Salida Mountain Biking and Buena Vista Mountain Biking

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Fatties. The renowned single track of the Monarch Crest Trail steals the show. The best thing about it is the diversity of the rides down from the Crest. The easiest route follows Marshall Pass Road, a dirt two-lane historic railroad grade. At the other end of the difficulty spectrum, it’s full tilt rock and roll technical downhill via Green’s Creek trail. The Crest’s widespread reputation as the king of mountain bike trails means plenty of other smiley happy people on weekends. But the daunting altitude of the trail (high point: +/- 12,000 feet) serves as a natural gatekeeper, so it rarely gets insanely busy like higher profile singletrack hot spots elsewhere. Snow usually melts off by July 4th weekend but can occur earlier or later; call ahead to one of the local bike shops to be sure.

Besides great trails, it's the amazing climate that's generating buzz about riding in the Upper Arkanasas Valley. Year-round riding rarely requires more than making sure to pack layers: a jacket to brace against the odd mid-summer high country snow squall, or to shed when sun and dry climate make you sweat even though there may be snow on the shady side of the road.

Depending on skill, age and ambition, a gamut of mountain bike rides will challenge every member of your group from the gentle Salida to the Midland and Monarch Crest trails. Once you've chalked up the Continental Divide Trail, Crest and Rainbow trails, hundreds of miles of high alpine mining routes remain, waiting to be explored.