Tell me about Colorado

Sometime in the 2nd half of May I'm planning on going to Colorado for 8-10 days of motorcycle riding and camping. I've ridden the Million Dollar Hwy and Trail Ridge Road and a few others before, but there are many nice scenic areas in Colorado I've never been to.

Suggestions appreciated for favorite scenic roads, mountain passes, camping areas, and perhaps small towns with live music to visit. I'll be carrying all my camping gear with me on the bike, but I want to stick to paved roads, no gravel stuff.

I might also hit SE Utah and some Northern New Mexico roads too... Again, thanks for any suggestions.

Take care...

Last year we spent some time in the SW corner of the state, down near Cortez, hiking and looking at Ancestral Puebloan (I think that's the term, used to be Anasazi) ruins. Lots of open roads, lots of places that look like they'd be good for what you have in mind. Beautiful country, though it's very dry right now. Just over the border into Utah was lovely, too. Lots of plains, lots of mountains.

We didn't come across much in the way of live music outside of the tourist towns.

Somebody makes a map called, I think, "Indian Country", that shows many features - check Amazon. I got a copy at the visitor center of Mesa Verde National Monument. This is the map that's often referenced in the Tony Hillerman novels, if that means anything to you.

Enjoy your trip.

Consider northern New Mex, maybe wander a little off the past to Chaco Canyon to the west, Taos to the NE, up into Chama. There is a narrow gauge railroad there with a scenic ride. Then cruise on up to the Pagosa Springs, CO area. Maybe sidetrack over to Mesa Verde.

To the far NW is the four corners, then you can go up to around Dove Creek which is the pinto bean capital of the world, and is just different than you expect in CO. From there, it's not that far to go to Monticello and Moab, UT and the Arches region, or to the east to Mesa Verde.

Alternately, one could ride from ABQ, up to Chaco, on up to Blumfield/Farmington areas, check out 4 corners, perhaps part of Navajo Reservation, take a loop over into SE UT, then into SW Colorado, to Durango, to Pagosa Springs. Maybe a side trip for a day down to Chama to ride the train. Perhaps work your way up the center of the state on Hwy 285 toward Leadville. A side trip over to Aspen. From 285, an eastward jag over to Colorado Springs.

To me, northern NM and southern CO are prime parts of the country to visit and play, there is so much to do and so little time and money.

Go through Gunnison. Be sure to go to the town of Pitkin, about 30 miles ouside of Gunnison. And take your bikes up (accessed through Pitkin) the old narrow gage to the Alpine Tunnel. Great area, spectatular scenery and cool historical stuff.

everytime I hear Colorado I think of this old classic....:cool:

L7Ab-3W00vo

Second half of May is more North New Mexico; the higher elevations in Colo. will still be full with snow, and the rivers will be on the way up with snowmelt and things can be messy at a lot of the campsites at the higher elevations all through the mountains of southwest and southcentral Colorado. We car camped up near the Spanish Peaks off of Colo 13 that time of year last year and it was really cold and windy up there.

Figure out how much snow pack they have; some of these drainages (Animas, Conejo, Piedra, Rio Grande) don't peak until the 2d or even the 3rd week of June. If you find too much snow (and wet muddy camps and trails) you'll have to shift further south or west than otherwise. Into the Lower San Juan, Navajo, Chama and Embudo drainages; some of the smaller rivers in Utah. The Dolores I guess would be good in Colorado, your lower elevation drainages.

"Tell me about Colorado "

Well, it's kinda flat over by Kansas, then it gets real bumpy, then sorta flat but high in the middle, then bumpy again, then it levels off a bit over by Utah. Oh, and it's cold. Or hot.

"Tell me about Colorado "

Well, it's kinda flat over by Kansas, then it gets real bumpy, then sorta flat but high in the middle, then bumpy again, then it levels off a bit over by Utah. Oh, and it's cold. Or hot.

And square!

Meeker has a lodge called Sleepy Cat with great food, small cabins for rent and their are elk, scenic drives, good fishing, and it is is the middle of nowhere, north of Rifle.

Saw live music at Rifle one night but the 50+ mile ride back to the lodge was lined with deer. The drive north of Durango is special too. Anywhere near the cities and parks suck because of the mass of humanity that visit.

Best not to mention you are from Texas up in the NW areas. :wink: Hunters from Texas are disliked, except for their money.

Colorado...*swoon*

It'd be an exceptionally easy ride compared to what the others have posted, but what about straight down 70? That Vail area is so gorgeous you can't help but stop.

Salida and the surrounding is my favorite

Meeker has a lodge called Sleepy Cat with great food, small cabins for rent and their are elk, scenic drives, good fishing, and it is is the middle of nowhere, north of Rifle.

Saw live music at Rifle one night but the 50+ mile ride back to the lodge was lined with deer. The drive north of Durango is special too. Anywhere near the cities and parks suck because of the mass of humanity that visit.

Best not to mention you are from Texas up in the NW areas. :wink: Hunters from Texas are disliked, except for their money.

Sleepy Cat was closed last time I was there (last summer) it was awesome. I lived near Rifle for 10 years...

I'd say the Grand Mesa is the least busy place in colorado for tourists... it is where locals like to go to relax and it has a ton of paved roads that would be fun to ride (up debeque canyon)

Redstone is gorgeous... lots of other really good tips in this thread... the ride over the top from Aspen toward buena vista is fabulous, but probably not quite ready by the end of may (you can always check)

the cedaredge area is gorgeous and you can go that way as well.. (Rifle, debeque canyon, grand mesa down the other side to Delta and cedaredge..

Northern New Mexico is gorgeous and the 4 corners area is cool too... lots of topography in one area...

I'd say the Grand Mesa is the least busy place in colorado for tourists..

Don't understand why tourists overlook Grand Mesa but they sure do. When things get to hectic around the usual (Durango, Leadville, Aspen, Vail, Steamboat, etc.) in Summer, you can always find a campsite on Grand Mesa. A lot of the more secluded places require use of gravel roads and worse, but Grand Mesa is the exception. The Highway 133 corridor might not be bad, and the area around Plateau Creek since these are lower elevation.

If you're trying to combine high elevation with an early date, don't overlook Lincoln National Forest in Southcentral New Mexico, or all the area around and North of Silver City, NM.

Locate and read this book called "Beyond the National Parks" by Mary Tisdale and Bibi Booth. Smithsonian Institution Press. Lots of cool ideas in there.

Jeeze, that's tough really. I can give you some good, fun roads but you could spend weeks just riding around :)

For a start, there are some fun roads in the Front Range area (where I am).

From Lyons, Rt 7 up to Peak to Peak highway, head south to Central City/Blackhawk and take the Central City Parkway to Rt 70. Go west to the Mt Evans exit and follow it up to Echo Lake. Then take the Mt Evans road up to Mt Evans if it's open. Even if not, the ride to Echo Lake and down the other side to Evergreen is excellent. Go south again and head east at the lake down to Morrison. This puts you on 470.

From there, I'd head north on 470 to 6/93 and follow it to Boulder. Take 36 north towards Lyons again. Essentially you're looking for Stove Prairie Road which connects with Rt 14. It's a nice little back country ride where you go by Carter lake and meander up into the start of the mountains. You can also just hop on 287 and head north through Ft Collins and out the other side. North of Ft Collins, take the left on Rt 14 and head to Walden. It's an excellent road (Poudre River to Cameron Pass).

From Walden, head south on 14 and stay on it until you get to 40. Make a right and head towards Steamboat Springs. The pass coming into Steamboat Springs is pretty cool. Just before Steamboat is Route 131 south. You can either take it from here or go to the other side of Steamboat and take Rt 27 south until it connects with 131 and continue south.

You'll hook up with Interstate 70. Head west through Glenwood Springs, an awesome ride.

You'll get to Grand Junction. Take 141 south just before Grand Junction or 50 south if you decide to go into town. If 50, go until you hit 141 west and get on it. It's a beautiful set of sweepers going down through western Colorado all the way to Ridgeway. It's on the Million Dollar Highway but north of all the scenery.

Head north to Montrose and then east to The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a pretty cool park. When done, head back to Montrose and south on the Million Dollar Highway to 160 and head east. This is some excellent riding roads as well and you'll eventually get to the Great Sand Dunes National park.

From there head down 160 east until you get near Spanish Peaks and take 12 south. It'll put you on the west side of the peaks for some excellent views. Follow 12 back to 25 south and head on back to Texas :mrgreen:


As to music, the local Larry's Guitars here in Longmont has a Thursday country type jam going on all summer apparently (booked to August he said). Doors open at 7pm and show starts at 7:30. We ended at 9am.

For camping, I'm generally a "it's 5pm, look for a state or federal park" sort of bike rider so I can't be much help there, sorry.

Good luck and enjoy :mrgreen:

Carl

Hmm, in looking it over, I'd say hit Morrison first, take the Evergreen Parkway up to the Mt Evans/Echo Lake turn off and follow it up. After Mt Evans, follow the road on to Idaho Springs, east on 70 and then take the Central City Parkway to Central City/Blackhawk. Make a left on 119 (Peak to Peak) and follow it to the end. Take the right turn down Rt 7 to Lyons and then follow the "take 287 to 14" instructions. Seems to make more sense :smile:

Carl

And square!

Dang it, I knew I was forgetting something!

I should add that every suggestion here is a good one. There's just too much to cover. I went there to sell a car, and I stayed 14 years. It took me that long to see a lot of it, much less all of it.

Definitely agree with Boris that you should ride over the Grand Mesa, and while you're hear, also be sure you ride over Rimrock Road in the Colorado National Monument, which is a road that snakes along the rim of several spectacular red rock canyons. Both the Grand Mesa and Colorado National Monument are near Grand Junction. If you really want to go somewhere away from the crowds, the drive from Grand Junction to Gateway, through Unaweep Canyon, is great. Gateway is a little town on the Dolores River in a green valley surrounded by red rock walls. Very pretty.

"Tell me about Colorado "

Well, it's kinda flat over by Kansas, then it gets real bumpy, then sorta flat but high in the middle, then bumpy again, then it levels off a bit over by Utah. Oh, and it's cold. Or hot.

+1 on this and everything Carl said.

Always great sights and I do like 141.

http://schelin.org/20060819/day01/dscn7484x600.jpg

:smile:

Carl

Were it me I think I'd barely make it up into Colorado (since you've already done the Million Dollar Highway). In northern NM definitely spend a day on the high road to Taos. Walk out on the bridge over the Rio Grande near Taos. Abiqui is cool. The area between Los Alamos and Jemez Springs is a must see, in that area Bandelier is worth doing and there are some great places to stay in Jemez Springs. There's about 30 miles of washboard road between the highway and Chaco so I'd skip that on a bike. Work your way up to Durango. There's some amazing hiking in Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, ruins everywhere, then spend a day at Mesa Verde. I think northern NM is the most beautiful place on earth...

If the month of June could be 6 months long, not 4 weeks long I'd have to live there.

My grandma grew up as a teen in Telluride, and I loved her stories about what it took to get in and out of there, Uncle Denny's ranch, dressing for dinner and sometimes opera, and being mad at the storekeeper when she bought something and paid in gold, and got a ton of silver as change (yes, she was spoiled!) And the ferocious storms that hit out of nowhere. And the avalanches. And stories of the miners who had at long last earned enough to get bathed and shaved, and a new suit of clothes and the ticket for the ride back to see the family in Pennsylvania. They'd go inside the hotel for one beverage, while waiting for the stage, and end up rolled and in a ditch somewhere in their underwear, all the money gone.

I was particularly impressed with the drive along Independence pass, basically Twin Lakes to Aspen on Rt 82. Fantastic scenery. Once in Aspen, take the side jaunt over to Maroon Lake. Seeing the Maroon Bells reflected in the lake is one of my all-time favorite images.

Aspen ain't for everybody, and not known for its music, but a pretty cool place.

<Bump>


I'm very fortunate to have an excellent opportunity to take off a couple of weeks and ride some wonderful mountain roads on my BMW motorcycle throughout Colorado, Eastern Utah, and Norther New Mexico. Here is the plan -

I'm departing Houston Friday 5/11 solo on my 07 GT and heading to Austin to visit a good friend, play some guitars. Saturday, Sunday and Monday I'll make my way to Longmont Colorado, visiting Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo along the way.

Next week I'll be working remotely while in Colorado, staying at an Uncle and Aunt's house. Friday May 18 I'll leave Longmont and then head West for 8 or 9 days of riding throughout all the Colorado mountain passes and cool roads I can find. I'll be taking a full week of vacation that 2nd week, non stop riding each day, camping most nights, just seeing where the winds blow. I'll also be heading into Utah, I want to visit Monument Valley.. and on the way home I'll pass thru Northern New Mexico. I plan to get back home on Memorial Day.

So ya appx 18 days on the road, using 1 week of vacation, and lots of sweet safe miles hopefully. My GT will cross 70,000K miles sometime on this trip. Should be an epic fun road adventure. I'll post a full trip report when I get back.

Take care ya'll.....


http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c208/ahub64/100_0404.jpg

Oct 2007 pic of my GT in Colorado.

Enjoy you visit. There's a lot to see and something new around every bend. If we natives can help you out with anything let us know. It's beautiful here in the spring.

Excellent! I'm heading out next Sunday for an 8,000 mile trip; here to California, Oklahoma, Florida, Virginia and back. I'm already over 100,000 miles on the Hayabusa and shooting for 200,000 :smile:

Ride Safe!

Carl

Hah! I have that picture too:

http://schelin.org/20050621/day03/dscn5391x600.jpg

:mrgreen:

Carl

Howdy,

Beautiful pics! I think I'd love Colorado Springs; between USAFA Football (I'm a Triple Option enthusiast and few schools use it anymore) and AAA Baseball, I'd be pleased as punch.