Great for all ages and abilities, these trails include flowy rides, great views, and ribbons of single track. The chutes and ladders trail traverses the breathtaking book cliffs that shoot. The trail flows through the desert terrain with banked turns, jumps and rollercoaster excitement. Beginning at the coal canyon trailhead the main canyon trail follows jerry creek up the canyon to round mountain where the trail splits into the cottonwood canyon and round mountain trails. Fruita continues to grow as mountain biking hub outthere. The edge loop mountain bike trail, fruita, colorado mtb project. Book cliffs recreation area bureau of land management. If you are looking for a challenge, head all the way out to cisco the full 44 miles where the road meets i70 and gives you a view of the book cliffs. Here, an insiders guide for mountain biking in fruita, with trails listed in the recommended order in which you might like to tackle them. Tons of flow and amazing views of the book cliffs out at 18 road. The area is especially popular in the spring and fall, when mountain trails are still covered in snow and the desert isnt too hot. Moab road biking introduction the secret is outand skinny tires are in.
Directions the area begins about 50 air miles south of vernal, utah and extends south to the book cliffs divide. If youre headed out on a colorado wineandbiking trip, the first choice is deciding which of the two federally designated wine regions to explore first. This is a great place to hike, especially in the spring and fall when the weather is mild and the horses are readily seen. A colorado rock climbing and rappelling adventure will be a great addition for groups with beginner or intermediate climbers. Nearby are renowned mountain biking trails, dinosaur sites and red rock hiking. Access gate unpaved road some land outside the park boundary is privately owned. Upper colorado scenic byway moab road cycling visit utah. The hike sits on the 36,1acre little book cliffs wild horse range that. Refueled by a great nights sleep, ride alongside the colorado river, via potash road. The first 200 feet of the trail are spent climbing a hill that is so steep its barely climbable. Today, horse enthusiasts from around the country visit the colorado range, one of only three u. Colorado backcountry biker offers selfguided, supported, multiday huttohut trips on the uncompahgre plateau and runs a fullservice bike shop and rental facility.
While the country roads offer their own charm and views of the grand mesa book cliffs, the scenery in the colorado national monument is hard to beat. Fruita colorado 18 road the bookcliffs mountain bike bill. Your guide to colorados best mountain biking destinations. We drove to the little book cliffs wild horse area. Wild horses are free to roam in the little book cliffs wild horse area near grand junction, colorado. The drive from the highway was about 23 miles but took well over an hour. Road biking in colorado national monument, near fruita, co. Part of the southern edge of this wsa is dominated by the 2,000foothigh face of the. Hunter canyon is located in the break in those mountains.
Utah best of moab road bike tour escape adventures. Books cliff view overlook, colorado national monument. Experience the mountains, high desert, sheer cliffs and plateaus with a fruita mountain biking adventure and a road bike circuit through the colorado national monument. Youll want to camp with the cool kids on 18 road, also known as the book cliffs. The hike sits on the 36,1acre little book cliffs wild horse range that provides free roaming and protection over herds of wild horses. Gave some amazing views and got my heart pumping coming down. Below are a handful of colorados best and most popular cycling rides for those looking to gain some altitude and test their cycling limits. A tidy checkerboard of neatly aligned peach trees 19,200 in all i was later told was clustered along the glistening colorado river, with the book cliffs as backdrop. The popular bachelor loop road is described as follows. Tabeguache is a hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, road biking, trail running, walking adventure located in or near grand junction, co. View grand junctions wild horses visit grand junction. Road biking in utah is an extraordinary way to explore the beauty of the states national parks and other natural areas. There are great areas for beginners and families, and an ever growing number of.
Bookcliff mountain bike trail in grand junction, colorado. The route in the book cliffs18 road area just north of town extends joes. Wild horses captivate at little book cliffs visit grand. Located north of downtown fruita, the 18 road area includes a variety of trails that follow along the book cliffs. Experience the mountains, high desert, sheer cliffs and plateaus with a fruita mountainbiking adventure and a roadbike circuit through the colorado national monument. Once in the park we saw five horses but they were very far.
Youve got your shadows in the morning and evening, views of the bookcliffs and grand mesa. Red rock scenic loop all seasons, paved road guided, all levels selfguided, intermediate. On the way up mount garfield, be on the lookout for wild horses. These colorado cliffs look like books on a shelf outthere colorado. In the summer, you can rent a boat, bring your own or simply enjoy the gentle lapping of the waves from the sandy shore. Just eight miles northeast of grand junction, the little book cliffs wild horse area encompasses more than 36,000 acres of rugged canyons and plateaus. Famed for its mountainbiking trails, grand junction attracts people. Our paved roads generally have little traffic and the terrain varies from. Fruita continues to grow as mountain biking hub outthere colorado. Rocky mountain national park at the edge of rocky mountain national park, grand lake is the deepest natural lake in colorado, dipping to 265 feet. The race organizers have created a segment of road called the kingqueen of the flats to add some excitement to the metric century portion of the ride. Biking in the creede, colorado area if youre interested in biking off property the biking in the creede area is great for the experienced enthusiast.
The colorado plateau mountain bike trail association picked up. Although better known for its ice climbing, ouray has recently gained a reputation for some of the best rock climbing on the western slope and the four corners area. The geography is identified by the bordering colorado river historically known as the grand river on the southern edge of town, the uncompahgre plateau known for its pinyonjuniper landscape, and the book cliffs range on the northern edge of the grand valley. The edge starts by pedaling the length of prime cut towards the book cliffs. Seebergs book is the definitive guide to road biking in colorado. Colorado national monument balanced rock pipe organ independence monument coke ovens white rocks squaw fingers ottos bathtub. Mountain biking in fruita colorado book cliffs kenric. The little book cliffs wilderness study area is characterized by gentlysloping plateaus, various small canyons, and four major canyon systems. I would highly suggest getting road biking colorado by michael seeberg which is absolutely succinct in describing the scope and breadth of what is available to both the novice and expert cyclist in colorado, mr. This way you get both a evening and morning ride for the cost of only 1 day. Fed by high mountain runoff, the lake is clear and pristine.
This welcoming western slope town borders on obsessed when it comes to mountain biking. An ambitious, but not superhuman, goal for the weekend. We chose this one because it was close and seemed step. Icon trails like kessel run and pbr make the dusty drive up the road worth the trip. We begin with the bachelor loop because many other rides are accessible from bachelor road. Mountain bike the book cliffs, north fruita desert campground. The little book cliffs wild horse area, grand junction. Colorado is home to some of the worlds most scenic highaltitude drives and byways, which means it also lures road bikers to its hundreds of miles of scenic roadways. Road biking colorado features 40 of the states best road biking routes, from the foothills of boulder to the red cliffs of grand junction. The book cliffs trail system consists of five interconnecting trails chutes, edge loop, frontside, prime ribjoes ridge, and zippity on both single and double track. Mountain biking in fruita colorado book cliffs youtube.
The book cliffs are a range of eroding, steepsloping cliffs, also called escarpments. On the rockies western slope, where the colorado river emerges from the book cliffs near grand junction, the little farming town of palisade is a relative flatland of peach orchards, lavender gardens and, recently, an upandcoming wine. Helmet camera video while mountain biking in fruita colorado at the bookcliffs, joes ridge, chutes and ladders. Plenty of mountain bike, atv and horse trails are out this way. Theres a lot of very tight singletrack with extremely steep climbs and descents. If you want to do some mountain biking in the jurassic sandstone and shale outcrops of the book cliffs, overlooking the slowflowing colorado river in this section, with somewhat dry and barren, yet very colorful countryside, this is a good place to do it.
Main canyon is located in the blms wild horse area of the little book cliffs near grand junction, colorado. Though hikers and horseback riders are welcome yearround, the gate is locked dec. From hawaii to colorado to new york, these are the 25 best routes for road cycling in america. Other than a few water tanks for horses and some dirt roads and trails, the little book cliffs range is largely undeveloped. The little book cliffs wild horse area grand junction. Stretching 200 miles from grand junction, colorado to central utah, the book cliffs. If you are an avid rock climber please check out this map for more information about rock climbing locations near buena vista, colorado. The route in the book cliffs18 road area just north of town extends joes ridge to the south and features the characteristics that put this farming town on the mountain biking map. Mountain biking in the book cliffs see 23 traveler. Both southern uintah county and northern grand county are included.
People on the front range make monthly pilgrimages to this epic spot for desert camping and mountain biking. Part of the southern edge of this wsa is dominated by the 2,000foothigh face of the book cliffs. The best riding and the most killer views are found in the 30 miles between the junction with u. Complete information about the book cliffs mountain biking trail system in or near colorado national monument grand junction in colorado. I ended up returning this book and getting my money back. Lackluster writing, lazy formatting, and no elevation profiles.
There are many lines up the book cliffs in grand junction, co. After this first climb, the trail winds through the bottom of the book cliffs. Canyons and arroyos dominated by red rocks unfold to the west. The edge loop mountain bike trail, fruita, colorado. These four larger systems are also accompanied by many smaller side canyons. Whether you ride for fun or like to push the pace for training, moab has some of the best road bike riding in the west. Main canyon, coal canyon, cottonwood canyon and spring canyon. Enjoy world class single track mountain biking trails as well as designated routes. It works its way up the face of mount garfield on the book cliffs and ends.
A perfect trail to save for last, chutes and ladders shows its teeth right away. This book gives a keyhole view to road biking in colorado with only 400 miles worth of routes. Miramonte is a hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, road biking, trail running, walking adventure located in or near grand junction, co. Complete with gps coordinates, detailed milebymile directions, history and intimate details of what youll see along the way, this guide is perfect for the recreational rider who loves to read. Nestled up against the book cliffs in the 18 road area, this route keeps the uphill challenge to a minimum while maximizing the amount of thrilling downhill. Traveling north, ranches and homesteads line 21 road for miles. Standing on top of the book cliffs, more than 2,000 vertical feet above the grand valley basin, one begins to realize why the edge loop in fruita, colorado, is indeed epic.
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