232

38 Teocalli Ridge Loop 238

39 Deer Creek Trail 244

40 Dyke Trail 251

41 401 Trail 257

42 Hartman Rocks 263

43 Monarch Crest Trail 270

44 Zapata Falls 277

45 Penitente Canyon 282

46 Middle Frisco Trail 288

47 Trout Creek Trail 293

48 Wheeler Monument 298

49 Snow Mesa to Miners Creek 304

50 Cat Creek Trail 310

Honorable Mentions 315

V Barbara Whipple Trail System 315

W Old Midland Railroad Grade 315

X Stone Quarry Trail System 316

Y Cuchara Recreation Area 317

Z Bishop Rock Area 317

AA Reservoir Hill 317

BB Turkey Springs Trail System 318

Front Range 319

51 Killpecker Trail 322

52 Horsetooth Mountain Open Space 328

53 Bobcat Ridge 335

54 Blue Sky Trail 341

55 Hall Ranch 347

56 Picture Rock 352

57 Heil Valley Ranch 358

58 Betasso Preserve 364

59 Centennial Cone Park 369

60 Dakota Ridge and Red Rocks Loop 375

61 North Fork Trail 380

62 Staunton State Park 386

63 Little Scraggy Loop 392

64 Falcon Trail 398

65 Captain Jack's Trail 404

66 Cheyenne Mountain State Park 409

67 Lake Pueblo State Park 416

Honorable Mentions 423

CC Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and Red Mountain Open Space 423

DD Crosier Mountain Loop 424

EE Sunset Park West and East Trails 424

FF North Table Mountain Park 425

GG Palmer Park 425

HH Deer Haven Ranch 426

Eastern Plains 428

68 Picket Wire Canyonlands 431

Honorable Mention 437

II Pawnee National Grasslands 437

Appendix A Ride Finder 438

Appendix B Rides at a Glance 441

Ride Index 443

About the Author 444