Flatlanders - cry your eyes out - and 475 miles of single track to boot!
At the southwest corner of the Denver Metro Area the S Platte "River" enters the plains from the mountains through Waterton Canyon, a popular fishing, hiking and biking venue. Also, this is the official start of the Colorado Trail which, unlike the first 6.5 miles shown below, winds its way on mostly single track of 475 miles of isolated, rugged and high Colorado backcountry, which finds its way to Durango, CO.
Adjacent to the Waterton Canyon area is the 5,000 acre Chatfield State Park with a lake, the Audubon Society with trails and ponds and the rustic portion of the Denver Botanic Gardens (most of which is located in downtown Denver). Just down the road is the fantastic Roxborough State Park (closed to bicycles), with incredible red rock Morrison Formation slabs standing 100's of feet straight up into the sky. This all is about 20 miles from my home.
This is all reachable by bicycle trail from Downtown Denver - many miles away, and from my home, also.
Here are some pictures of today's ride, which is all uphill for 6.5 miles. At the top, the trail becomes single track and is a favorite spot for more technical mtn biking.
The start of the trail, which is a road at this point:
A wheelchair accessible fishing spot
The trail going up
Lots of wildlife - I did not get the Bear sign picture
The cliffs extend a couple of hundred feet up
The "River"
More trail
The top
More on the next post, please
Last edited by DnvrFox; 05-15-13 at 08:20 PM.