Riding Glenwood Springs, Colorado from Gear Exchange

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Glenwood Springs, Colorado from Gear Exchange
words by Linden Carlson

The seemingly sleepy little towns of western Colorado have come onto the scene over the past couple years; they are now known for having prime single track hidden neatly away, just out of sight, tucked in the hills somewhere outside city limits. I mean, we are in the Rockies! Why wouldn’t there be great mountain biking scattered amongst all the other great mountain related activities? After all, that’s the point of living up here. If you have a lifestyle of playing your favorite game, then you tend to live where that game can be played. So here I am, living life on two wheels in Glenwood Springs.

Within our curious little mountain town, there is a plethora of trail networks that extend far beyond just G-wood.  On the paved bike paths alone, you can get to Aspen which is forty miles away or bike the entire nineteen miles of the magnificent Glenwood Canyon. Soon, the trail west toward Grand Junction will be open as well. They’re still building that section, until then it’s sketchy, wide-shoulder-loving riding on the interstate, a ‘nervous as hell, looking over your shoulder’ kinda thing. Ever had a semi truck fly by just five feet away from you, at seventy five miles an hour? Things are tough out west, ya know.

Thankfully, we have plenty of off -road action. Point any direction and there’s something to ride that includes single track.  This is a steep, narrow valley. To the north, the mighty Flat Tops intimidate with a massive four thousand foot climb, and that’s just to where it stops being painfully skyward pedaling. But the views are worth every pedal stroke. That’s part of riding here, a lot of climbing before the payoff, but the downhill is well worth it. However, for the people who drop off the highway for a little spin in between destinations, there is an unexpected variety of trails, including a few miles of in- town singletrack that is well worth traveling an hour off the interstate. It doesn’t have a huge climb but manages to be fast and fluid.

When you write about your home town and all of it is trails, there are a few questions to ask yourself before you begin. One of those questions is: what trails do I expose to the entire world? There are some trails that aren’t even fun without a heavy skill set, some trails that are local gems and frankly, you have to earn it, and some trails that don’t exist, eh hem. Then, there is the fact that you don’t want to piss off every one of your riding partners by telling everyone who happens to be literate about their favorite ride, leading to traffic widening the singletrack, singletrack getting closed off to bikes, rebel trails popping up, governments getting involved, etc. We’ve all seen it, and it’s a shame when red tape blocks every trailhead just because you’re on two wheels.

So, to avoid all those little problems, I’ll tell you to come to Glenwood Springs, Colorado to enjoy The Forest Hollow loop, known by some as the Bear Creek loop. It’s a popular ride with a long road climb to smooth singletrack payoff all the way to town. So, here’s the scoop. There is really only one way you want to go on this one.  Otherwise, it just isn’t as fun. So start by parking downtown.  There is free parking at Two Rivers park, just off downtown on Seventh Street next to the police station as well as at seventh and Blake across from the Brewpub (they serve really good local beers). It is possible to shuttle easily with two cars or so. If you drive to the trailhead, it cuts out almost all the climbing which happens to be on a road that is pretty boring.

After parking, go to the bike path next to the Roaring Fork River and head southeast toward Aspen. Ride a few miles on the bikepath until you come to the traffic light outside of town. Here you will carefully cross Highway 82, and head into traffic on the west bound side of the road for less than a quarter mile. You’re looking for Red Canyon Road.  It’s an easy left up the hill. You will come upon a big switchback and  then you just pedal up the red, steep canyon for a few miles. When you find the paved intersection, head left until you see the second turnout and take a left here. You’re now heading north on Lookout Mountain road.  I’m pretty sure there isn’t a sign but go up the hill a mile and a half and there will be a big turnout with ample parking and a sign with a map. A lot of people drive to this point, and nobody will talk trash to you for it. The climb is long and boring.

At this point, you’ll get onto a narrow four wheel drive road for a few miles that has a rolling hill feel to it. The path is pretty obvious. Stay on the road until you top out; usually there are a few tracks to follow from your fellow mountain bikers. When the double track ends, ride the single track until you pass the optional log ladder, then keep your eyes out to the left for the Forest Hollow trail that is marked with a sign. It’s just after the creek springs up, so keep your eyes out and don’t go too far down Bear Creek or you’ll end up on the train tracks at the Colorado river, and you don’t want that.

Now the trail is cruising back westward toward town.  You can expect fun and smooth singletrack that stays pretty flat for the next six miles or so, but it still has spots of steep, exposed hills. Keep your eyes ahead at drainage crossings for steep, short climbs, rocks and the occasional downed tree.

At some point, there will be an obvious intersection.  Take the one that goes down to the right. Now it gets fun.  The Scout Trail is the connector to get back to town. It’s a very fast trail common to downhill shuttles, so watch for fast locals. There is no climbing left; it’s all down from here and the bermed turns make for high speeds, but keep your eyes peeled for sneaky, sharp turns that seem to jump out of the bushes. There are parts that are really steep, rocky and plain scary if you come in too hot and don’t know the trail. I’m also hoping that you are a fan of off camber high speed sections; they usually only last for a few hundred feet, but definitely hold some potential for big falls if you get off your line. Keep in mind that there are always people hiking the Scout trail, so hootin’ and hollerin’ are recommended to warn uphillers.

So, in the end, you’ll pop out at the top of Eighth street and pedal down to your car. That’s all the description you need. It’s a couple thousand feet up, then back down, and I don’t know how long it is because I don’t ride with a computer on my bike. If you stop on by the shop before heading out, I’ll make sure you know where you’re going.  I recommend the trail to anyone coming into town for the first time to ride. I also recommend that you kick down a few bucks and soak in the world’s largest hot spring pool.  The place is nice and we all know how rad hot tubs are.Then you can talk to the locals about your bad ass ride that day, and if you’re lucky, they’ll tell you where to go next.