Passes & Canyons Blog

I got an email from Steve in New Zealand asking about early and late season road closures. He asked:

I found your website and it is REALLY great. Myself and 3 or 4 friends are coming over from New Zealand in 2009 for a 12 day bike ride. One thing which would really help overseas people is to know which roads are NOT passable during the “early” months (ie Apr/May/Jun). We are planning on being there the first 2 weeks of June, so it would be very handy to know which roads are NOT passable, given “normal” weather conditions. Obviously it is not possible to predict the exact weather in advance but knowing that certain roads are likely impassable means that detours can be pre-planned (where practical of course).

I did some checking and found six roads that the Colorado Department of Transportation says close for the winter:

US 34 over Trail Ridge Road

CO 82 over Independence Pass

CO 5 to the top of Mount Evans

COS 1 to the top of Pike’s Peak

GCR 12 over Kebler Pass

FR 209, 306 over Cottonwood Pass

For more info on this subject, check the What You Need page.

I picked up the January 2008 issue of Rider magazine with interest as the covered touted a story about “Descending the Black Canyon in CO.” Of course I’ve been to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison many times. It’s steep and gorgeous and deep, and the first night out on one of our earliest summer motorcycle trips we camped there. But I’ve never been to the bottom. The only road I knew of going to the bottom was a very steep (7% grade) gravel road going down from the dam that forms the Blue Mesa Reservoir, and I couldn’t conceive of taking that on anything but a good dirt bike, with a lot more dirt biking experience than I can claim.

So of course I was very interested when I saw that the writer, Clement Salvadori, took some road to the bottom on a fully dressed Harley Ultra. What road is this? Why am I not aware of this?

Out comes the map, with the magazine open beside it. Where is this turn-off?

Aha! Now I see. Clem says to continue west on US 50 “a few miles west of Cimarron.” That would be about 12 miles west, and lo, there it is, CO 347, going off to the north. I have to wonder about this road. It’s right there on my new-for-2007 Colorado state map, but it doesn’t exist on the Microsoft Streets & Trips software that I use for the maps on this website. And Clem says it leads you up to an entrance to the park. I have to wonder how long that road has been paved.

Of course I’ve never been on this road so I’ll just share with you what Clem has to say:

. . . it is a well-paved road with a very, very steep descent; I heat up those three brake discs while having a high old time. Down by the river it is a few degrees warmer than at the top, with a small dam and a camping area. . . . I have a look around and then rush back up, which is equally fun and a little less adrenaline-inducing.

Who knew? I sure didn’t, but I’ll promise you right now that the first chance I get I’m going down that road and it will be up on the website soon afterward. Thanks for the heads-up, Clem!

I ran across this question on the Delphi motorcycle forum:

Ok, who is a good ride planner? We plan on being at the KOA in Estes Park in a couple of weeks. We have 3 day that we will be riding day trips out of there. Any recommendations? Not looking for a ton of miles, maybe 200-300 per day or less.

Thanks,

J.R.

I posted this reply:

JR–

From Estes Park you will definitely want to take the ride up over Trail Ridge Road. For a 200-mile ride you could go over Trail Ridge, then from Granby to Walden, then take Coloado 14 over Cameron Pass and down through Poudre Canyon to Fort Collins, and then south to Loveland and back up Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park.

Beyond that you’re a bit limited. Unless you go over Trail Ridge again to go in other directions from Granby you’re faced with going back down to the plains or coming back at night over the same roads you left on.

You can go south out of Estes Park along the Peak to Peak Highway, to where you meet US 6, to Idaho Springs, up Squaw Pass, and to the top of Mount Evans. Then backtrack, more or less, or return over Trail Ridge.

Then for your third day you might consider going over Trail Ridge again, from Granby head to Kremmling and Steamboat Springs, over Rabbit Ears Pass. Then south on Colorado 131 either to Toponas and back over Gore Pass to Kremmling and backtrack. Or, continue south from Toponas to Wolcott and pick up I-70 and take it back over Vail Pass and get off at Silverthorne and take Loveland Pass to regain the interstate on the east side of the tunnel. Then back just east of Idaho Springs to get back on the Peak to Peak. But that runs close to 300 miles and a very long day. It’s tough from Estes Park because you’re really limited on where you can go from there.

Anyway, I hope that helps. You can find out a lot more about these roads on my website, www.motorcyclecolorado.com. Have fun.

I’m always happy to help. Anyone else looking for motorcycling information in Colorado, just write. I need to make note here, however, that because of the spam bastards I had to turn comments off on this blog. So to write, send your email to ken at motorcyclecolorado dot com.

That’s the question I got from M Rockey. With all the motorcycle roads I have posted info about on the website, where is the road up Mount Evans. Actually, I’ll let him speak for himself:

Nice site, very enjoyable…but where is MT Evans? :) It’s the best ride of them all in my opinion….I couldn’t find it if it is there..:)

But thanks..this gets me all worked up for this summer’s CO trip!

He’s right, you know, and I had realized that last fall. I’ve spent so much time putting up info on routes that get you from A to B that I forgot about rides where you just go and come back. So I’ve had it on my list of things to do soon to add Mount Evans. The thing is, I can’t do it now because that road is closed for the winter, and is probably under six feet of snow at the moment. But check back in June or so and you’ll see Mount Evans. Thanks for the prodding.

A rider coming to Winter Park, CO, from Louisiana asked a question about routes. Here is the answer I gave him. He will be coming into Colorado over Raton Pass.

Unless you need to make time, get off the interstate as soon as you can. You could get off at Trinidad and loop over Cuchara Pass, then go west on US 160 over La Veta Pass, swing up past the Great Sand Dunes National Monument, and then head north to Poncha Springs and Buena Vista. From Buena Vista you could either go to Fairplay and over Hoosier Pass or go through Leadville and over Fremont Pass, either way reaching I-70. Then go east on I-70 to where US 40 branches off and goes over Berthoud Pass and down into Winter Park.

If you want to get there more directly but still have time to get off the interstate a bit, leave I-25 at Colorado Springs and go up US 24 to South Park over Wilkerson Pass, then head toward Buena Vista and follow the previous directions.

Once you reach Winter Park there are all sorts of possibilities. Take a look at www.motorcyclecolorado.com for all sorts of options.

I knew I didn’t have photos from Boulder Canyon yet but when I realized I didn’t have any from Coal Creek Canyon either that made it clear what I was going to do today. Headed up to Boulder on US 36 and then up Boulder Canyon on Colorado 119 to Nederland. Along the way, if you’re in the mood for a stop, you can pull over at Boulder Falls and hike up to the falls. Nearing Nederland you come upon Barker Dam, which forms the reservoir that is just downstream from the town.

A quick jaunt south on combined Colorado 119 and 72 and then they split. Highway 119 continues as the Peak-to-Peak Highway and 72 cuts back east toward Rocky Flats, down on the prairie. But first you pass through Pinecliffe and then climb steeply, with lots of tight switchbacks, to the crest at Wondervue. Over the top and then down you go through Coal Creek Canyon. Finally, bursting suddenly onto the flatlands, you see all of Denver laid out before you.

Of course I shot pictures. You can check them out on the Peak-to-Peak and Canyons page.

By the way, on the run I turned over 77,000 miles on my Honda. She just keeps on running.