Beginner, scenic trails in Colorado’s front range?

[phillynot]

Hi Everyone,

I am going to be in Colorado for about 10 days later this month. I will be staying with a friend in Colorado Springs for about 4 days, the other 6 or so I’ve got open. I’m very new to mountain biking, but I have ridden dirt bikes through large parts of Colorado, including parts of the Continental Divide trail, the Alpine Loop, Mosquito Pass, etc. I just got my bike, though, and I don’t want to test the envelope too much. I’m fit, so I can do rides that are physically demanding, just nothing too technical.

I’d like to find some very scenic rides that aren’t too technically difficult. I’ll probably be camping and doing some hiking as well, so if the trails are near a good campground, that’d be a bonus. I’d be willing to go a couple hours west of either Denver or Colorado Springs if there are some more suitable rides and campgrounds around there.

Also, I’m wondering if there are any good trail books out there that would be helpful. I didn’t see much on Amazon.

Thanks!

John

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

Here’s a good place to start:
http://www.singletracks.com/colorado-bi … %20Springs

You can sort them by difficulty over on the right-hand side.

You can also click ‘trails near Colorado Springs’ and enter the distance you’re willing to travel.

[phillynot]

Thanks.

[John Fisch]

Hey, Philly,
In the Springs, Cheyenne Mountain State Park is a good bet–lots of trails there for all difficulty levels. A newb can string together a nice ride with nothing overly technical. There’s also crazy good scenery and mostly smooth trails in the Red Rock Canyon open space right in town.

It sounds like Rampart Reservoir was custom made for you. 14 miles at altitude, mostly smooth, roller coaster cross country stuff (a couple mandatory dismounts) with killer views of Pikes Peak.

Near Denver, Centennial Cone should fit the bill–great views of a dramatic canyon, good mileage and nothing more technical than a couple tight switchbacks.

Alderfer/Three Sisters Park is also a nice place without a lot of tech.

The trails around Kenosha Pass are gorgeous and will get your heart rate up, but not throw a lot of tech at you in the process–Kenosha to Georgia Pass is a Colorado Classic.

The real classic within about 1.5 hrs of either the Springs or Denver is Buffalo Creek. #1 here on singletracks–you can really get in some miles, and the scenery is great. It’s a huge network and you can customize a ride to your liking. Other than a couple trails, most of the place is nice and smooth. For a place to be so highly regarded in spite of being mostly non-technical should tell you something about the quality of the riding there 😄 .

[phillynot]

Thanks, skibum!

You rock. . . that’s absolutely perfect. I’ve been searching through the forums and this will really help speed up the planning.

John

[bulfers]

As someone who is also new to mountain biking and has more aerobic ability than technical ability I would like to second the recomendation of Buffalo Creek. Just did a two day trip up there over the 4th of July Holiday and loved it. There is plenty of camping within a 5 minute or less ride from a trailhead and the terrian was technical enough to challenge me but not so bad I had to walk my bike every 10 minutes. It is possible to daytrip it from COS but If you can swing camping I would recomend it. Gashouse downhill is probably the most fun I have had on a mountain bike so far.

[phillynot]

Thanks. I made it up to Buffalo Creek a few days ago but didn’t get to ride because some bad storms were just coming in. I was really looking forward to Rampart Reservoir today, but they are doing renovations and the road is blocked and the entire area is closed.

I might check out Shelf Road tomorrow. Although I want to learn technical skills, I’d rather see some great scenery while I’m out here!

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